State Chamber on State Question to Raise Minimum Wage Ruling
OKLAHOMA CITY ( March 5, 2024) – The State Chamber of Oklahoma President and CEO Chad Warmington issued the following statement in response to the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s decision to deny, without explanation, The State Chamber and Farm Bureau’s protest of the constitutionality of proposed State Question 832.
“We are disappointed by the court’s decision to let SQ 832 proceed without providing any justification for the reasoning behind the decision. The six justices making this ruling failed to perform one of the most basic duties of their job by refusing to even author a majority opinion that addresses the serious constitutional arguments we raised in our legal challenge. The Court’s ruling ran counter to its own precedent that was directly on point in this case. By failing to provide reasoning that either explains why that precedent is no longer valid or explains why that precedent does not apply to this state question, the Court has sewn confusion and uncertainty in this area of Oklahoma law.
We commend the three justices who seriously grappled with the questions at hand in their written opinions—two agreed with our position and one did not, but all three took seriously their role as justices on the highest court in Oklahoma. The subject at hand is of great consequence to our state, and the people of Oklahoma deserve insight into the logic used by the court’s majority to reach this conclusion. Justice Rowe was spot on in his dissent, saying that the court desired “to have its cake, by allowing the petition to proceed – and eat it too – by blatantly defying our precedent.
The work has begun related to SQ 832. We look forward to a vigorous campaign to educate Oklahomans about the disastrous policy that will crush working families through price increases on the heels of record inflation and put corner stores and family farms out of business.”
Media Contact: Brent Skarky – brent@okstatechamber.com, (405) 818-1939
