Voters send message to lawmakers

In rejecting two state questions this week, Oklahoma voters made it known they are not keen on amending the state constitution to enact policy changes and that they like the existing setup of the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust. The Legislature should take heed.

Voters resoundingly defeated State Questions 805 and 814 on Tuesday, the former by a margin of 61% to 39% and the other by 59-41.

SQ 805 sought to prohibit judges and prosecutors from using sentence enhancements to lengthen the time that repeat, nonviolent offenders spend behind bars beyond the maximum times provided in state law. It got to the ballot via an initiative petition drive led by Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform, a bipartisan group that succeeded in getting voters to back two reform measures in 2016. Supporters of 805 cited data showing Oklahoma inmates spend significantly longer incarcerated for property crimes and drug crimes, compared with other states, due to sentence enhancements, and that approving 805 would reduce the prison population and save millions of dollars.

The Yes on 805 campaign spent at least $8 million from July to October, much of that coming from the American Civil Liberties Union and FWD.US. The group Oklahomans United Against 805 said it raised less than $200,000; it included district attorneys, members of law enforcement, advocates for victims of domestic abuse, and others.

Rodd Moesel, president of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau and a member of the coalition that opposed 805, said he grew more hopeful about the outcome in the closing weeks. “Voters agreed this shouldn't be in our constitution and this isn't the right kind of criminal justice reform,” he said.

The campaign's treasurer, Marc Nuttle, said there was no need to amend the state constitution “when there are legislative solutions to address the problem.”

“Everything we need in reform right now we can do in the Legislature, and that is the course we should pursue,” he said. Lawmakers should get busy doing just that.

They also will need to seek another funding source to help pay for Medicaid expansion, which Oklahoma voters approved narrowly in June.

SQ 814 would have changed the way the state divides money paid out each year by tobacco companies. Currently, TSET gets 75% of the annual check and the Legislature and attorney general's office split the remainder. SQ 814 would have given the Legislature 75%, to be used to draw down federal matching funds for Medicaid, with TSET getting 25%.

Proponents of 814 said the change was needed to help cover Medicaid costs and that TSET would not be adversely affected. Voters clearly declared that they believe TSET is an example of one thing Oklahoma has gotten right, and that lawmakers, who have had TSET in their sights for years, need to look elsewhere for solutions.