Oklahoma Farm Bureau applauds Attorney General Gentner Drummond for his efforts to uphold Oklahoma’s constitutional process to determine fair wages through his opposition to Initiative Petition 446, which would be put to a vote of the people as State Question 832.
Drummond filed a brief Thursday with the Oklahoma Supreme Court in support of the OKFB Legal Foundation’s challenge to Initiative Petition 446, which would establish the state question to raise minimum wage.
Drummond sided with the OKFB Legal Foundation in the brief, calling the measure “an unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority” with intent to delegate legislative power to a federal entity, a practice prohibited by the Oklahoma Constitution.
State Question 832 would increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2029 and annually increase it starting in 2030. The increase would be based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, a projection that inaccurately reflects much of Oklahoma.
“Oklahoma Farm Bureau members regularly visit with their state legislators about important agricultural and rural issues, including fair wages,” said Steve Thompson, OKFB vice president of public policy. “State Question 832 takes away the state legislature’s responsibility to set minimum wage and places it in the hands of a federal government agency. We appreciate Attorney General Drummond for upholding the processes already in place by the Oklahoma Constitution.”
The OKFB Legal Foundation weighed in on State Question 832 in late November, joining the State Chamber of Oklahoma in a formal protest against the issue. OKFB’s grassroots policy, which is voted upon by Farm Bureau members, opposes increasing minimum wage through initiative petitions or referendums.
