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Leftist groups donate $6.3 million to SQ 805

Two out-of-state Leftist organizations contributed a total of $6,336,852.36 in support of State Question 805, the proposed constitutional amendment that will allow temporarily inconvenienced career criminals to return more rapidly to their vocation of victimizing their neighbors. The two organizations, the ACLU and FWD.US, combined to provide 87% of the...

Posted by Michael Bates on November 2, 2020 12:27 AM

Oklahoma SQ 805: Lighter sentences for career criminals

Oklahoma State Question 805 would insert a new article into the Oklahoma Constitution to ban longer sentences for repeat felony offenders. The question arises from an initiative petition. (UPDATE: On October 30, 2020, I spoke with Jeremie Poplin, filling in for Pat Campbell on Talk Radio 1170 KFAQ, about both...

Posted by Michael Bates on October 20, 2020 9:18 PM

No on SQ802: Arkansas warning

Before Oklahomans foolishly enshrine a new, unfunded and unlimited entitlement into our state constitution (SQ802), we ought to heed the experience of our neighbors to the east. On May 13, 2020, when the Oklahoma legislature was debating a Medicaid expansion bill, Arkansas State Representative Josh Miller, a Republican, wrote a...

Posted by Michael Bates on June 27, 2020 11:01 AM

No on SQ802: Obamacare Medicaid expansion

The only state question on the June 30, 2020, primary ballot is Oklahoma State Question 802. This would create a new Constitutional Amendment, Article XXV-A, requiring the State of Oklahoma to offer Obamacare Medicaid expansion coverage to anyone below a certain income, regardless of the person's work or family status....

Posted by Michael Bates on June 21, 2020 8:12 PM

2018 Oklahoma state questions: Links to the legislation

I'll be on 1170 KFAQ this morning (Monday, October 22, 2018) at 8 a.m. with Pat Campbell to discuss the state questions on Oklahoma's November 2018 general election ballot. Tune into 1170 on your AM dial, or listen live on the internet. (UPDATE: Here is a link to my discussion...

Posted by Michael Bates on October 22, 2018 12:34 AM

SQ 780 & 781: Kunzweiler vs. Steele

Recently on Talk Radio 1170 KFAQ, Pat Campbell hosted a discussion on Oklahoma State Questions 780 and 781 with former State House Speaker Kris Steele, a proponent of the propositions, and Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler, who opposes them. The more I listened to Steele's arguments in favor, the...

Posted by Michael Bates on November 6, 2016 10:13 AM

2016 Oklahoma state question summary

For your convenience, here is a summary of my recommendations for the seven state questions on the 2016 Oklahoma general election ballot. The descriptions are not meant to make my entire argument in three words; they simply serve as a reminder of the topic of the question. The right-hand...

Posted by Michael Bates on November 4, 2016 1:12 PM

Oklahoma Election 2014: FOR State Questions 769, 770, 771

Three questions will be on every ballot in Oklahoma next Tuesday. Two have to do with property taxes; one has to do with whether state officials may also serve in the National Guard and Reserves. None of these questions are controversial, but because they involve amendments to the State Constitution,...

Posted by Michael Bates on October 28, 2014 8:13 PM

Oklahoma Election 2012: Yes on State Question 766

How in the world can you fairly assess the value of intangible property? And if you can't fairly assess it, how in the world can you fairly tax it? That's why Oklahomans should welcome the opportunity to approve SQ 766 and abolish this arbitrary tax which has only been tolerable...

Posted by Michael Bates on November 2, 2012 2:11 AM

YES on SQ 755: A closer look

NOTE: This is what I get for writing at 2 a.m.; I wrote no when I meant YES -- as in vote YES on SQ 755. Thanks to the observant reader who caught it. Oklahoma State Question 755 is another fine example of a proposed constitutional amendment that Ayatollah General...

Posted by Michael Bates on October 29, 2010 12:13 AM

Oklahoma SQ 754: A closer look

I may have been wrong about 754. I made the mistake of believing the ballot title, which appears to be Ayatollah Drew Edmondson's valedictory middle finger to Oklahoma conservative voters. The retiring attorney general, a Democrat, is notable for having three political consultants involved with the popular Taxpayer Bill of...

Posted by Michael Bates on October 26, 2010 10:13 PM

Oklahoma State Questions: some background

This is the first in a planned series on the 11 state questions on the November 2, 2010, Oklahoma general election ballot. In Oklahoma, a state question can be either the result of an initiative petition obtaining the required number of signatures or the legislature referring a matter for the...

Posted by Michael Bates on September 30, 2010 10:39 PM