Court Opinion

ID: 9550082
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 18:29:07.25378+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:09:51.641854
License: Public Domain

HODGES, Justice
(concurring in part and dissenting in part).
I concur in that part of the opinion that holds the initiative petition has a sufficient number of signatures.
I dissent to that part of the opinion where the court refuses to determine the constitutional question presented by the contestants.
The constitutional question was presented to the Secretary of State and he determined the initiative petition was not in proper form as required by the statutes, and an appeal was taken to this court. Briefs were submitted by both parties and this court heard oral arguments on the constitutional issue without any objection from the proponent.
By necessity included in any proposed amendment to a vote of the people involves the labor and efforts of many people, together with considerable expense to both the proponents and contestants and to the State of Oklahoma in conducting such an election. Where a proposed initiative petition is unconstitutional upon its face then I believe it is vastly important for this court to make such a determination before it is submitted to a vote of the people.
In my opinion the initiative petition is clearly unconstitutional upon its face by reason of Article XXIV, Section 1 of the Oklahoma Constitution which provides that not more than one subject may be presented in a proposed amendment to the Constitution. The proposed initiative petition contains three separate and distinct provisions, to wit (1) liquor by the drink (2) franchising, and (3) advertising.
A proposed constitutional amendment can only include those provisions which are supplemental and necessary to carry out a single scheme for the accomplishment of the basic purpose of the proposal. The basic purpose of the proposed petition is to obtain approval of “liquor by drink.” Neither franchising nor advertising is necessary or supplemental to liquor by the drink, or have anything to do with the details in carrying it out or are otherwise so related as to constitute a single scheme.
Those who approve of “liquor by the drink”, but object to the franchising and advertising portions of the petition are unable to express their constitutional right by the inclusion of the three provisions within one amendment. The provisions of franchising and advertising obscure and thwart the intent of the proposal to submit to a vote of the people the question of liquor by the drink.
The three provisions are clearly separate and distinct and cannot be included within one amendment. I therefore respectfully dissent.