Opinion ID: 164344
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Certification of the Question of Severability to the Oklahoma Supreme Court

Text: 47 The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, on its own motion pursuant to 10th Cir.R. 27.1 and Okla. Stat. tit. 20, §§ 1601-1611, hereby certifies to the Oklahoma Supreme Court the following unsettled questions of state law which may determine the outcome of the above-captioned action pending before this court: 48 1. Is severability analysis required in light of the preemption of article XXIII, § 1A(B)(1), § 1A(B)(5), § 1A(C), and § 1A(E) (insofar as it enforces § 1A(B)(1), § 1A(B)(5), and § 1A(C)) as to workers covered by the NLRA, as opposed to the invalidation of those provisions? 49 2. If severability analysis is appropriate, are § 1A(B)(1), § 1A(B)(5), § 1A(C), and § 1A(E) (insofar as it enforces § 1A(B)(1), § 1A(B)(5), and § 1A(C)) severable from the non-preempted portions of § 1A? 50 Our statement of the questions is not meant to limit the Oklahoma Supreme Court's inquiry. We acknowledge the Oklahoma Supreme Court's reserved authority to reformulate legal questions presented through the certification procedure. See Okla. Stat. tit. 20, §§ 1602.1, 1604(A)(3). In accordance with § 1604(A)(2), we summarized the relevant factual and procedural background above. We summarize below the parties arguments regarding severability and the considerations which guided this court to certify the severability question to the Oklahoma Supreme Court. 51 The parties are in substantial disagreement as to the content of Oklahoma's law of severability as it applies to constitutional amendments adopted by ballot referendum. Plaintiffs argue that the district court erred by invoking Okla. Stat. tit. 75, § 11a to hold that a presumption of severability applies to article XXIII, § 1A. They note that the Oklahoma Constitution draws a distinction between statutes enacted by the Oklahoma Legislature and the process of the Oklahoma Legislature referring a proposed constitutional amendment to the people for approval. Compare Okla. Const. art. V (defining Legislative authority, vesting that authority in the Legislature, subject to the reservation of certain powers in the people, and describing the extent of that authority), with Okla. Const. art. XXIV (describing the processes by which the Oklahoma Constitution can be amended). Nothing in the Oklahoma Constitution, plaintiffs note, classifies the process of referring a constitutional amendment to the people for approval as an act or statute. In contrast, they argue, Okla. Stat. tit. 75, § 11a, entitled Construction of statutes—Severability, sets forth rules for the construction of the statutes of this state, and is contained in title 75, which governs Statutes and Reports and otherwise establishes how the Oklahoma Legislature may enact statutes. Plaintiffs assert that this is the reason the Oklahoma Supreme Court has never applied Okla Stat. tit. 75, § 11a to a ballot measure or the Oklahoma Constitution. In sharp contrast to the approach adopted by the district court, plaintiffs assert that the proper severability analysis is contained in In re Initiative Petition No. 347, 813 P.2d 1019, 1030 (Okla.1991). They assert this case establishes that the partial invalidation of a ballot measure renders the remainder of a ballot measure invalid unless the proposed law contains a severability provision and the questioned provisions could be eliminated without impairing the effect of the act. Id. Because SQ 695 does not contain a severability clause, and because article XXIII, § 1A sets out a unified regulatory scheme, plaintiffs argue that the preemption of portions of § 1A renders the entirety of § 1A invalid. 14 52 In response, defendants assert that the preemption of any particular portion of article XXIII, § 1A does not render that provision invalid. Instead, they note that in any case in which an individual was not subject to the primary jurisdiction of the NLRB, Oklahoma could act pursuant to § 1A(B)(1) and § 1A(E). 53 Assuming severability analysis is appropriate, defendants assert the district court was correct to apply Okla. Stat. tit. 75, § 11a's presumption of severability to article XXIII, § 1A. They note the Oklahoma Supreme Court has specifically stated that the provisions of the Oklahoma Constitution should be construed using the usual rules of statutory construction. Cowart v. Piper Aircraft Corp., 665 P.2d 315, 317 (Okla.1983). Accordingly, they contend that Cowart mandates the application of Okla. Stat. tit. 75, § 11a to the question of the severability of article XXIII, § 1A. Defendants also assert that there is no special severability standard for ballot measure votes. They distinguish Initiative Petition 347 on the ground that it relied on a pre-election challenge to an initiative petition. Defendants assert that Initiative Petition 347 stands only for the limited proposition that when a proposed law contains a severability clause, a challenge to the law will not be considered until the initiative is approved by the voters. According to defendants, the case makes no mention of the consequences had the initiative petition not contained a severability clause. 54 In light of the divergent lines of state authority potentially applicable to the severability analysis of article XXIII, § 1A, the absence of Oklahoma case law involving the question of severability of a ballot referendum which does not contain a severability clause, and the considerable importance of the issues raised in this case, this court seeks the authoritative guidance of the Oklahoma Supreme Court on the questions articulated above. 55
56 We order this appeal abated and further proceedings in this court stayed pending resolution of the questions certified above. We direct the Clerk of this Court to transmit a copy of this certification order to the parties and to forward a copy of this order, together with the parties' briefs (which also display the names and addresses of counsel of record, see Okla. Stat. tit. 20, § 1604(A)(4)), to the Oklahoma Supreme Court pursuant to Okla. Stat. tit. 20, § 1603.1.