Group claims signatures may be invalid

A taxpayer bill of rights initiative petition could have 120,000 invalid signatures on it, an attorney for a group challenging the proposal said Thursday.

To disqualify the proposal, the group must show that close to 80,000 signatures gathered on the issue are invalid, attorney Kent Meyers told Supreme Court Referee Greg Albert Thursday.

Close to 300,000 signatures were collected by Oklahomans in Action in their petition drive on State Question 726, commonly called TABOR (taxpayer bill of rights).

The group needed only 219,000 valid signatures to get the measure on the election ballot if it clears other legal hurdles.

The proposal would restrict state government spending increases based on a formula of inflation increases and population growth.

Meyers and other attorneys represent a group of petition challengers who include several bankers, businessmen and a former Republican attorney general.

Hearings on the challenge opened Thursday before Albert.

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