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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
SENATE JOINT
RESOLUTION 8 By: Hamilton
AS INTRODUCED
A Joint Resolution directing th e Secretary of State
to refer to the peopl e for their approval or
rejection a proposed amendmen t to the Oklahoma
Constitution by adding a new Section 9C to Article V;
modifying apportionment of state senate districts;
requiring certain considerations; maintaining four-
year terms for state senators ; providing ballot
title; and directing filing.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE O F REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
1ST SESSION OF THE 59TH OKLAHOMA LEGISLATURE:
SECTION 1. The Secretary of State shall refer to the people for
their approval or rejection, as and in the manner pro vided by law,
the following proposed amendment t o the Oklahoma Constitution by
adding a new Section 9C of Article V of the Oklahoma Constitution to
read as follows:
Section 9C. A. The state shall be ap portioned into forty -eight
senatorial districts in th e following manner: the nineteen most
populous counties, as determined by the most recent Federal
Decennial Census, shall constitute nineteen senatorial districts
with one senator to be nominated and ele cted from each district; the
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fifty-eight less populous counties shall be joined into twenty -nine
two-county districts with one senator to be nominated and elected
from each of the two -county districts. In apportioning the State
Senate, consideration shall be given to population, compactness,
area, political units, historical precedents, economic and political
interests, contiguous territory, and other major factors, to the
extent feasible.
B. Each senatorial district, whether single county or multi -
county, shall be entitled to one senator, who shall hold of fice for
four years; provided that any senator, serving at the time of the
adoption of this amendment, shall serve the full time for which he
or she was elected. Vitalization of senatorial districts sha ll
provide for one-half of the senators to be elected at each general
election.
SECTION 2. The Ballot Title f or the proposed Constitutional
amendment as set forth in SECTION 1 of this resolution shall be in
the following form:
BALLOT TITLE
Legislative Referendum N o. ____ State Question No. ____
THE GIST OF THE PROPOSITION IS AS FOLLOWS:
This measure would amend the Oklahoma Constitution by adding a
new Section 9C to Article 5. The measure would change the way
state senate districts are apportioned. The nineteen most
populous counties would be individual districts that would each
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have one senator. The fif ty-eight remaining counties would join
into twenty-nine two-county districts that would each have one
senator. It maintains four-year terms for state senators.
SHALL THE PROPOSAL BE APPROVED?
FOR THE PROPOSAL — YES _____________
AGAINST THE PROPOSAL — NO _____________
SECTION 3. The President Pro Tempore of the Senate shall,
immediately after the passage of this res olution, prepare and file
one copy thereof, including the Ballot Title set forth in SECTION 2
hereof, with the Secretary of State and one copy with the Attorney
General.
59-1-474 TEK 1/16/2023 12:58:24 PM