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H. J. R. No. 13 As Introduced
As Introduced
| 128th General Assembly | | Regular Session | | 2009-2010 |
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Cosponsor:
Representative Ruhl
A JOINT RESOLUTION
| Proposing to amend Sections 1b, 1c, and 1g of Article
II and Section 1 of Article XVI of the
Constitution of the State of Ohio to require
sixty-seven per cent of the electors voting on an
initiative or referendum to vote in favor of the
issue in order for the issue to be approved.
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| Be it resolved by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio,
three-fifths of the members elected to each house concurring
herein, that there shall be submitted to the electors of the
state, in the manner prescribed by law at the general election to
be held on November 3, 2009, a proposal to amend Sections 1b, 1c,
and 1g of Article II and Section 1 of Article XVI of the
Constitution of the State of Ohio to read as follows: |
1b. When at any time, not less than ten days prior
to the commencement of any session of the general assembly, there
shall have been filed with the secretary of state a petition
signed by three per centum of the electors and verified as herein
provided, proposing a law, the full text of which shall have been
set forth in such petition, the secretary of state shall transmit
the same to the general assembly as soon as it convenes. If said
proposed law shall be passed by the general assembly, either as
petitioned for or in an amended form, it shall be subject to the
referendum. If it shall not be passed, or if it shall be passed in
an amended form, or if no action shall be taken thereon within
four months from the time it is received by the general assembly,
it shall be submitted by the secretary of state to the electors
for their approval or rejection, if such submission shall be
demanded by supplementary petition verified as herein provided and
signed by not less than three per centum of the electors in
addition to those signing the original petition, which
supplementary petition must be signed and filed with the secretary
of state within ninety days after the proposed law shall have been
rejected by the general assembly or after the expiration of such
term of four months, if no action has been taken thereon, or after
the law as passed by the general assembly shall have been filed by
the governor in the office of the secretary of state. The proposed
law shall be submitted at the next regular or general election
occurring subsequent to one hundred twenty-five days after the
supplementary petition is filed in the form demanded by such
supplementary petition, which form shall be either as first
petitioned for or with any amendment or amendments which may have
been incorporated therein by either branch or by both branches, of
the general assembly. If a proposed law so submitted is approved
by a majoritysixty-seven per cent of the electors voting thereon,
it shall be the law and shall go into effect as herein provided in
lieu of any amended form of said law which may have been passed by
the general assembly, and such amended law passed by the general
assembly shall not go into effect until and unless the law
proposed by supplementary petition shall have been rejected by the
electors. All such initiative petitions, last above described,
shall have printed across the top thereof, in case of proposed
laws: "Law Proposed by Initiative Petition First to be Submitted
to the General Assembly." Ballots shall be so printed as to permit
an affirmative or negative vote upon each measure submitted to the
electors. Any proposed law or amendment to the constitution
submitted to the electors as provided in 1a and 1b, if approved by a majoritysixty-seven per cent of the electors voting thereon,
shall take effect thirty days after the election at which it was
approved and shall be published by the secretary of state. If
conflicting proposed laws or conflicting proposed amendments to
the constitution shall be approved at the same election by a
majority of the total number of votes cast for and against the
same, the one receiving the highest number of affirmative votes
shall be the law, or in the case of amendments to the constitution
shall be the amendment to the constitution. No law proposed by
initiative petition and approved by the electors shall be subject
to the veto of the governor. |
Section 1c. The second aforestated power reserved by the
people is designated the referendum, and the signatures of six per
centum of the electors shall be required upon a petition to order
the submission to the electors of the state for their approval or
rejection, of any law, section of any law or any item in any law
appropriating money passed by the general assembly. No law passed
by the general assembly shall go into effect until ninety days
after it shall have been filed by the governor in the office of
the secretary of state, except as herein provided. When a
petition, signed by six per centum of the electors of the state
and verified as herein provided, shall have been filed with the
secretary of state within ninety days after any law shall have
been filed by the governor in the office of the secretary of
state, ordering that such law, section of such law or any item in
such law appropriating money be submitted to the electors of the
state for their approval or rejection, the secretary of state
shall submit to the electors of the state for their approval or
rejection such law, section or item, in the manner herein
provided, at the next succeeding regular or general election in
any year occurring subsequent to one hundred twenty-five days
after the filing of such petition, and no such law, section or
item shall go into effect until and unless approved by a majoritysixty-seven per cent of those voting upon the same. If, however, a
referendum petition is filed against any such section or item, the
remainder of the law shall not thereby be prevented or delayed
from going into effect. |
Section 1g. Any initiative, supplementary, or referendum
petition may be presented in separate parts but each part shall
contain a full and correct copy of the title, and text of the law,
section or item thereof sought to be referred, or the proposed law
or proposed amendment to the constitution. Each signer of any
initiative, supplementary, or referendum petition must be an
elector of the state and shall place on such petition after histhe signer's name the date of signing and histhe signer's place
of residence. A signer residing outside of a municipality shall
state the county and the rural route number, post office address,
or township of histhe signer's residence. A resident of a
municipality shall state the street and number, if any, of histhe signer's residence and the name of the municipality or post
office address. The names of all signers to such petitions shall
be written in ink, each signer for himselfon the signer's own
behalf. To each part of such petition shall be attached the
statement of the circulator, as may be required by law, that hethe circulator witnessed the affixing of every signature. The
secretary of state shall determine the sufficiency of the
signatures not later than one hundred five days before the
election. |
| The Ohio supreme court shall have original, exclusive
jurisdiction over all challenges made to petitions and signatures
upon such petitions under this section. Any challenge to a
petition or signature on a petition shall be filed not later than
ninety-five days before the day of the election. The court shall
hear and rule on any challenges made to petitions and signatures
not later than eighty-five days before the election. If no ruling
determining the petition or signatures to be insufficient is
issued at least eighty-five days before the election, the petition
and signatures upon such petitions shall be presumed to be in all
respects sufficient. |
| If the petitions or signatures are determined to be
insufficient, ten additional days shall be allowed for the filing
of additional signatures to such petition. If additional
signatures are filed, the secretary of state shall determine the
sufficiency of those additional signatures not later than
sixty-five days before the election. Any challenge to the
additional signatures shall be filed not later than fifty-five
days before the day of the election. The court shall hear and rule
on any challenges made to the additional signatures not later than
forty-five days before the election. If no ruling determining the
additional signatures to be insufficient is issued at least
forty-five days before the election, the petition and signatures
shall be presumed to be in all respects sufficient. |
No law or amendment to the constitution submitted to the
electors by initiative and supplementary petition and receiving an
affirmative majoritysixty-seven per cent of the votes cast
thereon, shall be held unconstitutional or void on account of the
insufficiency of the petitions by which such submission of the
same was procured; nor shall the rejection of any law submitted by
referendum petition be held invalid for such insufficiency. Upon
all initiative, supplementary, and referendum petitions provided
for in any of the sections of this article, it shall be necessary
to file from each of one-half of the counties of the state,
petitions bearing the signatures of not less than one-half of the
designated percentage of the electors of such county. A true copy
of all laws or proposed laws or proposed amendments to the
constitution, together with an argument or explanation, or both,
for, and also an argument or explanation, or both, against the
same, shall be prepared. The person or persons who prepare the
argument or explanation, or both, against any law, section, or
item, submitted to the electors by referendum petition, may be
named in such petition and the persons who prepare the argument or
explanation, or both, for any proposed law or proposed amendment
to the constitution may be named in the petition proposing the
same. The person or persons who prepare the argument or
explanation, or both, for the law, section, or item, submitted to
the electors by referendum petition, or against any proposed law
submitted by supplementary petition, shall be named by the general
assembly, if in session, and if not in session then by the
governor. The law, or proposed law, or proposed amendment to the
constitution, together with the arguments and explanations, not
exceeding a total of three hundred words for each, and also the
arguments and explanations, not exceeding a total of three hundred
words against each, shall be published once a week for three
consecutive weeks preceding the election, in at least one
newspaper of general circulation in each county of the state,
where a newspaper is published. The secretary of state shall cause
to be placed upon the ballots, the ballot language for any such
law, or proposed law, or proposed amendment to the constitution,
to be submitted. The ballot language shall be prescribed by the
Ohio ballot board in the same manner, and subject to the same
terms and conditions, as apply to issues submitted by the general
assembly pursuant to Section 1 of Article XVI of this
constitution. The ballot language shall be so prescribed and the
secretary of state shall cause the ballots so to be printed as to
permit an affirmative or negative vote upon each law, section of
law, or item in a law appropriating money, or proposed law, or
proposed amendment to the constitution. The style of all laws
submitted by initiative and supplementary petition shall be: "Be
it Enacted by the People of the State of Ohio," and of all
constitutional amendments: "Be it Resolved by the People of the
State of Ohio." The basis upon which the required number of
petitioners in any case shall be determined shall be the total
number of votes cast for the office of governor at the last
preceding election therefor. The foregoing provisions of this
section shall be self-executing, except as herein otherwise
provided. Laws may be passed to facilitate their operation, but in
no way limiting or restricting either such provisions or the
powers herein reserved. |
| Section 1. Either branch of the general assembly may propose
amendments to this constitution; and, if the same shall be agreed
to by three-fifths of the members elected to each house, such
proposed amendments shall be entered on the journals, with the
yeas and nays, and shall be filed with the secretary of state at
least ninety days before the date of the election at which they
are to be submitted to the electors, for their approval or
rejection. They shall be submitted on a separate ballot without
party designation of any kind, at either a special or a general
election as the general assembly may prescribe. |
| The ballot language for such proposed amendments shall be
prescribed by a majority of the Ohio ballot board, consisting of
the secretary of state and four other members, who shall be
designated in a manner prescribed by law and not more than two of
whom shall be members of the same political party. The ballot
language shall properly identify the substance of the proposal to
be voted upon. The ballot need not contain the full text nor a
condensed text of the proposal. The board shall also prepare an
explanation of the proposal, which may include its purpose and
effects, and shall certify the ballot language and the explanation
to the secretary of state not later than seventy-five days before
the election. The ballot language and the explanation shall be
available for public inspection in the office of the secretary of
state. |
| The supreme court shall have exclusive, original jurisdiction
in all cases challenging the adoption or submission of a proposed
constitutional amendment to the electors. No such case challenging
the ballot language, the explanation, or the actions or procedures
of the general assembly in adopting and submitting a
constitutional amendment shall be filed later than sixty-four days
before the election. The ballot language shall not be held invalid
unless it is such as to mislead, deceive, or defraud the voters. |
| Unless the general assembly otherwise provides by law for the
preparation of arguments for and, if any, against a proposed
amendment, the board may prepare such arguments. |
Such proposed amendments, the ballot language, the
explanations, and the arguments, if any, shall be published once a
week for three consecutive weeks preceding such election, in at
least one newspaper of general circulation in each county of the
state, where a newspaper is published. The general assembly shall
provide by law for other dissemination of information in order to
inform the electors concerning proposed amendments. An election on
a proposed constitutional amendment submitted by the general
assembly shall not be enjoined nor invalidated because the
explanation, arguments, or other information is faulty in any way.
If the majoritysixty-seven per cent of the electors voting on the
same shall adopt such amendments the same shall become a part of
the constitution. When more than one amendment shall be submitted
at the same time, they shall be so submitted as to enable the
electors to vote on each amendment, separately. |
| EFFECTIVE DATE AND REPEAL
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| If adopted by a majority of the electors voting on this
proposal, Sections 1b, 1c, and 1g of Article II and Section 1 of
Article XVI amended by this proposal shall take immediate effect,
and existing Sections 1b, 1c, and 1g of Article II and existing
Section 1 of Article XVI of the Constitution of the State of Ohio
shall be repealed from that effective date. |
| The amendments to Section 1g of Article II of the
Constitution of the State of Ohio in part substitute gender
neutral for gender specific language. These gender neutralizing
amendments are not intended to make a substantive change in the
Constitution of the State of Ohio. The gender neutral language is
to be construed as a restatement of, and substituted in a
continuing way for, the corresponding gender specific language
existing prior to adoption of the gender neutralizing amendments. |
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