Oklahoma Governor Signs HB 1749 Banning State Payroll Deductions for Teachers Union Dues Despite Technical Flaws

On May 6, 2015, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin signed House Bill 1749 into law, prohibiting state agencies from making payroll deductions for membership dues to public employee associations that engage in collective bargaining. The legislation, which took effect November 1, 2015, specifically targeted teachers’ unions despite technical flaws critics argued made the bill ambiguous if not unconstitutional. The measure exemplified how American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) model legislation flows through state legislatures to weaken labor organizations under the guise of administrative efficiency.

HB 1749 passed the Oklahoma House 59-39 on February 18, 2015, and cleared the Senate 27-16 on March 26, with eleven House Republicans including Speaker Pro Tempore Lee Denney joining Democrats in opposition. The bill’s passage occurred amid a broader ALEC-coordinated campaign against public sector unions, with similar anti-union legislation introduced in multiple states during the 2015 legislative session.

Targeting Teachers Under False Pretenses

During House floor debate on February 18, principal author Representative Tom Newell claimed HB 1749 would affect only organizations “that collectively bargain against the state.” However, as Representative Joe Dorman pointed out, neither the Oklahoma Education Association (OEA), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), nor the Professional Oklahoma Educators (POE) collectively bargain at the state level. Collective bargaining for Oklahoma’s 42,000 teachers occurs through local entities at the district level, not state organizations.

This disconnect between Newell’s stated rationale and the bill’s actual impact revealed HB 1749’s true purpose: making union membership more difficult and expensive for teachers regardless of collective bargaining status. By forcing teachers to manually pay dues rather than using convenient payroll deduction, the legislation created administrative barriers designed to reduce union membership and weaken teachers’ organizational capacity.

Technically Flawed Legislation

Critics identified fundamental technical problems with HB 1749’s language that raised constitutional concerns. The bill stated it excluded political subdivisions from its provisions, but in the next sentence defined school districts as state agencies—even though Oklahoma statutes clearly classify school districts as political subdivisions. This contradictory language created legal ambiguity about whether the law actually applied to school district employees.

Representative Dorman argued on the House floor that the legislation was “technically flawed because of bad verbiage,” creating confusion about its scope and applicability. The sloppy drafting suggested legislators prioritized quick passage over careful legal analysis, rushing to implement ALEC-model union restrictions without ensuring constitutional or statutory coherence.

ALEC’s Anti-Union Agenda in Oklahoma

HB 1749 fit within ALEC’s broader 2015 campaign to undermine public sector unions through state legislation. In 2015 alone, ALEC-affiliated legislators introduced 172 education bills pushing privatization and union-weakening measures across multiple states. Oklahoma served as a key testing ground for these coordinated efforts, with approximately 70 Oklahoma legislators holding ALEC membership according to Representative Scott Banz, though SourceWatch identified only 38 members by name, leaving 32 members’ identities secret.

The payroll deduction ban represented just one element of ALEC’s multi-pronged attack on teachers’ unions in Oklahoma during this period. Other 2015 Oklahoma legislation included bills to preempt local living wage ordinances, weaken prevailing wage standards, and expand education privatization through voucher-style programs. This coordinated legislative assault followed ALEC’s standard model: corporate lobbyists and state legislators meeting privately to draft “model legislation” that could be introduced in multiple states simultaneously.

Union-Busting Through Administrative Burdens

HB 1749 employed a subtle but effective union-busting tactic: rather than directly prohibiting union membership, the legislation imposed administrative obstacles that reduced membership through friction and inconvenience. Teachers who previously authorized simple payroll deductions would now need to manually submit dues payments, remember payment schedules, and manage additional financial logistics. This administrative burden particularly affects newer teachers and those facing time and financial pressures.

The strategy reflected sophisticated union-busting techniques developed through ALEC task forces where corporate representatives and legislators collaborate on anti-labor policy. By framing payroll deduction bans as administrative neutrality rather than explicit anti-union action, ALEC-model legislation provides political cover for legislators attacking unions while claiming procedural justifications.

Impact on Teacher Morale

Representative Dorman warned during House debate that HB 1749 exacerbated the “morale problem” spreading among Oklahoma teachers who felt “constantly under attack.” Multiple legislators noted that undermining teachers’ collective voice through administrative obstacles sent a clear message of disrespect to education professionals already facing low pay, challenging working conditions, and reduced classroom resources.

This demoralization served ALEC’s broader education privatization agenda. Weakened teachers’ unions have less capacity to resist charter school expansion, education savings accounts, and other privatization schemes that channel public education funds to private operators. By degrading teacher morale and organizational capacity, legislation like HB 1749 smooths the path for subsequent privatization measures.

Pattern: Secret Coordination, Public Implementation

Oklahoma’s ALEC connections operated largely in secret despite affecting major policy areas. While Representative Banz acknowledged 70 legislative ALEC members, most memberships remained undisclosed, preventing voters from knowing which legislators collaborated with corporate lobbyists on model legislation. When ALEC held its May 2013 meeting in Oklahoma City, organizers barred both citizens and press from attending, used elaborate document handling to avoid public records requests, and kept the agenda secret.

This pattern of secret corporate-legislative coordination followed by rushed public implementation characterized ALEC’s influence throughout Oklahoma policymaking. Corporate representatives wrote model legislation behind closed doors, then ALEC-member legislators introduced the bills using political justifications disconnected from corporate drafting origins. HB 1749 exemplified this process: what appeared as a standalone Oklahoma bill actually represented ALEC’s coordinated multi-state union-busting campaign.

Subsequent Legal Challenges

The Oklahoma Education Association and American Federation of Teachers Oklahoma filed a lawsuit in August 2015 challenging HB 1749 as unconstitutional and discriminatory. The legal challenge focused on the bill’s contradictory language regarding political subdivisions and its selective targeting of specific employee organizations. The litigation revealed how poorly drafted ALEC-model legislation can create extended legal battles that drain union resources even if courts ultimately strike down the laws.

Corporate Capture of Education Policy

HB 1749 demonstrated how ALEC facilitated direct corporate capture of state education policy. Rather than education professionals, parents, or even elected officials independently developing policy, corporate lobbyists drafted model legislation designed to serve corporate interests in education privatization and labor cost reduction. Oklahoma legislators then introduced these pre-written bills, often with minimal modification, as though they represented organic state policy responses to local concerns.

The payroll deduction ban served corporate interests by weakening the primary organizational force resisting education privatization. Teachers’ unions oppose charter school expansion, education savings accounts, and voucher programs that divert public funds to private operators—many of which are ALEC corporate members. Undermining union organizational capacity through administrative obstacles like HB 1749 reduced union effectiveness in fighting subsequent privatization legislation, creating a cascade effect where each ALEC victory enabled future corporate policy wins.