Gary Richardson, a Republican candidate for Oklahoma governor in 2018, is filing a lawsuit disputing the constitutionality of three House Bills recently signed into law.
The bills add new fees onto electric or compressed natural gas vehicles, automobile purchases, and some tax return filings.
But Richardson and others argue the fees are actually taxes, making them revenue bills. And since these bills were passed in the last five days of the session, he says that puts them in violation of the Oklahoma constitution.
Richardson’s actions echo a lawsuit filed by two tobacco companies, which make the same claims to the constitutionality of a $1.50 fee on cigarettes.
