By Constitution Staff

Signatures are being collected on three initiative petitions seeking to place measures on the Oklahoma ballot. Supporters of the initiatives have 90 days to gather 155,216 valid signatures of registered voters. If the efforts are successful, the proposals could be placed on the General Election ballot as soon as this November. One of the measures would fund the construction of storm shelters in schools. The other two proposals would legalize the use of marijuana in the state -- one for medical use only and the other would be a general legalization similar to the ones approved in Colorado and in the state of Washington.

After failing last year to gather enough signatures for a proposal to issue $500 million in state bonds to fund the construction of school storm shelters, Take Shelter Oklahoma (TSO) began a new initiative petition drive in June. The earlier proposal called for the bonds to be paid off from franchise tax revenues that would be diverted from the General Revenue Fund (GRF). The Franchise Tax is levied annually on all corporations that do business in Oklahoma. The revenues from the franchise tax go into the state GRF and the Governor and the Legislature budget those funds along with the other revenues collected. Gov. Mary Fallin and legislative leaders opposed diverting money from the GRF which would reduce the funds available for other needs, such as education, public safety and health care. Also, in recent years bills have been proposed to end the franchise tax to help in the effort to attract new businesses to the state. Earmarking the funds to pay the bonds could block those efforts.

Backers of the earlier effort had until December 16 to collect the required signatures but reportedly gathered only about 120,000 signatures. TSO won a court challenge which granted them more time to collect signatures, but lost a technical challenge concerning the wording of the ballot measure and chose not to continue the original petition. The debate centered on changes by Attorney General Scott Pruitt to the ballot title, which originally was written by TSO. The group's version emphasized the need for storm shelters, while Pruitt's wording was centered on the franchise tax, which would be the funding source for the program. The court ruled that the Attorney General's rewrite was valid.

The new storm shelter proposal calls for the bonds to be paid off over 25 years from GRF, rather than the franchise tax. After reviewing the title for the new petition, Pruitt's office submitted a letter to the Secretary of State saying that the ballot title for State Question 774 complies with applicable laws.

In addition to storm shelters, the proposal would also allow bond money to be used for other school security measures. Like the previous proposal, the reduction of revenues going to the GRF would leave lawmakers with less money to appropriate each year to fund the operations of government agencies and salaries of state employees. Annual debt service on a $500 million bond issue which would be paid back over 25 years is estimated at $32 million per year, including $300 million in interest payments.

In May, Oklahomans for Health began gathering signatures on an initiative petition seeking a statewide vote to make medical marijuana use legal in Oklahoma. The proposal would allow doctors to prescribe marijuana for 37 separate ailments including AIDS, arthritis, cancer, chronic pain, migraines, premenstrual syndrome, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, insomnia and severe nausea. It would reclassify marijuana as an herbal drug, which would be regulated by the Oklahoma State Department of Health. It would also create licensing and regulatory rules for cultivation and distribution. There would be a 7 percent tax on medical marijuana sales, with most of the proceeds going to fund the regulatory office. Patients would be required to obtain a medical card signed by a doctor and pay a $125 license fee. Those with a license could possess up to three ounces of marijuana and six marijuana plants. The proposal would make it a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $400 fine for people who don't have a license. There would be a $2,500 fee for businesses to become licensed as dispensaries, growers and packagers.

Oklahoma pro-marijuana advocates are also pushing for a second signature drive to get a legalization issue to a statewide vote. On June 13, a second application for an initiative petition was filed with the Oklahoma secretary of state's office. The second proposal calls full legalization of cannabis, similar to Colorado and Washington. Under the proposal, marijuana would be legal for those age 21and older. The measure provides for the collection of taxes.

The second petition is being led by Democratic State Senator Connie Johnson who has previously filed legislation for legalization and is currently a candidate for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Coburn. The measure would make one ounce or less of marijuana legal. Sen. Johnson's petition goes two steps further than the first petition. It not only legalizes medical marijuana but also industrial hemp and recreational marijuana. Sen. Johnson says recreational use isn't just about allowing people to get high, it's about decriminalizing possession to ease the burden in state prisons. "We're locking up non-violent, marijuana possessing people, giving them felonies and filling up our prisons," Sen. Johnson said. The proposal would allow one ounce or less of marijuana for recreational use, and three ounces for medical reasons. It would provide for a $7.00 tax per ounce of recreational marijuana with 30% of the tax going to the Department of Education, 20% to the Oklahoma City County Health Department, and 50% to the general revenue fund.

Signatures for the school shelter initiative and the first marijuana petition are due in August and the time will run out for the second marijuana petition in September. If the validity of signatures are challenged, certification of the petitions could be delayed beyond the ballot deadline for the November General Election.