A group of Republican lawmakers filed a discharge petition on Wednesday for House Joint Resolution (HJR) 1 which aims to alter the process of how constitutional amendments can be proposed by initiative petitions.
A bill or resolution may be discharged from committee if it wins the support of a simple majority of House members (50 percent + 1). This implies that even if the resolution has not yet been approved out of committee or finished holding hearings, it would automatically advance to the floor for a vote if 50 representatives signed on.
Currently, issues proposed by initiative petitions need to meet a 50 percent voting threshold to amend the Constitution. Under HJR 1, these issues would need to meet a 60 percent threshold.
State Representative Derek Merrin (R-Monclova) said that HJR1 is a “top priority” and Republicans in the Ohio Senate are working towards placing the question on a statewide August special election.
“We will protect our Constitution,” Merrin said.
HJR1, which has 35 Republican co-sponsors, has only had one committee hearing since State Representatives Brian Stewart (R-Ashville) and Merrin introduced it in January.
Some Republicans have said that this is directly related to House Speaker Jason Stephens‘ (R-Kitts Hill) “deal” he made with the Democrats to win the speaker-ship over GOP pick Merrin.
Minority Leader of the House Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington) called the discharge petition an “attack on freedom.”
“By ramming this undemocratic, unpopular, and unfair resolution through the process without public input, some House Republicans are, once again, orchestrating a direct attack on the fundamental freedom to make decisions that affect our lives,” Russo said.
According to State Representative Susan Manchester (R-Waynesfield) passing HJR 1 quickly is extremely important to prevent special interest groups from inserting language into the state Constitution.
“Today I pulled a discharge petition for HJR 1 the resolution that would require a vote of 60 percent of Ohio voters to approve any amendment to our state Constitution. HJR1 is very important to Ohio, our Constitution and to preventing any special interests from buying the ability to insert language into our Constitution. Ohio is one of the easiest states for special interests to circumnavigate the legislative process and it’s past time we fix that,” Manchester said.
According to Manchester, time is of the essence to approve HJR 1 and to protect the state Constitution.
“Time is now of the essence to protect our Constitution, protect families, and protect women from the extreme pro-abortion special interests from inserting their dangerous language into our state’s most sacred legal document,” Manchester said.
According to Manchester, she had 24 signatures on the discharge petition by end of day Wednesday, and is confident she can reach the amount needed to advance HJR 1 to a floor vote.
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Hannah Poling is a lead reporter at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Follow Hannah on Twitter @HannahPoling1. Email tips to [email protected]
