![]() ![]() The Senate passed its versions of both measures last month. ![]() He noted that the legislation also contained a long list of other election law changes that he supported, including a strict new photo ID requirement. Asked last week how that squares with his signing of a bill in January that eliminated August special elections, which were held up as expensive, low-turnout assaults on democracy, DeWine said “it's inconsistent.” Mike DeWine, who is also a former state attorney general, has said he would sign the August special election bill, should the politically fractured Ohio House get it through a floor vote. He and GOP Secretary of State Frank LaRose introduced the 60% proposal during last year's lame duck session, with LaRose arguing it would be “a win for good government” that would protect the state's founding document from deep-pocketed special interests. Brian Stewart, the House resolution's Republican sponsor, defended the resolution at a meeting of the House Constitutional Amendments Committee. The former top lawyers said Ohio's existing initiative process has “worked well" as a vehicle over more than a century for a host of policy changes impacting Ohioans - including creation of county home rule, a 10-mill limit on unvoted property taxes, legislative term limits and setting a minimum wage. Clearly, that has not happened in this rush to revise our constitution.” “Such changes should not be made without the opportunity for participation of those most intimately affected by the constitution - the people. “Constitutions are designed to endure, and major changes in fundamental constitutional arrangements should not be made unless the changes are supported by a careful understanding of the policies being changed and the consequences of the proposed changes,” they wrote. Republicans Betty Montgomery and Jim Petro and Democrats Richard Cordray, Lee Fisher and Nancy Rogers all told lawmakers they are uniquely positioned to comment on the proposal, given the state attorney general's key roles in reviewing citizen-led initiatives and litigating on the state's behalf. Bob Taft and John Kasich and former Democratic Govs. The resolution eventually cleared the committee.įive former Ohio attorneys general wrote a letter to every state senator and representative Monday opposing the plan, a move that follows opposition from former Republican Govs. The other committee saw its business extend into the afternoon, as lawmakers heard hours of opposition testimony on a joint resolution that would place an issue on that ballot asking to raise the threshold for passing constitutional amendments from 50%-plus-one to 60%. One of the committees was canceled after what appeared to be a stalemate over legislation establishing a $20 million special election this summer, with some lawmakers balking at the fact that it would reverse a bill they supported just a few months ago that eliminated most such elections. The next House session is scheduled for May 10, the deadline that the secretary of state has set for an as-yet-hypothetical August ballot. Once it was missed, Stephens canceled the session. Two Ohio House committees that had separate possible votes scheduled Tuesday failed to act before Republican House Speaker Jason Stephens’ deadline to set the next day’s House calendar. Perenic/The Columbus Dispatch via AP, File) Barbara J. They are pushing an amendment raising the threshold for passing future constitutional changes to 60% of Ohio voters from 50%-plus-one. With an effort to enshrine abortion rights looming this fall, an influential mix of Republican politicians, lobbying organizations and business interests is working to make another change to the state’s founding document first. Ohio’s constitution is caught in a tug-of-war. Taft urged state lawmakers on Monday, April 24, 2023, against advancing a measure that would make it harder to amend the state constitution or reviving August special elections to do it - calling the combination “especially bad public policy.” (Tony Jones/The Cincinnati Enquirer via AP, File) Tony Jones/AP Show More Show Less 2 of5 FILE - Protesters rally at the Ohio Statehouse in support of abortion rights after the U.S. Bob Taft speaks during an interview on the campus of the University of Dayton on Dec.
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