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The Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission was terminated by the Ohio General Assembly on June 30, 2017. The Commission had been created in 2011 and was supposed to last for 10 years. The Commission’s purpose was a comprehensive review of the Ohio Constitution, which is the 10th longest in the country.

In a column for the Columbus Dispatch, published on July 9, 2017, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Dean Emeritus and former Senior Policy Advisor of the Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission, Steven Steinglass reflected on the Commission’s work and some topics left unfinished. Despite not being fully staffed until mid-2014, the Commission approved recommendations to repeal or amend 21 sections. The General Assembly must decide whether to present those proposals to voters for approval. Two amendments, involving apportionment and anti-monopoly, were put before voters in 2015 and were approved. The Commission recommended no changes to 39 sections.

According to Steinglass, there are still many more provisions that the Commission did not act on. For example, committee-approved proposals to reform grand jury proceedings; unconstitutional provisions such as barring same-sex marriage and placing term limits on members of Congress; obsolete provisions; detailed provisions that should be in statutes instead; and hot button issues such as congressional redistricting.

The Commission’s work record, including proceedings and reports are still available on its website, but will eventually be moved to the Ohio Legislative Service Commission website.

The full text of the column is available here.

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