“The state doesn’t have the right to take away the rights of citizens that live in cities to petition their government for redress,” he said.

Oklahoma City attorney David Slane agrees. He was working with supporters of the Oklahoma City initiative petition drive. He said he a lawsuit could be filed over the issue.

“People have a right to the initiative petition,” he said. “That is the purest form of democracy for the people to make the law.”

The State Chamber supported the bill.

“While most businesses in Oklahoma pay more than the minimum wage, there are thousands of small businesses that provide entry-level jobs to teenagers and other unskilled workers who simply can’t afford to pay more,” said Mike Seney, the group’s senior vice president of policy analysis and strategic planning. “Having to drop a worker to make sure the other four get a higher minimum wage is not sound economics.”

House Minority Leader Scott Inman, D-Del City, also weighed in on the controversy, saying her approval of the bill was hypocritical.

“She is a governor who ran on platform of local control,” Inman said. “She ran against the federal government and the current administration.”