Oklahoma's top court: Challenge to teacher pay tax 'insufficient'

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled Friday that an initiative petition that would overturn a package of tax hikes for funding teacher pay raises and public schools is invalid.

In a divided ruling, Oklahoma’s highest court said the proposed referendum “is legally insufficient” and ordered that the initiative petition not appear on the general election ballot in November.

The court’s majority opinion said a brief description of the proposal that appears on signature pages is insufficient and the measure’s proposed ballot title is misleading.

“The gist of the petition is not in keeping with the language of the petition itself” and “is fundamentally misleading to potential signatories,” the court ruled in a 6-2 decision, with one justice concurring only in part.

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