Case Title: OKLAHOMA INDEPENDENT PETROLEUM ASSOCIATION v. POTTS

Citation: 

Docket Number: 116679

State: oklahoma

Court: Oklahoma Supreme Court

Date: 2018-03-19T00:00:00Z

Document:
OKLAHOMA INDEPENDENT PETROLEUM ASSOCIATION v. POTTS  OKLAHOMA INDEPENDENT PETROLEUM ASSOCIATION v. POTTS 2018 OK 24 Case Number: 116679 Decided: 03/19/2018 THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA NOTICE: THIS OPINION HAS NOT BEEN RELEASED FOR PUBLICATION. UNTIL RELEASED, IT IS SUBJECT TO REVISION OR WITHDRAWAL. OKLAHOMA INDEPENDENT PETROLEUM ASSOCIATION, S. KIM HATFIELD, and LUKE ESSMAN, Petitioners, v. RAY H. POTTS, MICHAEL O. THOMPSON, and MARY LYNN PEACHER, Respondents. ORIGINAL PROCEEDING TO DETERMINE THE CONSTITUTIONAL VALIDITY OF INITIATIVE PETITION NO. 416, STATE QUESTION NO. 795 ¶0 This is an original proceeding to determine the legal sufficiency of Initiative Petition No. 416, State Question No. 795. The petition seeks to amend the Oklahoma Constitution by adopting Article XIII-C, a new Article. The proposed Article XIII-C would primarily serve to increase funding for public education through an increase in the gross production tax. The opponent petitioners allege the petition is unconstitutional because it creates a retroactive tax in violation of U.S. Const. amend. V. and because it violates the one general subject rule of Okla. Const. art. 24, § 1. Upon review, we hold that the petition is legally sufficient. INITIATIVE PETITION NO. 416, STATE QUESTION NO. 795 IS LEGALLY SUFFICIENT FOR SUBMISSION TO THE PEOPLE OF OKLAHOMA Robert G. McCampbell, Adam C. Doverspike, and Jake M. Krattiger, GableGotwals, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for Petitioners. Anthony J. Ferate, Edmond, Oklahoma, for Petitioner Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association. Joel L. Wohlgemuth, Ryan A. Ray, Alix R. Newman, Norman Wohlgemuth Chandler Jeter Barnett & Ray, P.C., Tulsa, Oklahoma, for Respondents. COMBS, C.J. ¶1 On December 20, 2017, Respondents Michael O. Thompson, Ray H. Potts, and Mary Lynn Peacher (collectively, Proponents) filed Initiative Petition No. 416, State Question No. 795 (IP 416) with the Oklahoma Secretary of State. IP 416 would create a new Article XIII-C in the Oklahoma Constitution. IP 416 contains 8 sections, which Proponents assert will levy a new 5% gross production tax on oil and gas production from certain wells, and provide for the deposit of the proceeds primarily in a new fund entitled the "Oklahoma Quality Instruction Fund" (the Fund). Monies from the Fund will be distributed: 1) 90% to common school districts of the State of Oklahoma to increase compensation and benefits for certified personnel, and the hiring, recruitment and retention thereof; and 2) 10% to the State Department of Education to promote school readiness, and to support compensation for instructors and other instructional expenses in "high-quality early learning centers" for at-risk children prior to entry into the common education system. ¶2 Section 1 of IP 416 creates the Fund. Section 2 creates the Oklahoma Quality Instruction Reserve Fund to ensure the Fund always has sufficient resources, and provides mechanisms for the transfer of monies. Section 3 levies a 5% tax on the gross value of the production of oil, gas, or oil and gas from all oil and gas wells spudded after July 1, 2015, during the first thirty-six months of production, commencing with the month of first production, from and after the effective date of the article. Section 4 provides for a $4,000 increase in compensation for certified personnel, including teachers, but excluding superintendents and assistant superintendents. Section 5 provides for the distribution of funds according to the percentage scheme noted in the previous paragraph above. Section 6 attempts to ensure that the new funds will be used to supplement existing funding rather than supplant it, and grants the Board of Equalization the power to specify the amount that was supplanted or replaced, preventing the Legislature from making appropriations until it makes an appropriation to replace the supplanted amount. Sections 7 and 8 provide an effective date and severability provision, respectively. ¶3 On January 10, 2018, Petitioners Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association, S. Kim Hatfield, and Luke Essman (collectively, Protestants), timely filed an Application to Assume Original Jurisdiction in this Court protesting the sufficiency of IP 416 and the basis that it fails to pass constitutional muster. I. STANDARD OF REVIEW ¶4 "The first power reserved by the people is the initiative...." Okla. Const. art. 5, § 2; In re Initiative Petition No. 409, State Question No. 785, 2016 OK 51, ¶2, 376 P.3d 250; In re Initiative Petition No. 403, State Question No. 779, 2016 OK 1, ¶3, 367 P.3d 472. With that reservation comes "the power to propose laws and amendments to the Constitution and to enact or reject the same at the polls independent of the Legislature, and also reserve power at their own option to approve or reject at the polls any act of the Legislature." Okla. Cost. art. 5, § 1; In re Initiative Petition No. 409, 2016 OK 51 at ¶2; In re Initiative Petition No. 403, 2016 OK 1 at ¶3. "The right of the initiative is precious, and it is one which this Court is zealous to preserve to the fullest measure of the spirit and the letter of the law." In re Initiative Petition No. 382, State Question No. 729, 2006 OK 45, ¶3, 142 P.3d 400 . See In re Initiative Petition No. 349, State Question No. 642, 1992 OK 122, ¶35, 838 P.2d 1 . ¶5 However, while the fundamental and precious right of initiative petition is zealously protected by this Court, it is not absolute. Any citizen can protest the sufficiency and legality of an initiative petition. In re Initiative Petition No. 409, 2016 OK 51 at ¶2; In re Initiative Petition No. 384, State Question No. 731, 2007 OK 48, ¶2, 164 P.3d 125 . "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.'" In re Initiative Petition No. 384, 2007 OK 48 at ¶2 (quoting In re Initiative Petition No. 379, State Question No. 726, 2006 OK 89, ¶16, 155 P.3d 32). ¶6 This Court has generally refused to declare a ballot initiative invalid in advance of a vote of the people except where there is a clear or manifest showing of unconstitutionality. In re Initiative Petition No. 403, 2016 OK 1 at ¶3; In re Initiative Petition No. 358, State Question No. 658, 1994 OK 27, ¶7, 870 P.2d 782 . We have repeatedly emphasized both how vital the right of initiative is to the people of Oklahoma, as well as the degree to which we must protect it: "Because the right of the initiative is so precious, all doubt as to the construction of pertinent provisions is resolved in favor of the initiative. The initiative power should not be crippled, avoided, or denied by technical construction by the courts." In re Initiative Petition No. 403, 2016 OK 1 at ¶3 (quoting In re Initiative Petition No. 382, 2006 OK 45 at ¶3). Accordingly, Opponents in this matter bear the burden of demonstrating the proposed initiative petition is clearly and manifestly unconstitutional. In re Initiative Petition No. 403, 2016 OK 1 at ¶3; In re Initiative Petition No. 362, State Question No. 669, 1995 OK 77, ¶12, 899 P.2d 1145 . II. ANALYSIS ¶7 Opponents in this matter allege IP 416 is insufficient and must not be submitted to the voters as it stands because it is unconstitutional. Opponents challenge the constitutionality of IP 416 on two grounds: 1) Section 3 of IP 416 creates a retroactive tax in violation of U.S. Const. amend. V; and 2) IP 416 violates the single-subject requirements of Okla. Const. art. 24, § 1. A. The new article proposed by IP 416 does not create a retroactive tax in violation of U.S. Const. amend. V. ¶8 Opponents assert that IP 416 is unconstitutional because, due to a potential drafting error, the new proposed article creates a retroactive tax in violation of U.S. Const. amend. V. 1 The alleged issue is the language of section 3, which provides in pertinent part: There is hereby levied a Gross Production Tax of five percent (5%) on the gross value of the production of oil, gas or oil and gas from all oil and gas wells spudded after July 1, 2015, during the first thirty-six (36) months of production, commencing with the month of first production, from and after the effective date of this Article XIII. (Emphasis added). ¶9 Opponents allege that because the last sentence of the above-quoted portion of IP 416 specifies "this Article XIII" and not "this Article XIII-C," the tax provision is effective from the effective date of Article XIII and not the new Article XIII-C, creating a retroactive tax because Article XIII has been in effect in various forms for decades. Under Opponents interpretation, the new Article would levy a new five percent tax on the gross value of the production of oil, gas, or oil and gas from all oil and gas wells spudded after July 1, 2015, for the first thirty-six months of production, applicable all the way back to July 1, 2015, itself.2 ¶10 Because of this problem, Opponents argue IP 416 will levy a retroactive tax in violation of U.S. Const. amend. V, as interpreted by the Supreme Court of the United States. In U.S. v. Carlton, 512 U.S. 26 , 30-31, 114 S. Ct. 2018, 129 L. Ed. 2d 22 (1994), the Court stated that any retroactive tax legislation must: 1) be supported by a legitimate legislative purpose furthered by rational means; and 2) the period of retroactivity must be modest, lest it run afoul of U.S. Const. amend. V. The Carlton Court upheld as constitutional a piece of retroactive tax legislation that it viewed as curative, and therefore reasonable, with a moderate period of retroactivity: We conclude that the 1987 amendment's retroactive application meets the requirements of due process. First, Congress' purpose in enacting the amendment was neither illegitimate nor arbitrary. Congress acted to correct what it reasonably viewed as a mistake in the original 1986 provision that would have created a significant and unanticipated revenue loss. There is no plausible contention that Congress acted with an improper motive, as by targeting estate representatives such as Carlton after deliberately inducing them to engage in ESOP transactions. Congress, of course, might have chosen to make up the unanticipated revenue loss through general prospective taxation, but that choice would have burdened equally "innocent" taxpayers. Instead, it decided to prevent the loss by denying the deduction to those who had made purely tax-motivated stock transfers. We cannot say that its decision was unreasonable. 512 U.S. at 32.3 ¶11 Opponents admit that the reference to Article XIII rather than Article XIII-C may be a typographical error, but argue this Court lacks the authority to redraft a petition in the same way it is allowed to redraft a ballot title per 34 O.S. Supp. 2015 § 10.4 Opponents argue the only remedy is to declare IP 416 insufficient and allow the proponents of the petition to withdraw it and refile pursuant to 34 O.S. Supp. 2015 8(E).5 ¶11 However, this Court need not determine if the tax levied by IP 416 satisfies the requirements of Carlton, because an interpretation of IP 416 is possible that prevents any retroactive application of the tax provision. Further, such an interpretation is possible without this Court redrafting any part of the petition. ¶12 Proponents argue that there was no drafting error and the only reasonable interpretation of the language of Section three is that the effective date is that of the new article, Article XIII-C. Proponents focus on specific language: "from and after the effective date of this Article XIII." They argue use of the term "this" necessarily is self-referencing, and thus as drafted the tax must begin from the effective date of this Article XIII, which is Article XIII-C. Such an interpretation removes any retroactivity problem: per Section 7, the effective date of Article XIII-C will be the January 1 following the article's passage or the first day of the calendar month which is at least sixty days after the article's passage, whichever is sooner. ¶12 Under Proponents interpretation, should the article be adopted, on the effective date in Section 7, the tax will begin to be levied on the production from all oil and gas wells spudded after July 1, 2015, for however much of their first thirty-six (36) months of production still remains after the effective date. Given how Section 3 of IP 416 is worded, this is not the only possible interpretation of the language in question. However, it is the interpretation that avoids any potential retroactive application of the tax in question that might invalidate the provision on constitutional grounds. Because the right of the initiative is so precious, all doubt as to the construction of pertinent provisions is resolved in favor of the initiative. In re Initiative Petition No. 403, 2016 OK 1 at ¶3; In re Initiative Petition No. 382, 2006 OK 45 at ¶3. ¶13 The above rule is consistent with how this Court has long-handled constitutional challenges in other areas such as statutes, and indeed, is perhaps more forgiving due to the precious nature of the people's right to initiative. In Calvey v. Daxon, this Court explained of constitutional challenges to legislation: If there are two possible interpretations --- one of which would hold the legislation unconstitutional, the construction must be applied which renders them constitutional. Unless a law is shown to be fraught with constitutional infirmities beyond a reasonable doubt, this Court is "bound to accept an interpretation that avoids constitutional doubt as to the validity of the provision." 2000 OK 17, ¶24, 997 P.2d 164 (quoting In Re: Okla. Capitol Improv., 1998 OK 25, ¶8, 958 P.2d 759) (footnotes omitted). The ambiguous meaning of the pertinent provision of Section 3 is resolved in favor of an interpretation that does not create a retroactive tax in violation of U.S. Const. amend. V. B. The new article proposed by IP 416 does not violate the single-subject requirements of Okla. Const. art. 24, § 1. ¶14 Petitioners also assert IP 416 is legally insufficient because the proposed article violates the single-subject requirements of Okla. Const. art. 24, § 1.6 Proposed amendments to the Oklahoma Constitution, even when made by article, must still embrace a single general subject. See In re Initiative Petition No. 403, State Question No. 779, 2016 OK 1, ¶¶1-2, 367 P.3d 472; In re Initiative Petition No. 342, State Question No. 628, 1990 OK 76, ¶¶1-4 797 P.2d 331 ; In re Initiative Petition No. 344, State Question No. 630, 1990 OK 75, ¶¶2-5, 797 P.2d 326 . This Court applies a germaneness test to initiative petitions that seek to amend the Oklahoma Constitution by article, in order to determine whether they embrace a single general subject. In re Initiative Petition No. 403, 2016 OK 1 at ¶5; In re Initiative Petition No. 363, State Question No. 672, 1996 OK 122, ¶15, 927 P.2d 558 .7 In In re In re Initiative Petition No. 363, the Court described the test in the following manner: [W]hen the proposed constitutional amendment is by a new article the test for gauging multiplicity of subjects is whether the changes proposed are all germane to a singular common subject and purpose or are essentially unrelated one to another. When testing a proposed constitutional amendment for its components' germaneness, we look to whether each of its several facets bears a common concern or impacts one general object or subject. 1996 OK 122, ¶¶15-16, 927 P.2d 558 . ¶15 Fairly recently, this Court applied the germaneness test to a substantially similar initiative petition to IP 416, and determined that the initiative petition in question did not violate the single-subject requirements of Okla. Const. art. 24, § 1. In re Initiative Petition No. 403, 2016 OK 1 at ¶2. The proposal at issue in that cause would have funded a constitutionally-set teacher pay raise via a new sales tax, as opposed to a new gross production tax. In re Initiative Petition No. 403, 2016 OK 1 at ¶11. The proposed Article XIII-C at issue in that cause would also have distributed the funds to more sources and for more educational funding purposes: In the case before us, the proposed Article 13-C consists of seven sections. Section 1 creates the Oklahoma Education Improvement Fund. Section 2 levies an additional 1% sales and use tax with "[a]ll revenue from the sales tax and the use tax levied" being used to fund the Oklahoma Education Improvement Fund created by Section 1. Section 3 directs the percentage distribution of the monies in the Fund for certain educational purposes including, common education (69.5%), higher education (19.25%), career and technology education (3.25%), and early childhood education (8%). Section 4 provides for a $5,000 increase in teacher salaries to be funded with 86.33% of the common education distribution under Section 3. Section 5 directs that funds "expended or distributed from the Oklahoma Education Improvement Fund shall supplement, and shall not be used to supplant or replace, other state funds" supporting education. Section 5 also directs the State Board of Equalization to "examine and investigate appropriations from the Fund each year," and if it finds that education funding was supplanted by monies from the Fund, the State Board of Equalization must "specify the amount by which education funding was supplanted." If education funding was supplanted by monies from the Fund, Section 5 directs that "the Legislature shall not make any appropriations for the ensuing fiscal year until an appropriation in that amount is made to replenish the Oklahoma Education Improvement Fund." Section 6 provides the effective date of the proposed amendment, and Section 7 provides a severability clause. In re Initiative Petition No. 403, 2016 OK 1 at ¶11 (footnotes omitted). The similarities between the two proposals are readily apparent from the above description. ¶16 Opponents assert IP 416 is distinguishable from Initiative Petition No. 403, described above, and make several arguments as to why IP 416 violates the single-subject requirements of Okla. Const. art. 24, § 1. Opponents argue IP 416: 1) creates an unprecedented constitutionally-mandated pay raise for one profession; 2) reverses a 2014 legislative compromise that the oil and natural gas industry relied upon in drilling wells; 3) applies a retroactive tax to wells drilled in reliance upon that compromise; 4) targets for taxation an industry that the Legislature has historically set taxes on itself; 5) targets only one industry that is particularly important to Oklahoma's economy; 6) levies a tax within the Oklahoma Constitution itself; and 7) improperly rearranges the separation of powers by vesting new authority over legislative appropriations in the Board of Equalization. ¶17 Opponents stress the unique nature of the changes proposed by IP 416 as the reason it embraces more than one general subject. For example, Opponents stress it creates a new constitutional pay raise for all certified education personnel, written into the Oklahoma Constitution, which has never been done before. Opponents do not appear to argue that the Constitution cannot contain such a provision, but that the unique nature of the changes in and off itself gives rise to a single subject that must be considered on its own. ¶18 Opponents also take issue with the gross production tax imposed by IP 416 that will fund the increased pay for all certified personnel. Opponents argue that the effect of IP 416 is to undo recent legislation passed in 2014 that altered the gross production tax, and negatively affects those who relied on what they describe as a "legislative compromise." They also assert the new tax is effectively retroactive because it applies to production on wells drilled after July 1, 2015. As discussed in Part II.A, supra, the tax in question is not in fact retroactive, as it will not be applied to production prior to the effective date of the new Article XIII-C. However, Opponents still argue the tax will be applied to some production on wells drilled based on the assumption of a lower gross production tax, and this momentous shift justifies the new gross production tax being treated as a separate subject. Similarly, Opponents stress the constitutional nature of the tax and its targeting of one specific industry that is very important to Oklahoma as other reasons for why the new gross production tax constitutes a single subject that voters should consider on its own. ¶19 What Opponents present to this Court, however, are at their root policy arguments concerning IP 416. Arguments concerning whether the changes to be written into the Oklahoma Constitution by IP 416 are advisable are best made to Oklahoma voters, not to this Court. Under a single-subject analysis of a new proposed amendment by article, this Court looks to the proposed changes to determine if they are all germane to a singular common subject and purpose or are essentially unrelated one to another, not to whether they are novel or ill-advised. See In re In re Initiative Petition No. 363, 1996 OK 122 at ¶15. ¶20 This Court's recent decision in In re Initiative Petition No. 403, 2016 OK 1 at ¶12, is highly instructive. This Court explained of that initiative petition: The subject of the proposed amendment is the Oklahoma Education Improvement Fund. Each section of the proposed amendment is "'reasonably interrelated and interdependent, forming an interlocking "package"'" [sic] deemed necessary by the initiatives' drafters to assure effective public education improvement funding. Proponents drafted the petition with each component being necessary to the accomplishment of one general design. The proposal stands or falls as a whole. For example, if a voter agrees that the Oklahoma Education Improvement Fund should be created but does not agree that an additional one cent sales tax is the appropriate funding mechanism to do so, then the voter must choose whether to approve the proposal based on such considerations. If, on the other hand, a voter agrees that an additional one cent sales tax is the appropriate funding mechanism to fund the Oklahoma Education Improvement Fund, but does not agree with the percentage distribution of the monies as set forth in Section 3, then again, the voter must choose whether to approve the proposal based on such considerations. Such choices are the consequence of the voting process rather than any constitutional defect in the proposal. The proposed initiative petition clearly constitutes a single scheme to be presented to voters, and each section is germane to creating and implementing the Oklahoma Education Improvement Fund. In re Initiative Petition No. 403, 2016 OK 1 at ¶12 (footnotes omitted). Much like the proposal in In re Initiative Petition No. 403, each section of the new proposed article in IP 416 is reasonably interrelated and interdependent, forming an interlocking package to achieve the goal of improving public education funding. Here, rather than the "Oklahoma Education Improvement Fund," we have the "Oklahoma Quality Instruction Fund." The type of tax levied is different, and the fund distribution is not identical (it is less complex and varied, in fact). However, the logic by which this Court determined each section of Initiative Petition No. 403 to be germane to creating and implementing its fund applies equally here. Each component was deemed by the drafters necessary to accomplish one general design, to improve funding for public education. Hard choices, such as determining whether the new gross production tax amount is the appropriate funding mechanism for the proposed increases in education funding, are the consequence of the voting process. They are not a constitutional defect. ¶21 Opponents' arguments concerning the powers granted to the Board of Equalization by the proposed new article are unpersuasive for similar reasons. Opponents discuss the hypothetical effects the powers granted to the Board of Equalization might have on the entire state budgeting process, asserting that when there is a budget shortfall, "education funding" would be required to be held constant resulting in a situation where "millions of dollars of additional cuts will have to be suffered by other agencies." Brief In Support of Application and Petition to Assume Original Jurisdiction and Review the Constitutionality of Initiative Petition No. 416, p.12. They also assert these powers are novel and would negatively affect the balance of separation of powers in Oklahoma. ¶22 These arguments, however, are almost identical to those made by the petitioners in In re Initiative Petition No. 403 and rejected by this Court. Concerning the speculative nature of the effect on the appropriations process, we noted: [A]ny suggestion ... that the implementation of the Education Improvement Fund would negatively affect the legislative appropriations process or usurp legislative fiscal policy-making is entirely speculative at this point. We decline, at the pre-election stage, to declare the proposal unconstitutional on nothing more than speculation. In re Initiative Petition No. 403, 2016 OK 1 at ¶17 (footnotes omitted). Further, Opponents' arguments in this cause ignore the fact that the Board of Equalization already possesses much of the same power proposed by IP 416, pursuant to Okla. Const. art. 10, § 41 and other statutory provisions. ¶23 This Court described those powers in some detail in In re Initiative Petition No. 403. For purposes of comparison, that explanation is worth restating at length here: In the case before us, opponents argue the proposal is misleading because voters will "think they are voting for teacher pay raises, when in fact, they are voting to significantly change our state's fiscal structure to give the Board of Equalization control over their local Representative and Senators deciding on education appropriations." This argument ignores the powers already conferred to the State Board of Equalization in the Oklahoma Constitution. Article 10, § 21 of the Oklahoma Constitution provides that the duty of the State Board of Equalization "shall be to adjust and equalize the valuation of real and personal property of the several counties in the state, and it shall perform such other duties as may be prescribed by law . . . ." Okla. Const. Art. 10, § 21(A) (emphasis added). In Art. 10, § 23, entitled "Balanced Budget," Section 23(1) states that "prior to the convening of each regular session of the Legislature, the State Board of Equalization shall certify the total amount of revenue which accrued during the last preceding fiscal year to the General Revenue Fund and to each Special Revenue Fund appropriated directly by the Legislature, and shall further certify amounts available for appropriation . . . of the revenues to be received by the state under the laws in effect at the time such determination is made, for the next ensuing fiscal year . . . ." Article 10, § 23(2) goes on to provide that "[t]he Legislature shall not pass or enact any bill, act or measure making an appropriation of money for any purpose until such certification is made and filed. . . ." All appropriations made in excess of such certification shall be "null and void" unless the Legislature follows certain specific procedures to adjust the certification amount. In Art. 10, § 41, entitled the Oklahoma Education Lottery Trust Fund, the State Board of Equalization acts "to ensure that the funds from the trust fund are used to enhance and not supplant funding for education," and "examine[s] and investigate[s] appropriations from the trust fund each year." Art. 10, § 41(D). The State Board of Equalization "shall issue a finding and report which shall state whether appropriations from the trust fund were used to enhance or supplant education funding. If the State Board of Equalization finds that education funding was supplanted by funds from the trust fund, the Board shall specify the amount by which education funding was supplanted. In this event, the Legislature shall not make any appropriations for the ensuing fiscal year until an appropriation in that amount is made to replenish the trust fund." Id. In Section 1521 of Title 69, which creates the Rebuilding Oklahoma Access and Driver Safety Fund, the State Board of Equalization also acts to "ensure that the funds from the ROADS Fund are used to enhance and not supplant state funding for the Department of Transportation," and "the State Board of Equalization shall examine and investigate expenditures from the fund each year." 69 O.S. Supp. 2013 § 1521(E). If the State Board of Equalization finds that funds were used to supplant state funding for the Department of Transportation, the Board "shall specify the amount by which such funding was supplanted," and in this event, "the Legislature shall not make any appropriations for the ensuing fiscal year until an appropriation in that amount is made to replenish state funding for the Department of Transportation." The State Board of Equalization already examines the General Revenue Fund and each Special Revenue Fund and certifies to the Legislature the amounts available for appropriation in the upcoming fiscal year. The State Board of Equalization audits the Lottery Education Fund in the same way it would audit the Education Improvement Fund. The Lottery Education Fund was proposed and passed by the people in 2004. In re Initiative Petition No. 403, 2016 OK 1 at ¶¶14-17 (footnotes omitted). ¶24 Opponents fail to demonstrate that the changes proposed by IP 416 are not all germane to a singular common subject and purpose. IP 416, much like Initiative Petition No. 403 on which it is obviously modelled, does not constitute logrolling and constitutes a single scheme to be presented to the voters of the State of Oklahoma. III. CONCLUSION ¶25 After fully considering Opponents' two constitutional challenges, this Court concludes that the new article proposed by IP 416 does not create a retroactive tax in violation of U.S. Const. amend. V and does not violate the single-subject requirements of Okla. Const. art. 24, § 1. It is the determination of this Court that IP 416 is legally sufficient for submission to the people of Oklahoma. Any petition for rehearing in this matter shall be filed no later than five (5) days from the date this opinion is handed down. INITIATIVE PETITION NO. 416, STATE QUESTION NO. 795 IS LEGALLY SUFFICIENT FOR SUBMISSION TO THE PEOPLE OF OKLAHOMA CONCUR: COMBS, C.J., GURICH, V.C.J., KAUGER (by separate writing), WINCHESTER, EDMONDSON, and REIF, JJ. CONCUR SPECIALLY: WYRICK, J. (by separate writing) RECUSED: COLBERT, J. FOOT