Business leaders challenge initiative petition

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- More than two dozen Oklahoma businessmen are suing to challenge the legality of the so-called taxpayer bill of rights initiative petition.<br/><br/>The petition calls for a statewide

Thursday, February 23rd 2006, 10:34 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- More than two dozen Oklahoma businessmen are suing to challenge the legality of the so-called taxpayer bill of rights initiative petition.

The petition calls for a statewide vote on a proposal to limit government spending increases to a formula tied to population increases and inflation.

The lawsuit says the petition is unconstitutional and is deceptive and misleading. It also says the petition doesn't have the number of valid voter signatures needed to call for a statewide vote.

The secretary of state's office sent the proposal to the Supreme Court after counting more than 299,000 signatures on the petitions. A total of 219,564 valid signatures are needed to send it to a vote.