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Oklahoma Bonds for Storm Shelters in Schools, State Question 774 (2016)
| Not on Ballot |
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| This measure was not put on an election ballot |
The Oklahoma Bonds for Storm Shelters in Schools, State Question 774 was not on the November 8, 2016 ballot in Oklahoma as an initiated constitutional amendment. The measure would have authorized the issuance of $500 million in bonds to finance the construction and improvement of storm shelters in schools and educational facilities. The bonds would have been paid for by utilizing the General Revenue Fund of the State of Oklahoma.[1]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The proposed ballot title was follows:[1]
| “ | This measure amends the Oklahoma Constitution. It adds a new Section 44 to Article 10. Bonds could be sold. Up to Five Hundred Million Dollars ($500,000,000.00) could be available. Bond money would be used for school districts and career technology districts. Bond money would be used for storm shelters or secure areas. The repayment of the obligations will be made from the General Revenue Fund of the State of Oklahoma. State bond money could be used by school districts or career technology districts to reduce local debt or eliminate local debt incurred for storm shelters or secure areas constructed after January 1, 2013. The Office of Emergency Management will implement the program. The Oklahoma Constitution is being amended to allow state bond money to pay for shelters and secure areas in schools.
Shall the following proposed new Article X, Section 44 of the Constitution be approved? For the proposal --- YES A “YES” vote is a vote in favor of this measure. A “NO” vote is a vote against this measure.[2] |
” |
Background
The initiative was created following a tornado disaster in which seven children were killed at Plaza Towers Elementary School in May 2013.[3]
Approximately 62 percent of Oklahoma’s 1,804 public schools did not have storm shelters, as of September 2014. Only 15 percent had shelters built to withstand the winds of an EF5 tornado.[4]
Support
Take Shelter Oklahoma sponsored the initiative campaign.[5]
Supporters
- Rep. Joe Dorman (D-65)[6]
- Rev. Jesse Jackson[7]
Arguments
- Rep. Joe Dorman (D-65), who was also a candidate for governor in 2014, said, "It is absolutely unacceptable that Oklahoma lawmakers have failed to address the safety of students and teachers in our public schools. It is reprehensible to think that every day the state fails to act on placing storm shelters in public schools, we put the lives of more than a half a million children, teachers and school staff in peril."[8]
- Rev. Jesse Jackson stated, "How we treat children, how we treat the endangered, is measured by character. We can rally together in great numbers for the Sooners, the Cowboys and for the Thunder. We have a great sense of celebration around these events. But there is nothing more exciting than the idea of putting this on the ballot. ... Cannot this state, whether it’s red, blue or purple, build tornado shelters to save its people?"[7]
Opposition
Opponents
Arguments
- Gov. Fallin (R) argued that the initiative does not offer enough enough local control and that the measure would take money out of the state’s general revenue fund, meaning that other infrastructural programs, such as roads, public safety and education, would have to be cut. Fallin has proposed an alternative plan, giving school districts the option to increase local property taxes to pay for storm shelters.[6]
- Alex Weintz, spokesperson for Gov. Fallin, said, “If you are in a part of the state that already has a storm shelter, you’re essentially subsidizing everyone else’s construction. There’s an issue of fairness. Is it fair for one school to build a gigantic gymnasium that also happens to be rated as a safe room?”[6]
Lawsuits
Take Shelter Oklahoma vs. Scott Pruitt
Take Shelter Oklahoma and Kristi Conatzer, whose daughter died at Plaza Towers School in May 2013, initiated a lawsuit against Attorney General Scott Pruitt (R) in the Oklahoma Supreme Court. TSO and Conatzer argued that the ballot language unfairly emphasized their initiative as a tax increase. David Slane, attorney for Take Shelter Oklahoma, said, “We believe that it overemphasizes a tax and under emphasizes tornado safety.”[9] On April 1, 2014, the supreme court ruled in favor of the attorney general, but also gave initiative proponents an additional 90 days to collect signatures.[6]
Path to the ballot
Kathryn Turner filed a similar, but different, initiative with the Oklahoma Secretary of State on September 18, 2013.[1] While the signature deadline would have been in December 2013, the Oklahoma Supreme Court gave proponents a renewed 90 days starting on April 1, 2014.[10]
The group filed a new initiative in July 2014. Supporters needed to collect 155,216 valid signatures within 90 days of the official filing of the measure. That latest date that signatures could have been turned in was October 20, 2014.[11] To make the November 4, 2014, ballot, proponents would have needed to turn in signatures by the end of August 2014. Supporters only collected 58,000 signatures. Therefore, the initiative did not qualify for the ballot.[12]
See also
- 2016 ballot measures
- Oklahoma 2016 ballot measures
- Laws governing the initiative process in Oklahoma
Additional reading
- NBC News, "Oklahoma Politics Snarl Push for Tornado Shelters at Schools," April 7, 2014
- State Impact, "Mapped: Which Oklahoma Schools Have Storm Shelters," September 27, 2013
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Oklahoma Secretary of State, "State Question Number 767," accessed April 14, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Muskogee Phoenix, "State school shelter petition gets more time," April 1, 2014 (dead link)
- ↑ State Impact, "Mapped: Which Oklahoma Schools Have Storm Shelters," September 27, 2014
- ↑ Take Shelter Oklahoma, "Homepage," accessed September 25, 2014
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 NBC News, "Oklahoma Politics Snarl Push for Tornado Shelters at Schools," April 7, 2014
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 The Oklahoman, "Civil rights leader the Rev. Jesse Jackson backs initiative to fund storm shelters in Oklahoma schools," June 4, 2014
- ↑ Take Shelter Oklahoma, "More than 506,000 Students, Teachers and Staff Unprotected from Tornadoes," September 26, 2014
- ↑ News 9, "Take Shelter Oklahoma' Upset With Ballot Initiative Language," April 1, 2014
- ↑ Times Record, "Oklahoma High Court Upholds School Shelter Ballot," April 1, 2014
- ↑ Tulsa World, "School storm shelter petition looking for signatures at Tulsa State Fair," September 24, 2014
- ↑ NewsOK, "Backers of Oklahoma pot, shelter initiatives fall short of signature requirement," October 21, 2014
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