Oklahoma Reduced Supermajority Requirement for Tax Increases Amendment (2018)
| Oklahoma Reduced Supermajority Requirement for Tax Increases Amendment | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 6, 2018 | |
| Topic Taxes | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
The Oklahoma Reduced Supermajority Requirement for Tax Increases Amendment, House Joint Resolution 1050, was not on the ballot in Oklahoma as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 6, 2018.[1]
This measure would have amended the state constitution to reduce the supermajority vote required in the legislature to pass tax increases from three-fourths (75 percent) to two-thirds (66.67 percent).[2]
House Joint Resolution 1050 failed in the Senate rules committee on March 28, 2018.[3]
Another amendment—Senate Joint Resolution 61—was introduced in the 2018 session to reduce the supermajority vote requirement specifically for sales tax increases to three-fifths (60 percent).
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for the amendment:[2]
| “ |
This measure amends the Oklahoma Constitution. It amends Section 33 of Article 5. This section governs the way in which revenue raising bills are considered in a session of the Legislature. Under current law, if three-fourths (3/4) of the members of each chamber of the Legislature vote to approve a revenue-raising measure, that measure does not have to be submitted to a vote of the people for their approval. This measure would reduce the three-fourths (3/4) requirement to two-thirds (2/3). If the amendment is adopted, the current voting requirement would be reduced from seventy-five percent (75%) to sixty-six and two-thirds percent (66 2/3%). For the Oklahoma House of Representatives this means the number of votes required for approval without submitting the question to a vote of the people would change from 76 votes to 68 votes. For the Oklahoma State Senate this means the number of votes required for approval without submitting the question to a vote of the people would change from 36 votes to 32 votes. SHALL THE PROPOSAL BE APPROVED?[4] |
” |
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article V, Oklahoma Constitution
The measure would have amended section 33 of Article V of the state constitution. The following underlined text would have been added, and struck-through text would have been deleted:[2]
Section 33. A. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives. The Senate may propose amendments to revenue bills.
B. No revenue bill shall be passed during the five last days of the session.
C. Any revenue bill originating in the House of Representatives shall not become effective until it has been referred to the people of the state at the next general election held throughout the state and shall become effective and be in force when it has been approved by a majority of the votes cast on the measure at such election and not otherwise, except as otherwise provided in subsection D of this section.
D. Any revenue bill originating in the House of Representatives
may become law without being submitted to a vote of the people of
the state if such bill receives the approval of three-fourths (3/4)
two-thirds (2/3) of the membership of the House of Representatives
and three-fourths (3/4) two-thirds (2/3) of the membership of the
Senate and is submitted to the Governor for appropriate action. Any
such revenue bill shall not be subject to the emergency measure
provision authorized in Section 58 of this Article and shall not
become effective and be in force until ninety days after it has been
approved by the Legislature, and acted on by the Governor.[4]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the Oklahoma Constitution
To put a legislatively referred constitutional amendment before voters, a simple majority is required in both the Oklahoma State Senate and the Oklahoma House of Representatives.
This amendment was sponsored by Rep. Scott Fetgatter (R-16) and Sen. Kim David (R-18) as House Joint Resolution 1050. On March 15, 2018, the state House voted 51 to 41—with seven excused and two vacancies—in favor of the amendment, sending it to the state Senate. Of the 71 Republicans in the House, 44 voted in favor of the amendment, 24 voted against it, and three were excused. Of the 28 Democrats, seven voted in favor, 17 voted against, and four were excused.[1]
House Joint Resolution 1050 failed in the Senate rules committee on March 28, 2018.[5]
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See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Oklahoma State Legislature, "House Joint Resolution 1050," accessed March 16, 2018
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Oklahoma Legislature, "House Joint Resolution 1050," accessed March 16, 2018
- ↑ Oklahoma State Legislature, "House Joint Resolution 1050," accessed March 28, 2018
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Oklahoma State Legislature, "House Joint Resolution 1050," accessed March 28, 2018
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