OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond is expected to oppose a proposed state question that seeks to increase the minimum wage.
The State Chamber and the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Legal Foundation filed a protest to the petition in the Oklahoma Supreme Court on Nov. 20.
Earlier this week, Drummond gave notice of his intent to express his views on the matter.
“The State, like this Court, has a compelling interest in preventing costly and unnecessary elections for proposals that manifest constitutional infirmities and other legal deficiencies,” the notice says.
Phil Bacharach, a Drummond spokesman, said he would anticipate the filing of a brief supportive of the petitioners’ position that the proposed State Question 832 is unconstitutional.
Supporters of increasing the minimum wage filed paperwork on Oct. 27 with the Secretary of State’s Office indicating an intent to circulate an initiative petition to get the measure on the ballot. They need at least 92,263 signatures.
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Legislative efforts to increase the minimum wage in recent years failed to secure approval.
The state’s current minimum wage — $7.25 an hour — is tied to the federal minimum wage. If the question gets on the ballot and is approved, the state’s minimum wage would gradually rise to $15 per hour by 2029.
Increases in additional years would be tied to hikes in the cost of living, if any, as determined by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Consumer Price Index.
Protestors allege that because the cost of living is set by the federal government, the minimum wage would be determined by unelected federal officials in violation of the Oklahoma Constitution.
The petition attempts to delegate the legislative power of Oklahoma in a manner that is clearly unconstitutional, the State Chamber and Oklahoma Farm Bureau Legal Foundation’s protest says. Oklahomans would have little power to challenge the Consumer Price Index determination that would govern the state’s minimum wage, the protest also says.
“Protestants/Petitioners include both citizens of Oklahoma and organizations of employers, including small business owners, farmers, and other companies that provide hundreds of thousands of Oklahomans with employment,” the protest brief says. “Initiative Petition 446 threatens to raise their prices, reduces their ability to employ as many workers as they do now, and undermines the viability of their businesses.”
The protestors also allege that the gist of the initiative petition is misleading because it suggests that the petition would amend the law to exempt federal workers when they are already exempt.
Amber England, Raise the Wage Oklahoma spokeswoman, said the costs of groceries, gas and housing are skyrocketing. Despite working full time, hundreds of thousands of families struggle to get by, she said.
“If the monied interests behind the State Chamber want to be on record opposing giving hard-working Oklahomans a raise, that’s on them,” she said. “Raise the Wage Oklahoma stands firm in our belief that Oklahomans who work for a living should earn a living.”
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