Oklahoma lawmakers declare authority to reject Biden’s executive orders

Under the bill, the Oklahoma legislature will be allowed to review executive orders issued by the President and deliver them to the state attorney general if they believe those orders to be unconstitutional, Breitbart reports.

The attorney general will then decide whether the order follows the constitution. If he deems that it does not, the legislature will be able to seek a court order invalidating it. However, if the attorney general chooses not to take action, the Oklahoma House of Representatives could hold a majority vote to declare it unconstitutional.

It is unclear, however, whether this would result in the legislature taking the issue to court or the order simply being ignored in Oklahoma.

The bill could face some legal hurdles, however, as federal law always supersedes state law in the United States. If a federal court does not determine an executive order to be unconstitutional, the order would nevertheless be applicable in the state.

It would be up to the federal government to enforce an executive order in the state though, as the Oklahoma government would likely be unwilling to enforce such an order if it had been found unconstitutional by the legislature.

The bill came in response to executive orders issued by President Biden regarding energy extraction and production. The Biden administration has sought to accelerate the transition of the US economy away from fossil fuels through the use of federal regulations, while Oklahoma has a sizable fracking industry.

The bill faced opposition from Democrats, with state House Minority Leader Emily Virgin tweeting "[in] today's OK House shenanigans, we're hearing HB 1236, which would allow the Oklahoma Legislature to declare executive orders & federal laws unconstitutional. Can you say 'pandering?'"

The bill ultimately passed the House 79-18.