Ohio state senators amended a piece of legislation on Tuesday 4-1 that aims to alter the process of how initiative petitions can propose constitutional amendments.
There are currently two pieces of legislation Republican lawmakers in both the House and Senate are working to put on the ballot in August that would require 60 percent of voters to approve constitutional amendments.
According to State Senator Rob McColley (R-Napoleon), the amendment “harmonizes” the Senate version of the legislation, Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 2, with the one being reviewed by the House Constitutional Resolutions Committee, House Joint Resolution (HJR) 1. McColley explained that the current versions of the House and Senate would mandate a 60 percent approval percentage for any future constitutional amendments, call for signatures from all 88 counties, and do away with the opportunity to “cure” petitions by collecting additional signatures if necessary.
Previously, SJR 2 differed from HJR 1 as it did not require petitioners to gather signatures for a proposed amendment from all 88 counties, and it did not eliminate the cure period for constitutional amendments, which allows citizen-led organizations to gather additional signatures if their initial batch doesn’t meet the requirements to make the ballot.
However, McColley stated that the amendment’s provisions affecting the requirements for gathering signatures will not take effect until January 1, 2024.
“This would, in large part, be because we don’t want to violate or create any retro-activity argument on the signatures or the petitions that have already been cleared to gather signatures for the constitutional amendment,” McColley said.
Republican lawmakers such as State Representative Derek Merrin (R-Monclova) said they requested time and time again to strengthen Ohio’s constitution without success.
“We have repeatedly asked and pressed to strengthen our constitution and not allow it to be hijacked by left-wing socialists by requiring a 60 percent threshold, and we’ve been blocked for doing that,” Merrin said.
Center for Christian Virtue (CCV) President Aaron Baer has also continuously urged Ohio lawmakers to move quickly to pass legislation to increase the threshold to amend the Constitution to 60 percent.
“We also cannot allow liberal and pro-abortion special interests to attempt to buy their way into Ohio’s Constitution,” Baer said.
According to State Senator Bill DeMora (D-Columbus), this resolution will not protect the state constitution from special interests but adds to the problem.
“Having to get all 88 counties is going to make more money involved. People who want to change the constitution are going to spend more and more money and now they will spend more money to get more signatures to get all of the counties,” Demora said.
Some advocates said it is essential to place the resolution on a special ballot in August. In advance of a potential November referendum on a proposed constitutional amendment to legalize abortion throughout the state.
According to Secretary of State Frank LaRose, lawmakers need to pass the proposal in both the House and Senate by May 10th in order to place it on an August ballot.
Lawmakers would also need to pass a companion bill Senate Bill (SB) 92 to allow Ohio to hold special elections in August for certain purposes. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed House Bill (HB) 458 into law earlier this year, drastically altering the state’s election laws, including requiring a photo ID and eliminating August elections. Republican legislators have indicated they favor holding new special elections in August for various reasons, including voting on legislatively proposed constitutional amendments.
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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]
