Oklahoma State Question 833, Public Infrastructure Districts Amendment (2024)

Oklahoma State Question 833
Election date November 5, 2024
Topic State and local government budgets, spending and finance
Status d Defeated
Type Constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature

State Question 833, the Oklahoma Public Infrastructure Districts Amendment, was on the ballot in Oklahoma as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 5, 2024. It was defeated.

A "yes" vote supported allowing municipalities to create public infrastructure districts when all property owners within the proposed district sign a petition and allowing public infrastructure districts to issue bonds for public improvements if approved by voters within the district.

A "no" vote opposed allowing municipalities to create public infrastructure districts with the authority to issue bonds for infrastructure projects.

Election results

Oklahoma State Question 833
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		559,982	38.39%
No		898,526	61.61%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

What would this amendment have done?

See also: Text of measure

The amendment would have created a new type of district within municipalities called public infrastructure districts. Public infrastructure districts could have been created by municipalities if a petition is filed with the signatures of all property owners within the proposed district. The districts would have had the authority to issue bonds for public improvements if approved by voters within the district. Public infrastructure districts would have been governed by a Board of Trustees who would have the power to levy a special assessment of up to 10 mills (up to $100 per $100,000 of assessed value) on properties benefiting from any improvement projects to be used to reimburse the public infrastructure district for amounts paid by it for improvement projects. Municipalities would have had the ability to impose limitations on the powers of public infrastructure districts. The state legislature would have been authorized to enact legislation to implement public infrastructure districts, including legislation regarding how the board of trustees will be established.

How did this amendment get on the ballot?

See also: Path to the ballot

In Oklahoma, a constitutional amendment requires a simple majority vote in both chambers of the Oklahoma State Legislature.

The constitutional amendment was introduced as Senate Joint Resolution 16. It was approved in the Senate on March 12, 2024, by a vote of 38-7. Votes in favor came from 32 Republicans and six Democrats while six Republicans and one Democrat voted no. The House approved the amendment by a vote of 66-27. Votes in favor came from 60 Republicans and six Democrats, while 16 Republicans and 11 Democrats voted against the measure.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot question was as follows:

“

This measure adds a new section of law to the Oklahoma Constitution. It adds Section 9E to Article 10. It allows for the creation of public infrastructure districts. It provides for the issuance of public infrastructure district bonds by the public infrastructure district to pay for all or part of all public improvements implemented by and for the public infrastructure district. It requires a one-hundred-percent approval of surface property owners in the district to become created. SHALL THE PROPOSAL BE APPROVED?

”

Constitutional changes

See also: Article X, Oklahoma Constitution

The measure would have added a new section 9E to Article X of the Oklahoma Constitution. The following struck-through text would have been deleted and underlined text would have been added. Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.

Section 9E. A. There are hereby created public infrastructure districts.

B. Municipalities may approve the creation of public infrastructure districts, which may incur indebtedness and issue public infrastructure district bonds to pay for all or part of the cost of public improvements within such districts. The cost of all indebtedness so incurred shall be levied and assessed by the board of trustees of a public infrastructure district on the property benefited by such improvements following the passage and approval of the organization of a public infrastructure district pursuant to subsection C of this section. The board shall collect the special assessments so levied and use the same to reimburse the public infrastructure district for the amount paid or to be paid by it on the bonds issued for such improvements not to exceed ten (10) mills for the purpose of providing funds for the purpose of support, organization, operation, and maintenance of such services.

C. A public infrastructure district shall not be created unless a petition is filed with the municipality that contains the signatures of one hundred percent (100%) of surface property owners within the applicable area consenting to the creation of the public infrastructure district.

D. The municipality may impose limitations on the powers of the public infrastructure district through the governing document presented by the public infrastructure district applicant.

E. The levy shall be in addition to all other levies authorized by this Constitution, and when approved, shall be made for the repayment of public infrastructure district bonds issued by the public infrastructure districts for the public improvements agreed upon by the voters of the district as provided by the governing document.

F. The Legislature shall be authorized to enact such laws as may be necessary in order to implement public infrastructure districts in this state.

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2024

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The state legislature wrote the ballot language for this measure.

The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 10, and the FRE is 50. The word count for the ballot title is 82.

Support

Ballotpedia did not locate a campaign in support of the ballot measure.

Supporters

Officials

• State Sen. John Haste (R)
• State Rep. Terry O'Donnell (R)

Arguments

You can share campaign information or arguments, along with source links for this information, at editor@ballotpedia.org.

Opposition

Ballotpedia did not locate a campaign in opposition to the ballot measure.

Arguments

• State Rep. Andy Fugate (D-94): "Can a single person impose a new tax? That’s exactly what could happen if voters pass Oklahoma State Question 833. It proposes a new taxation district, and a new property tax to fund public infrastructure inside that district. Unfortunately, the State Question doesn’t define public infrastructure. That’s intentional. State Question 833 says landowners can request a new public infrastructure taxation district to build public infrastructure, provided that every owner agrees to the new tax. Well, that sounds hard to get, doesn't it? Every landowner has to agree. Well, it’s easy if one person owns all the land. Here’s what I mean. Let’s say someone purchases a full square mile with plans to build a new, exclusive subdivision. Since only one person owns the land, that person can petition the city to make that square mile a public infrastructure district. That person then sells bonds to build public infrastructure like a park, tennis courts, a swimming pool, and a golf course. All conveniently inside that gated community. The new homeowners will have awesome infrastructure, that’s public to them. They’ll also have higher property taxes. That sounds like a fair tradeoff, right? Well, maybe for them. But not for you. Because the next time their local schools propose a bond, they will vote against it to lower their already too-high property taxes. And besides, their kids don’t attend those public schools anyway. Without guardrails, this State Question is an easy grift that profits a handful at the expense of the rest of us. Imagine that."

Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for Oklahoma ballot measures

If you are aware of a committee registered to support or oppose this measure, please email editor@ballotpedia.org.

	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Support	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Oppose	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Total	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00

Background

Oklahoma Tax Increment Financing Districts (TIFs)

Oklahoma has Tax Increment Financing Districts (TIFs), enacted in 1992, which use tax revenue to fund public improvement and development projects. Under TIFs, a local government can borrow funds to pay for development projects and repay the loans with a portion of the tax revenue generated by the development. Once TIF loans are repaid, the TIF district expires and all of the tax revenue gets apportioned to the taxing district. According to the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, TIFs benefit communities because "The new development generates more tax revenues. This means more money is available for the agencies that depend on tax revenues for funding, such as schools and city and county government." TIF revenues can only be spent on publicly approved project costs within a specified project area including public works, improvements, land acquisition, clearance, grading, financing, professional services, administration, interest fees, and development financing for private projects. TIF districts can be established in the following places:

• an area requiring public improvements to reverse economic stagnation or decline;
• to promote retaining or expanding employment;
• to attract major investment in the area;
• to preserve or enhance the tax base;
• where 50% or more of the structures are at least 35 years old;
• an area that is blighted as defined in the Urban Renewal Act;
• an area or structure listed in the National Register of Historic Places and subject to historic preservation zoning; and
• an area within a state or federal enterprise zone.

Legislatively referred constitutional amendments in Oklahoma

From 2000 to 2020, 56 legislatively referred constitutional amendments appeared on the ballot in Oklahoma. Of the 56 amendments, voters approved 43 (76.79%) and rejected 13 (23.21%). An average between four and five legislatively referred amendments appeared on the ballot during even-numbered years from 2000 to 2020. The last time the state legislature referred a constitutional amendment to the ballot was in 2020. That measure, which would have redirected Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) money to secure federal funding for Medicaid, was defeated.

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the Oklahoma Constitution

In Oklahoma, a constitutional amendment requires a simple majority vote in both chambers of the Oklahoma State Legislature.

The constitutional amendment was introduced as Senate Joint Resolution 16. It was approved in the Senate on March 12, 2024, by a vote of 38-7. The House approved the amendment by a vote of 66-27.

Vote in the Oklahoma State Senate March 12, 2024
Requirement: Simple majority vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 25  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	38	7	3
Total percent	79.17%	14.58%	6.25%
Democrat	6	1	1
Republican	32	6	2

Vote in the Oklahoma House of Representatives April 24, 2024
Requirement: Simple majority vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 51  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	66	27	8
Total percent	65.35%	26.73%	7.92%
Democrat	6	11	3
Republican	60	16	5

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Oklahoma

See below to learn more about current voter registration rules, identification requirements, and poll times in Oklahoma.

How to vote in Oklahoma

Poll times

In Oklahoma, all polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Central Time. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote.

Registration

Check your voter registration status here.

To vote in Oklahoma, one must be at least 18 years old, a United States citizen, and a resident of Oklahoma.

The deadline for registration is 25 days prior to the election.

“	You can fill out a Voter Registration Application using the OK Voter Portal "wizard." (Be sure to print, sign, and mail or hand-deliver the application to your County Election Board to complete the process.) Voter registration applications are also available at your County Election Board, most tag agencies, post offices, and libraries and can be downloaded from the State Election Board website..	”
—Oklahoma State Election Board

Once an applicant has been successfully registered, the county election board will mail him or her a voter identification card.

Automatic registration

Oklahoma does not practice automatic voter registration.

Online registration

See also: Online voter registration

Oklahoma has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.

Same-day registration

Oklahoma does not allow same-day voter registration.

Residency requirements

To register to vote in Oklahoma, you must be a resident of the state.

Verification of citizenship

See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States

Oklahoma does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual must attest that they are a U.S. citizen when registering to vote. According to the state's voter registration application, a voter who submits false information commits a "felony punishable by not more than five years in prison, by a fine of not more than $50,000, or both."

All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.

Verifying your registration

The Oklahoma State Election Board allows residents to check their voter registration status online by visiting this website.

Voter ID requirements

Oklahoma requires voters to present identification while voting. Generally, voters are required to present a photo ID, but there is an exception to this requirement.

Valid forms of identification include government-issued photo IDs and county election board voter identification cards (which do not include photographs).

Voters can present a document issued by the United States government, the State of Oklahoma, or a federally recognized tribal government. The document must include the following information:

• Name
• Photograph
• Expiration date that is after the date of the election

See also

2024 measures

• 2024 ballot measures
• Budgets on the ballot

Oklahoma

• Oklahoma ballot measures
• Oklahoma ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• Senate House Joint Resolution 16