Viewpoint: Fight to defeat vaccine mandates belongs in courts, not Oklahoma Legislature

I’m a life-long, conservative Republican and proud American. Our Republic has survived, in part, because "We the People" could separate fact from fiction when engaging in political discourse. Sure, we’ve fought along the familiar lines of left versus right ever since our country’s founding, but these were differences of opinion. We all still agreed that the sky is blue, and the Constitution is the law of the land.   

However, today some elected officials want to tell you that the sky isn’t blue. 

They believe they can pass bills that ignore federal law concerning vaccine requirements. They’ve even promised that a special session or new state laws will deliver. You don’t have to be a constitutional expert to know you can’t deliver the impossible. 

The truth is state legislation cannot overturn federal law under the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Oklahoma’s own constitution also recognizes the supremacy of federal law. Oklahoma’s defiance of the federal vaccine mandate for health care workers, for example, would cost us over $5 billion in Medicaid funding that currently goes to hospitals and nursing homes. This loss of revenue would close down practically every health care facility in Oklahoma. Legislators know the potentially disastrous financial consequences, but some are keeping the pot stirred for raw political gain. 

I am absolutely opposed to forcing people to take the COVID-19 shots, but the fight to defeat federal vaccine mandates belongs in the courts. This is where these constitutional issues are resolved. Last session, the Oklahoma Legislature appropriated an extra $10 million to the Oklahoma attorney general’s office to fight federal overreach, which I strongly supported. The recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in favor of Oklahoma rejecting the Biden administration’s vaccine and testing mandate for large businesses shows that fighting federal government overreach through the courts is working.   

While some still insist they have the power to pass bills to prevent federal overreach on vaccines, these same lawmakers are also proposing additional mandates that would tell private businesses they cannot require vaccinations for their own employees. A mandate by any other name is still a mandate. No matter where they come from on the political spectrum, mandates deny private businesses the ability to operate as they see fit. This proposed legislation would make many Oklahoma businesses choose between breaking either Oklahoma or federal law, both of which carry heavy fines for noncompliance.   

Over half of Oklahoma’s workforce is employed by a small business. We must recognize the right of businesses to implement policies they consider to be in the best interests of their employees, customer base and the community they serve. Whether or not politicians agree with their decisions, businesses should determine how to handle this pandemic. I will continue to oppose politically motivated legislation that would interfere with a business’s right to set its own workplace policies.  

We don’t expect government to know better than business leaders how to run their operations. But we should expect our legislators to have the courage of conviction to tell the truth to their constituents.  

Oklahoma Sen. Lonnie Paxton is a Republican who represents the 23rd Senate District and serves as the chairman of the Public Safety Committee.