Oklahoma Legislators Push Statewide Vote on School Storm Shelters

A group of Democratic legislators is launching a signature drive for a public vote on a $500 million bond issue to pay for storm shelters in Oklahoma schools.

Rush Springs Democratic Rep. Joe Dorman said a group of lawmakers, attorneys and supporters are working on the language for the proposed ballot measure and hope to begin collecting signatures as early as next month.

The effort is being supported by some of the parents of seven school children killed when a tornado hit a Moore elementary school that didn’t have a storm shelter or safe room.

The plan calls for the debt service on the bond issue to be paid by the annual franchise tax levied on businesses that generates an estimated $40 million each year.