(The Center Square) - A newly automated distribution center in Oklahoma City will be fully operational by Monday, Jasco CEO Jason Trice and Gov. Kevin Stitt announced Wednesday.

The company spent $40 million renovating the distribution center to a state-of-the-art automated system, which is expected to expand the location’s capacity to hold up to 70% more inventory, Trice said.

“We’ve grown organically over the last 47 years to become a leading supplier of electronics, lighting products, lighting controls, and small home electrical solutions,” said Trice.

Jasco’s products have numerous applications spanning from things like mobile electronics to military hardware, according to the governor’s office. Some of Jasco’s larger customers include Walmart, Target, and Amazon. The company also partners with companies like Energizer, Disney and Marvel, said Trice.

He said the automation system would allow Jasco to consolidate other locations and create more jobs in Oklahoma.

“We’re paying third parties to store and ship our products in six different locations in three additional states so being able to expand the capacity of this facility allows us to bring that here and we will need additional people here in Oklahoma in order to handle all of that inventory and those logistics,” Trice said.

The CEO said the company is committed to not letting go of any employees as a result of automation; adding the system will provide additional bandwidth and make employees’ jobs safer.

“Instead of our team members pulling orders walking up and down the aisles logging millions of miles cumulatively every year, the state-of-the-art robots are bringing the goods to the individuals, which means they’re walking less, they’re bending less, they’re stretching less, they’re less exposed to the forklifts and other heavy equipment that’s operating in this facility,” said Trice.

The company also announced a $200,000 donation to the Boys and Girls Club of Oklahoma City to create the first Best Buy Teen Tech Center in Oklahoma.

Stitt touted the state’s business incentives, which he said allowed Oklahoma to compete very well with other states.

“I’m so proud of Oklahoma’s business-friendly attitude, our business-friendly policies that lead to great companies like this to continue to expand,” said Stitt. “They’re going to be able to consolidate some of their offices around the country right here to Oklahoma City. It’s going to create efficiency for them but also for Oklahoma it’s going to create more taxpayers and more citizens in the great state of Oklahoma.”

(The Center Square) – Schools ordering food for the beginning of the fall semester could be facing uncertainty over whether they’ll receive federal assistance that’s the center of a legal battle for being tied to sex discrimination rules.

Twenty-two attorneys general are suing the Biden administration to prevent any loss of federal nutrition assistance for failing to obey the funding catch tying the money to other issues.

In May, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced any state, local agency, program operator or sponsor receiving its funding must “investigate allegations of discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation.” The USDA also required all organizations to update discrimination policies and signage to include prohibitions against discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

Approximately 30 million school children participate in USDA programs for breakfast, lunch or both meals. The new rule affects approximately 100,000 public and nonprofit private schools and residential childcare institutions receiving federal funds to provide free or reduced-price meals.

The USDA said it was interpreting the nondiscrimination directive in Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and in the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

After sending a letter objecting to the new rule in June, Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery III and Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita filed a 17-count complaints against the USDA on Tuesday. The suit contends the Biden administration incorrectly uses the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Bostock v. Clayton County to apply to anti-discrimination requirements. That ruling found the prohibition on sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 includes discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

“The Biden Administration is attempting to hold Missouri children’s lunch money hostage in order to further its woke agenda,” Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, a candidate for the Republican nomination for the seat of retiring U.S. Senator Roy Blunt, said in a statement. “This is yet another attempt by the Biden Administration to warp Title IX to fit their agenda. I will continue to make sure that bureaucrats are required to follow the law and will halt the Biden Administration’s bully tactics to protect imperative lunch funding for our children.”

The lawsuit contends the USDA’s guidance is unlawful as states and other entities weren’t allowed an opportunity to provide input as required by the Administrative Procedures Act. It claims the Supreme Court’s ruling is being misapplied and the new guidance will create regulatory chaos.

“This case is, yet again, about a federal agency trying to change law, which is Congress’ exclusive prerogative,” Slatery said in a statement. “The USDA simply does not have that authority. We have successfully challenged the Biden Administration’s other attempts to rewrite law and we will challenge this as well.”

States joining the lawsuit are Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia.

There are over 393 million guns in circulation in the U.S., according to estimates from the Small Arms Survey, far outnumbering the national population of 327 million. In the United States - the only country in the world home to more civilian-owned guns than people - guns are big business.

While the appropriate balance between gun rights and public safety is a hot button political issue, the economics of the firearm industry are less controversial. According to The Firearm Industry Trade Association, guns and ammunition had a total economic impact of over $70.5 billion in 2021 - generating over a billion dollars in tax revenue and providing hundreds of thousands of jobs.

According to data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, there were 1,316 federally licensed dealers or pawn brokers of firearms in Oklahoma as of January 2022, or 33.3 for every 100,000 people - the 15th most among states.

The concentration of gun stores reflects current demand for firearms in the state, as Oklahoma ranks in the top half for both measures, adjusting for population. FBI firearm background check data, which is a close proxy for firearm sales, shows that an estimated 180,342 guns were sold in Oklahoma in the first half of 2022, or 4,566 for every 100,000 people, the 21st most among states.

RankStateGun stores per 100,000 peopleTotal store CountGun sales per 100,000 people, 1st half of 2022Total gun sales, 1st half of 20221Wyoming97.45666,05035,1692Montana87.09246,64570,5523Alaska70.35185,39539,7594North Dakota62.14724,69935,7325South Dakota57.75074,75041,7726Idaho47.78376,811119,4917West Virginia47.78625,12092,5418Vermont46.12883,55522,1979Iowa39.41,2414,059127,84810Arkansas38.51,1593,762113,31411Nebraska35.76861,99138,30912Kansas35.41,0323,26695,13513Maine35.44744,01153,78714Missouri33.42,0444,268261,39915Oklahoma33.31,3164,566180,34216Kentucky30.31,35246,9482,094,78717Oregon30.11,2584,813201,02218Mississippi29.78874,515134,64219Colorado28.71,6344,689266,55320New Hampshire28.03804,87166,01321New Mexico25.95444,11686,32222Utah24.677616,069506,36723Minnesota24.21,3568,188458,56824Wisconsin24.01,3965,448316,37625Louisiana23.61,1033,647170,12726Alabama22.51,1017,645374,09627North Carolina21.32,2163,052316,99728Texas21.06,0132,989855,90529Tennessee20.71,4046,205420,19930Indiana20.61,3799,338625,36031South Carolina20.41,0414,121209,84332Arizona20.41,4633,814273,58433Michigan19.81,9764,041403,01134Pennsylvania19.52,5014,842619,53035Ohio18.92,2062,886336,98136Virginia18.81,5963,278278,97837Georgia17.51,8362,874302,27038Nevada15.94812,66380,71039Washington14.01,0505,315399,25840Delaware13.61323,57634,60241Florida13.42,8473,529748,65942Connecticut12.04303,536126,26843Illinois10.41,32416,2342,064,40044Maryland9.25561,894114,37245New York9.11,7851,135221,57946Rhode Island7.0741,43315,15747Hawaii6.7956429,11648California4.81,9031,758691,71849Massachusetts4.73261,651113,47250New Jersey3.531191481,209

(The Center Square) - Oklahoma's Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency found $5.8 million of questionable expenditures coded as instruction during an audit of the school's K-12 spending, according to a report presented to lawmakers on Tuesday.

Schools code their expenditures in the Oklahoma Cost Accounting System, which is overseen by the Oklahoma State Department of Education. Any questionable spending must be flagged manually, according to the report.

"Additionally, while the OCAS Manual defines 'instruction' expenditures as, 'activities dealing directly with the interaction between teachers and students,' items such as laundry, plumbing services, and transportation insurance were coded under instruction," the report said.

The report found the OSDE's accounting "falls short of providing full transparency of public funds due to system limitations."

In one instance, $257,000 in firearms and ammunition expenditures were improperly coded during the 2020-2021 academic year in other categories, including child nutrition program services, the report said. The code "could be a legitimate code for ROTC expenditures for instruction," OSDE officials said in their response.

State education officials said they did not necessarily disagree with a recommendation to expand OCAS.

"However, state statute should outline how and to what extent this review is to be conducted, and resources should be provided to successfully execute this expanded responsibility," OSDE officials said in their response.

Lawmakers also need more data to access how Oklahoma's education spending impacts outcomes, LOFT officials said in the report.

"The investments made in Oklahoma's K-12 schools over the past 20 years have not led to improved academic outcomes, based on key performance measures such as reading sufficiency rates and college readiness," the report said. "After significant learning loss attributable to the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as previously reported by LOFT, the Legislature requires accessible and comprehensive data to target investments to help students' academically recovery."

The school funding formula is not meeting the needs of today's students, the report said. It has been largely unchanged since 1981.

"For example, Oklahoma's weight for bilingual students is below the national average and less than the state weight applied for gifted and talented students," the report said. "Additionally, Oklahoma's definition for this group of students is overly broad, encompassing students who are proficient in two languages instead of targeting students lacking English proficiency."

The state is not giving schools with high poverty rates additional support as do the seven states around Oklahoma, LOFT officials said in the report.

The report also found that enrollment in Oklahoma's public schools has not significantly increased, but the number of administrators grew by at least 8%. This has a direct impact on school spending, according to the report as administrators make 70% more on average than teachers, according to the report.

"LOFT finds if the growth of school administrative personnel had followed student enrollment growth between 2011 and 2021, approximately $26.4 million in salary and benefits from school administrative staff could have been available to hire the equivalent of 500 teachers," the report said.

Crimes committed with firearms - particularly homicide - are a growing problem in the United States. Over 19,000 people were murdered with a gun nationwide in 2020, up 35% from the previous year. These murders were on top of the more than 100,000 cases of aggravated assault and 43,000 cases of robbery involving guns.

Many of the guns used in these crimes were reported by local law enforcement to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives for tracing to aid in crime investigation and criminal prosecution. All told, the ATF traced nearly 390,000 firearms in 2020 alone.

Guns that are traced by the ATF are typically those found at a crime scene - and that either have been used, or are suspected to have been used, to commit a crime - though it is important to note that not all firearms used in a crime are traced.

In Oklahoma, the ATF traced a total of 3,397 firearms in 2021 - or 86.0 for every 100,000 people, the 15th fewest among states.

The largest share of guns reported to the ATF in the state - 1,244 in total - were chambered for 9mm ammunition. The second most common firearm type was .40 caliber, with 401 traced by the ATF.

RankStateGuns traced per 100k people, 2021Total guns traced, 2021Most common type traced2nd most common type traced3rd most common type traced1Louisiana236.711,0419mm.40 Cal.22 Cal2Nevada203.46,1649mm.40 Cal.22 Cal3Tennessee191.512,9709mm.40 Cal.380 Cal4North Carolina182.718,9739mm.40 Cal.22 Cal5South Carolina182.69,2959mm.40 Cal.380 Cal6Georgia182.319,1729mm.40 Cal.380 Cal7New Mexico169.63,5579mm.40 Cal.40 Cal8Alabama160.87,8689mm.40 Cal.380 Cal9Missouri156.79,5989mm.40 Cal.45 Cal10Mississippi154.14,5969mm.40 Cal.22 Cal11Delaware154.11,4919mm.40 Cal.22 Cal12Arizona152.710,9529mm.40 Cal.22 Cal13Maryland146.98,8729mm.22 Cal.40 Cal14Virginia141.412,0339mm.40 Cal.45 Cal15Ohio141.116,4729mm.40 Cal.380 Cal16Indiana135.19,0499mm.40 Cal.22 Cal17Kentucky133.15,9419mm.40 Cal.380 Cal18Texas133.138,1099mm.40 Cal.380 Cal19Florida127.126,9669mm.40 Cal.380 Cal20Kansas125.73,6619mm.40 Cal.22 Cal21Oregon123.05,1389mm.22 Cal.45 Cal22West Virginia120.72,1819mm.22 Cal.380 Cal23Montana118.61,259.22 Cal9mm.45 Cal24Illinois117.214,8979mm.40 Cal.45 Cal25Colorado114.66,5169mm.22 Cal.40 Cal26California113.644,7099mm.22 Cal.40 Cal27Michigan113.311,3019mm.40 Cal.45 Cal28Arkansas111.43,3559mm.40 Cal.22 Cal29Nebraska111.22,1409mm.22 Cal.40 Cal30Alaska110.68159mm.22 Cal.45 Cal31Pennsylvania108.013,8239mm.22 Cal.40 Cal32North Dakota104.87979mm.22 Cal12GA33Wisconsin101.55,8929mm.40 Cal.380 Cal34South Dakota88.17759mm.22 Cal.40 Cal35Utah87.82,7679mm.22 Cal.40 Cal36Oklahoma86.03,3979mm.40 Cal.22 Cal37Iowa80.82,5469mm.22 Cal.380 Cal38Minnesota71.84,0209mm.22 Cal.40 Cal39Washington70.75,3109mm.22 Cal.40 Cal40Idaho70.11,2299mm.22 Cal.45 Cal41Vermont50.33149mm.22 Cal12GA42New Hampshire47.26409mm.22 Cal.380 Cal43New Jersey46.84,1619mm.40 Cal.22 Cal44Maine45.36089mm.22 Cal12GA45Wyoming43.72549mm.22 Cal.45 Cal46Rhode Island39.14149mm.40 Cal.22 Cal47New York36.87,1879mm.380 Cal.22 Cal48Connecticut31.71,1339mm.22 Cal.40 Cal49Massachusetts26.61,8309mm.40 Cal.380 Cal50Hawaii10.21459mm.22 Cal.45 Cal

(The Center Square) - Gov. Kevin Stitt is working with the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General to resolve issues surrounding the $39.9 million Governor's Emergency Education Relief Fund Grant.

OIG auditors said four out of five programs did not meet the standards for the COVID relief grants. The Stitt administration is being asked to return more than $650,000 auditors said was misused by grant recipients.

A program called "Bridge the Gap" was administered through a contract with ClassWallet. Families that were 185% below the poverty level could receive up to $1,500 in grants for purchasing educational items. However, some families purchased televisions sets, telephones, furniture and other items, according to the audit.

"The state has been proactive in monitoring and ensuring appropriate use of Oklahoma taxpayer dollars, and an internal audit was initiated several months ago, that is ongoing for the Oklahoma GEER funds," said Kate Vesper, the governor's press secretary. "It has been made apparent through demand letters that if it is determined that a vendor failed to ensure funds were properly utilized or that any individual misused funds received for educational purposes, the state will take swift and appropriate action."

Auditors asked the state to "provide documentation, or a full and detailed written explanation, of the process Oklahoma used to determine the initiatives it supported with GEER grant funds and the entities it selected to administer the initiatives."

The only initiative not questioned by auditors was $8 million give to the Oklahoma State Department of Education. The department used the money to "bridge the digital divide and strengthen distance learning," according to the report.

(The Center Square) – Oklahoma must return more than $652,720 of federal COVID relief funds that federal auditors said was used to purchase items that included television sets, phones and furniture.

A report from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General said Gov. Kevin Stitt's administration failed to manage millions of dollars in the Governor's Emergency Education Relief Fund Grant.

The Stitt administration entered an $8 million contract with ClassWallet to manage a program called "Bridge the Gap." The initiative awarded $1,500 in grants to families 185% below the federal poverty level to purchase technology and tutoring. ClassWallet's website also includes other non-educational items, which accounted for 11% of the purchases.

"Oklahoma did not have any monitoring controls in place to prevent the Bridge the Gap purchases we identified in our testing as items that did not appear to be education-related," auditors said in the report released Tuesday.

Overall, the governor's office received $39.9 million from the emergency grant program, which it split into five initiatives.

The Stay in School fund awarded $6,500 grants to families with students in non-profit private schools that were 350% below the federal poverty level. Auditors said they were not able to fully confirm the eligibility of eight of 10 students in a random sample. The program received $10 million in funding.

The Statewide Virtual Charter School Board was given $12 million, with $6.5 million designated to parents in public, private and charter schools who wished to receive online curricula. The state did not set any eligibility requirements.

Five million dollars was set aside for public schools for online instructor-led courses and professional development. The $5,000 to $20,000 grants were awarded to local school systems based on enrollment. The remaining $500,000 was set aside for a "help desk" and administrative costs. The state returned $419,685 of the $500,000 awarded.

Tri-County College received $1 million for the "Skills to Rebuild" initiative, which would help employers find workers in high-demand jobs.

The only initiative not questioned by auditors was $8 million give to the Oklahoma State Department of Education. The department used the money to "bridge the digital divide and strengthen distance learning," according to the report.

"OSDE designed and implemented a monitoring process for its LEAs that provided reasonable assurance that the GEER grant funds were used in accordance with the CARES Act and other federal requirements," auditors said in the report. "Specifically, OSDE developed a written monitoring plan and a reimbursement process to ensure the funds were being used for allowable purposes."

Auditors criticized the Stitt administration for drawing down the entire $39.9 million grant when there wasn't an immediate need for the funds.

"Drawing down an excessive amount of funds without an immediate cash need increases the risk of mismanagement of the funds," auditors said.

In addition to returning the $652,720 in misused grant money, auditors are asking the state to "provide documentation, or a full and detailed written explanation, of the process Oklahoma used to determine the initiatives it supported with GEER grant funds and the entities it selected to administer the initiatives." Auditors have also asked the state to do a complete review of the Bridge the Gap and Stay in School initiatives.

State officials said corrective actions were in place but did not indicate whether they agreed or disagreed with the findings, according to the report.

But the state "did not propose actions that address our recommendations that it provide documentation or a detailed written explanation of the GEER grant award process that it used, perform a review of Stay in School Fund microgrant recipients and confirm that all students were eligible to receive funds, return funds or provide documentation for the questionable Bridge the Gap expenditures that we identified, perform a review of and return funds for any other unallowable Bridge the Gap expenditures, and return any unexpended GEER grant funds," auditors said.

Gov. Kevin Stitt's office did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Identity theft is on the rise in the United States. According to the Federal Trade Commission's Consumer Sentinel Network report, the number of reported cases more than doubled from about 650,500 in 2019 to 1.39 million in 2020. Identity theft cases continued to grow nationwide in 2021 when a total of 1.43 million cases were reported to the FTC.

Identity theft is a crime that involves theft of an individual's personal information and credentials - such as their Social Security number or bank information - often for the purposes of financial fraud. One possible explanation for the surge in 2020 is the pandemic and the legislation that included more than $5 trillion in various government benefits to help financially strapped Americans. This provided a larger scale opportunity for scammers and identity thieves.

In Oklahoma, there were 6,850 cases of identity theft logged by the FTC in 2021, or 173 for every 100,000 people - the 15th lowest population-adjusted case rate among states.

All told, fraud and scams - including those committed through identity theft - resulted in $26.9 million in losses in the state in 2021. The typical fraud case in Oklahoma resulted in the loss of about $410 last year.

All data used in this story is from the FTC's 2021 Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book.

RankStateIdentify theft reports per 100,000 people, 2021Total identify theft cases, 2021Total losses from fraud, 2021 ($M)Typical loss from fraud case, 2021 ($)1Rhode Island2,85730,27011.64472Kansas1,35539,46119.94293Illinois924117,056129.04504Louisiana73234,04330.04225Georgia61865,666113.05006Nevada58417,98569.66167Colorado58333,57288.04798New York563109,466280.95009Delaware5605,44914.150010Florida515110,675331.353211Texas504146,095369.450012Maryland49329,77894.051813Ohio43150,42186.337514Pennsylvania42554,460120.940015Alabama40219,69144.742316Arizona38628,108116.051517New Jersey35931,857122.250818South Carolina34317,64246.440019California337133,119820.960020Mississippi3339,90623.440021Tennessee29720,25462.640022North Carolina28930,31893.044623Massachusetts24016,56691.350024Kentucky23310,41630.635025Virginia22519,214112.950026New Mexico2204,61123.250027Missouri21813,37252.336128Hawaii2112,99322.562029Arkansas2116,35816.745030Michigan20620,55683.340031Wisconsin19311,25348.739032Oregon1908,01665.450033Utah1896,06037.350034Connecticut1876,66640.946035Indiana17611,86646.940036Oklahoma1736,85026.941037Washington17012,917135.750038Minnesota1689,45760.348239Maine1672,2399.740040New Hampshire1622,20513.745041West Virginia1592,84510.235042Idaho1522,71916.939643Vermont13282510.033744North Dakota1319998.944045Nebraska1252,40914.345046Alaska12289613.160047Iowa1193,75821.237948Wyoming1076207.850049Montana1061,1309.643650South Dakota766736.8489

Gun sales in America, as estimated by background checks, jumped at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and remained high until well into 2021. Several days and weeks in that period set all-time records. Total sales were 28,369,750 in 2019 and 39,659315 in 2020. These figures come from the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System -- firearm background checks are often used as a proxy for gun sales.

During the period of the increase, the number of first-time gun buyers jumped. Sales also rose among women and minorities. First-time buyers have accounted for about 20% of new gun sales nationwide in 2020.

Recently, however, gun sales have collapsed, both month to month and year over year. The pace of the decline accelerated in June. June gun sales last year totaled 3,054,726 nationwide. Last month, nationwide gun sales totaled 2,570,608. Compared to the first six months of 2021, there were 6.4 million fewer background checks for the purchase of a firearm, a 28.7% drop.

In Oklahoma, gun sales are falling, but at a slower pace the national decline. There were a total of 180,342 FBI firearm background checks in the state in the first half of 2022 compared to 221,221 in the first six months of 2021 -- an 18.5% reduction and the 34th largest decline among states.

Reasons for the slowdown are not as clear as those that explained the surge reported last year. The New York Times reported in May 2021, "While gun sales have been climbing for decades -- they often spike in election years and after high-profile crimes -- Americans have been on an unusual, prolonged buying spree fueled by the coronavirus pandemic, the protests last summer and the fears they both stoked."

RankStateChange in sales, 1st half 2021 to 1st half 2022Background checks in 1st half of 2022Background checks in 1st half of 202147Delaware-8.4%34,60237,76446Minnesota-8.6%458,568501,93645New York-9.6%221,579245,02344California-10.1%691,718769,59143Arizona-15.2%273,584322,79942North Dakota-15.8%35,73242,42141Tennessee-16.2%420,199501,37240Montana-17.1%70,55285,08739Iowa-17.1%127,848154,24338Maine-17.4%53,78765,11637Oregon-17.7%201,022244,21436Alaska-18.0%39,75948,49335New Mexico-18.4%86,322105,82134Oklahoma-18.5%180,342221,22133Pennsylvania-18.9%619,530764,20632Idaho-19.3%119,491148,01131Texas-19.4%855,9051,062,41630Mississippi-19.6%134,642167,52229Louisiana-19.6%170,127211,70628Florida-19.8%748,659933,43427Vermont-19.8%22,19727,67826Utah-19.9%506,367632,56225Wisconsin-20.0%316,376395,46824Massachusetts-20.4%113,472142,63123Virginia-20.7%278,978351,98722South Carolina-20.9%209,843265,37421New Hampshire-21.7%66,01384,28620Kansas-21.9%95,135121,78119Colorado-21.9%266,553341,26018Wyoming-22.2%35,16945,20117West Virginia-22.6%92,541119,60616Nebraska-22.6%38,30949,51815Connecticut-22.9%126,268163,74114Nevada-23.0%80,710104,88413Missouri-24.4%261,399345,88012Maryland-24.5%114,372151,42411Michigan-26.1%403,011545,52610South Dakota-26.7%41,77256,9739Arkansas-27.1%113,314155,5248Alabama-27.4%374,096515,2397North Carolina-28.1%316,997440,8126Ohio-28.7%336,981472,3545Rhode Island-33.7%15,15722,8534Georgia-34.6%302,270461,9573New Jersey-40.1%81,209135,5912Indiana-45.0%625,3601,137,7071Illinois-65.9%2,064,4006,050,704

(The Center Square) - Three Oklahoma lawmakers are proposing a state constitutional amendment that would freeze the homestead fair cash value of property for those over the age of 65.

Oklahoma City Republicans Reps. Max Wolfley, Eric Roberts and Robert Manger sponsored House Joint Resolution 1047 in the Legislature. The measure passed the House but failed in the Senate. An "unknown" decrease in the state's ad valorem revenue would have occurred if the bill had passed, according to the summary.

"This would not do away with the ad valorem tax of a person's homestead property, it would just keep it from going up once the property owner has reached the age of 65. This freeze would occur regardless of an individual's income," the lawmakers said in a joint news release. "This state question would simply ask state voters if they would like to allow property tax values to freeze for seniors or if they prefer that they continue to pay potential property tax increases each year."

The petition needs 177,958, which is 15% of the Oklahoma voters who participated in the last gubernatorial election. The proposed amendment would be on the Nov. 8 ballot if enough valid signatures are gathered.