Suddenly, the state is worried about the "right to garden"

OKLAHOMA CITY – Echoing the actions of two other states, members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives passed a proposal that its author said would grant state residents the right to grow personal gardens regardless of where they live.

Written by state Rep. Rick West, a Heavener Republican, House Bill 2979 creates the Oklahoma Right to Garden Act. The proposal would prohibit local governments from regulating gardens on personal properties. West said the bill did not prevent municipal governments from regulating water, the use of fertilizer or the treatment for invasive species.

“This bill deals with the right to grow food,” West said during floor action on the bill. “For one to be able to grow their food without municipalities putting a stop to them for doing that, I think that it is a right that is given to us, not by the government but by each person that wants to grow their own food.”

During floor action on the bill, state Rep. John Waldron, D-Tulsa, said there wasn’t a single municipal government that prohibits homeowners from gardening.

West agreed but added he wanted future prohibitions.

West’s bill parallels those passed in Illinois and in Florida.

The legislation is part of a package being touted by Institution for Justice’s National Food Freedom Initiative. Founded in 1990 by William Mellor and Clint Bolick with funding from industrialist Charles Koch, the IFJ is a far-right think tank that often pushes for preemptive legislations restricting government regulation.

West said he was concerned about “potential federal overreach” and wasn’t convinced regulations or prohibitions would come in the future. "When the government can force mandates that deny people the right to work, this might be the most important bill we passed," he said.

West said he was concerned that municipalities were trying to control the food that Oklahomans grow and where that food is grown. “It’s a God-given right to grow your own food, so why should government get involved and stop it?” he asked.

West, referencing earlier legislation, said the right to grow food was more important than “worrying about a kid going to school with lice on their head.”

House Bill 2979 cleared the House by a slim 51-43 margin. The measure now moves to the Senate Rules Committee.