Sen. Treat Targets Single-Subject Rule In State’s Constitution
Oklahoma lawmakers target rule used to strike down anti-abortion laws
by Dale Denwalt, NewsOK.com
Anti-abortion advocates have been stymied by a single sentence in the Oklahoma Constitution that has nothing to do with abortion, but a lawmaker hopes to prevent future challenges by changing it.
The section of law forces new laws to meet the single-subject rule. It’s an effort to prevent logrolling, or the practice of putting different proposals into the same bill.
The state’s high court has ruled against several anti-abortion bills by citing the single-subject rule. State Sen. Greg Treat, who has been involved in several proposed abortion laws that were later struck down, said last year he would try to address the rule.
“I very much respect they’re a third and coequal branch of government and that they have the purview to rule on these things,” Treat told The Oklahoman on Tuesday. “They very seldom, on the life bills, rule on the merit.”