In re Initiative Petition No. 384

• Decision Date: 12 June 2007
• Docket Number: No. 103,548.,103,548.
• Citation: 2007 OK 48,164 P.3d 125
• Parties: In re INITIATIVE PETITION NO. 384, State Question No. 731.
• Court: Oklahoma Supreme Court

164 P.3d 125

2007 OK 48

In re INITIATIVE PETITION NO. 384, State Question No. 731.

No. 103,548.

Supreme Court of Oklahoma.

June 12, 2007.

Original Proceeding to Determine the Legality of Initiative Petition No. 384

¶ 0 This is an original proceeding to challenge the sufficiency of Initiative Petition No. 384, State Question No. 731. The petition proposes a new statute requiring school districts to expend 65% of their "operational expenditures" on "classroom instructional expenditures." We hold that the "gist," the short statement placed at the top of each signature page, does not fairly describe the proposed legislation.

INITIATIVE PETITION NO. 384, STATE QUESTION NO. 731, IS DECLARED INVALID AND ORDERED STRICKEN FROM THE BALLOT.

Lee Slater, Oklahoma City, OK, for Petitioner/Proponent First Class Education for Oklahoma.

D. Kent Meyers, Roger A. Stong, Amanda L. Maxfield, Crowe & Dunlevy, Oklahoma City, OK, for Respondents/Protestants Dr. Keith Ballard, Tommy Anderson, Kathleen Brown, Lori A. Burchette, Billy F. Burns, Wesley Crain, Dr. June Ehinger, Vickie Foraker, Willa Jo Fowler, Rick George, Jere Gibson, Lisa G. Gigstad, Richard Gorman, Jeff Johnson, Matt G. Livingood, Glen Lonetree, Eva Martens, Michael Mullins, Jesse Nash, Roger E. Nelson, Eli Oswalt, Frances M. Percival, Beth Schieber, Rodney Schilt, James Smith, Dr. Dan Snell, Mary Spannagel, Don Tice, Edward L. Tillery, John D. Tuttle, Virgil Wells, Sharon Whepley, Joseph E. Williams, Dr. Shirley Woods, and Lesa L. Young.

COLBERT, J.

¶ 1 This initiative petition seeks to add a new section to title 70 of the Oklahoma Statutes. The proposed statute would require school districts to devote 65% of their "operational expenditures" to "classroom instructional expenditures." The petition was filed with the Secretary of State on March 7, 2006, and petition pamphlets containing signatures were submitted on June 5, 2006. The Secretary of State has certified that 165,157 signatures were counted. Because 1,463,758 votes were cast for the state office receiving the highest number of votes in the last general election, 117,101 signatures are necessary to submit the proposed legislation to a vote of the people. Upon receiving the certification by the Secretary of State, this Court found that the signatures submitted by the Proponent appear numerically sufficient and ordered that notice be published to allow anyone protesting the petition to respond. The Protestants filed their protest on August 23, 2006. They and the Proponent, First Class Education for Oklahoma, have fully briefed their positions. The matter now stands submitted for this Court's review.

¶ 2 The right to enact laws by a vote of the people through initiative petition is reserved in article V, section 1 of the Oklahoma Constitution. While this fundamental and precious right is zealously protected by this Court, it is not absolute. In re: Initiative Petition No. 379, 2006 OK 89, ¶¶ 16-17, 155 P.3d 32, 39-40. Any citizen can protest the sufficiency and legality of an initiative petition. Okla. Stat. tit. 34, § 8 (2001). Upon such protest, this Court must review the petition to ensure that it complies with the "parameters of the rights and restrictions [as] established by the Oklahoma Constitution, legislative enactments and this Court's jurisprudence." Petition 379, 2006 OK 89, ¶ 16, 155 P.3d at 39.

¶ 3 The proposed statute would read:

A. This Act shall be known as The First Class Education for Oklahoma Act.

B. A school district shall spend at least sixty-five per cent of its Operational Expenditures on Classroom Instructional Expenditures.

C. A school district that does not spend at least sixty-five per cent of its Operational Expenditures on Classroom Instructional Expenditures in fiscal year 2007 shall for fiscal year 2008 increase the percentage of its Operational Expenditures that it spends on Classroom Instructional Expenditures by at least two per cent each subsequent fiscal year until the school district spends at least sixty-five per cent of its Operational Expenditures on Classroom Instructional Expenditures as required by this Act.

D. A school district shall submit its proposed annual budget to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction who shall verify that the school district's planned Classroom Instructional Expenditures are in compliance with this Act. In addition, the required annual report from each district shall be amended to show the total Classroom Instructional Expenditures as a percentage of the total Operational Expenditures for the year then ended.

E. If the budget submitted pursuant to Section D of this Act indicates that a school district is unable to meet either the requirement prescribed in Section B or the requirement prescribed in Section C of this Act, the district's annual report shall show that it did not comply with this Act for a particular year. The school district may petition the Superintendent of Public Instruction for a one-year waiver from the requirements of Sections B and/or C of this Act. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall notify the school district within thirty days after the submission of the waiver petition whether the Superintendent will grant, deny or grant in part the waiver request.

F. In determining whether or not to grant a full or partial waiver under Section E of this Act, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall consider all of the facts and circumstances including, but not limited to, whether the costs of transportation services are demonstrably higher because of the geographic size of or the distribution of the students throughout the district.

G. The legislature shall determine under what circumstances and to what extent sanctions may be taken or applied against school districts that do not comply with the requirements of this Act.

H. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall develop model plans to assist districts in meeting the requirements of this Act. In particular, it should be the goal of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the State Board of Education, in administering The First Class Education for Oklahoma Act, to provide districts with the tools to meet the requirements of this Act. Nothing in this Act should be construed to require the consolidation of a district with another district or the closing or elimination of any school or school district.

I. For purposes of this Act, "Classroom Instructional Expenditures" means expenditures directly related to classroom instruction, including, but not limited to, instructional staff and instructional materials. "Instructional" shall include activities dealing directly with interaction between students and teachers or other classroom and instructional personnel, special education instruction, tutors, books, classroom computers, general instruction supplies, instructional aides, libraries and librarians, class activities such as field trips, athletics, arts, music and multidisciplinary learning, and extra curricular activities including, but not limited to, drama, sports and band.

J. For purposes of this Act, "Operational Expenditures" means all expenditures made by a school district other than expenditures for capital construction or debt or bond payments, including but not limited to the payment of interest on debt or bonds, and expenditures for facilities' leases and facilities' rental payments.

¶ 4 The Protestants contend this initiative petition is fatally flawed because the proposed statute would violate provisions of Oklahoma's constitution and because the "gist," the description of the proposed statute at the top of each signature page, is misleading and does not sufficiently inform the voter of the proposal. Because we conclude that the gist is legally insufficient, we will refrain from addressing the constitutional issues.¹ State ex rel. Fent v. State ex rel. Okla. Water Res. Bd., 2003 OK 29, ¶ 12, 66 P.3d 432, 439; In re Initiative Petition No. 363, 1996 OK 122, ¶ 13, 927 P.2d 558, 565.

¶ 5 The "gist" is a relative newcomer to Oklahoma's initiative petition process in comparison to the process itself. The statutory language creating the requirement is brief:

A simple statement of the gist of the proposition shall be printed on the top margin of each signature sheet.

Okla. Stat. tit. 34, § 3 (2001). Since the Legislature's creation of the gist requirement in 1985, this Court has discussed its nature in eight opinions. In re Initiative Petition No. 341, 1990 OK 53, 796 P.2d 267; In re Initiative Petition No. 344, 1990 OK 75, 797 P.2d 326; In re Initiative Petition No. 342, 1990 OK 76, 797 P.2d 331; In re Initiative Petition No. 347, 1991 OK 55, 813 P.2d 1019; In re Initiative Petition No. 348, 1991 OK 110, 820 P.2d 772; In re Initiative Petition No. 360, 1994 OK 97, 879 P.2d 810; In re Initiative Petition No. 362, 1995 OK 77, 899 P.2d 1145; and Petition 363, 1996 OK 122, 927 P.2d 558.

¶ 6 In Petition 341, we considered the gist for the first time and distinguished it from the ballot title with its more detailed requirements.² Because the gist was substantially similar to the title we had already determined to be sufficient, the gist was also sufficient. Petition 341, 1990 OK 53, ¶ 25, 796 P.2d at 274.

¶ 7 That same year, this Court declared two initiative petitions invalid, in part because their gists were insufficient. Petition 344, 1990 OK 75, 797 P.2d 326; Petition 342, 1990 OK 76, 797 P.2d 331. In Petition 342, we deemed the gist insufficient because it addressed only a few of the numerous constitutional changes proposed in the petition. While we declared the petition invalid because it violated the single subject rule, Okla. Const. art. V, § 57, we observed that the gist "should be sufficient that the signatories are at least put on notice of the changes being made." Petition 342, 1990 OK 76, ¶ 14, 797 P.2d at 334. A signature on the petition must reflect "the actual intent" of the voter. Id. ¶ 15, 797 P.2d at...