Ohio Constitution News

See OCMC Press Release

All meetings will take place on Thursday, July 9, 2015  in Columbus, Ohio.  If you are interested in addressing a committee please contact Steven C. Hollon, Executive Director of the Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission at 614.644.2022.

For changes and updates, see http://www.ocmc.ohio.gov/ocmc/home

10:00 a.m.

Education, Public Institutions, and Local Government Committee – South Meeting Room B, 31^st Floor of the Riffe Center for Government and the Arts.  Presentations: Steven H. Steinglass, Senior Policy Advisor – “Article VI, Section 3 (Public School System, Boards of Education)”; Sue Steele, Board Member, Great Oaks Institute of Technology and Career Development, “Joint Vocational Schools”; Al Haberstroh, Board Member, Trumbull County Educational Service Center, “Educational Service Centers”. Reports and Recommendations (second presentation and possible adoption): Article VI, Section 1 (Funds for Religious and Educational Purposes) and Article VI, Section 2 (School Funds).   Committee Discussion on Article VI, Section 3 – (Local Boards of Education).

11:30 a.m.

Organization and Administration Committee – South Meeting Room C, 31^st Floor of the Riffe Center for Government and the Arts. Presentations by Steven C. Hollon, OCMC Executive Director:  “FY2016 – Proposed Budget” and “Proposed Amendments to Rules of Procedure and Conduct”.  Committee Discussion:  FY2016 – Proposed Budget and Proposed Amendments to Rules of Procedure and Conduct.

12:30 p.m.

Coordinating Committee – South Meeting Room C, 31^st Floor of the Riffe Center for Government and the Arts.   Reports and Recommendations for consideration and approval:  Article I, Section 13 (Quartering of Troops); Article I, Section 17 (No Hereditary Privileges); Article VI, Section 1 (Funds for Religious and Educational Purposes); Article VI, Section 2 (School Funds).

1:00 p.m.

Judicial Branch and Administration of Justice Committee – South Meeting Room B, 31^st Floor of the Riffe Center for Government and the Arts.  Presentations: Senator Sandra Williams, Task Force Member: “Grand Jury Recommendation by the Ohio Task Force on Community-Police Relations”; Professor Gregory M. Gilchrist, Associate Professor of Law, University of Toledo College of Law, “An Introduction to the Grand Jury”.  Discussion: Article I, Section 10 (Grand Juries) – Discussion regarding continuing reference to grand jury in the Ohio Constitution.

The budget bill passed by the Ohio House and Senate, 131st General Assembly Amended Substitute HB 64, will terminate the Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission (OCMC) on January 1, 2018.    It will repeal sections 103.61, 103.62, 103.63, 103.64, 103.65, 103.66, and 103.67 of the Revised Code on that date.   Am. Sub. H.B. 64 awaits signature by Governor Kasich.

According to the Columbus Dispatch, Constitution-reform panel must be preserved:

The commission, created in 2011, was charged with researching and debating whether and how the Ohio Constitution could be changed to address longstanding flaws in state government. It was given 10 years to do so — it is set to expire in July 2021 — but didn’t really get off the ground for two years, thanks largely to legislators’ neglect.

It was intended to perform the same function as a similar commission empanelled in the 1970s.

Even so, in less than a year and a half of focused work, led by some sterling volunteers, committees of the bipartisan commission have reached consensus on thorny issues that a hopelessly partisan and short-sighted legislature has proved incapable of addressing.

The Ohio Senate Finance Committee previously proposed eliminating the OCMC as of January 1, 2016.  See our prior post Ohio Senate Finance Committee Wants to Eliminate the Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission.

Per Hannah News, OCMC Co-Chair Discusses Senate Budget; Commission Adopts No Change Recommendations, June 11, 2015:

… the commission [Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission] unanimously voted to adopt three recommendations from the Bill of Rights and Voting Committee to retain current language in Article I, Sec. 2, concerning the right of the people to alter, reform, or abolish government, the right of government to repeal special privileges, and equal protection; Article I, Sec. 3, concerning the right to assemble and petition; and Article I, Sec. 4, concerning the right to bear arms, the prohibition against maintaining standing armies during peacetime, and the subordination of the military to civil power. 

Per the Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission’s Facebook page:

The Bill of Rights and Voting Committee adopted reports and recommendations for Article 1, Section 13 (Quartering Troops) and Article 1, Sections 13 (No Hereditary Privileges). The reports and recommendations were passed unanimously to retain language in its current form.

All meetings will be held on Thursday, June 11, 2015 in Columbus, Ohio. If you are interested in addressing a committee please contact Steven C. Hollon, Executive Director of the Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission at 614.644.2022.

9:30 a.m.
Bill of Rights and Voting Committee – Room 018 of the Ohio Statehouse.  Possible adoption of recommendations concerning  Article I, Section 13 (Quartering of Troops) and  Article I, Section 17 (No Hereditary Privileges).  Discussion of elimination of the phrase “idiot, or insane person” from Article V, Section 6 and discussion regarding excluding from voting those convicted of a felony (Article V, Section 4).

11 a.m.
Constitutional Revision and Updating Committee – Room 018 of the Ohio Statehouse.  Discussion of the Special Interest Amendment – a constitutional amendment limiting initiative petitions that create special interests.
1:30  p.m.

Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission – South Meeting Rooms B & C, 31^st Floor of the Riffe Center for Government and the Arts. Reports and Recommendations will be heard on the possible adoption of committee recommendations regarding  Article I, Section 2 (Right to Alter, Reform, or Abolish Government),  Article I, Section 3 (Right to Assemble) and Article I, Section 4 (Bearing Arms; Standing Armies; Military Power).

2:30  p.m.

Legislative Branch and Executive Branch Committee – 2:30 p.m. in in South Meeting Rooms B & C, 31^st Floor of the Riffe Center for Government and the Arts.  Presentation:  HJR2 – Congressional Redistricting, by Ann Henkener, League of Women Voters of Ohio and Richard Gunther, Professor Emeritus, Ohio State University. Discussion regarding  HJR2 – Congressional Redistricting and Sub. SJR1 – Public Office Compensation Commission.

The Ohio Senate Finance Committee wants to sunset the Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission (O.C.M.C.) on Jan 1, 2016.  See the Committee’s report on the budget bill, Amended Substitute HB 64.   The Ohio Legislature created the Commission in 2011 to make recommendations to the General Assembly as to Constitutional revision. See  HB 188 (129th General Assembly).  The Commission was set to expire in 2021.

According to Cleveland.com:

… The Senate’s budget calls for ending the commission at the end of this year, a move that would save $950,000 in appropriations during the next two years.

“It’s been going long enough,” Oelslager [Senate Finance Chairman Scott Oelslager] said when asked why the Senate is seeking the change. “It’s time to wrap up.”

See Cleveland.com Ohio Senate’s budget looks to kill education fund, constitutional study group

The budget proposal must be approved by the full Ohio Senate, approved by a conference committee and signed by the Governor.

A similar bipartisan commission was created in 1969, called the Ohio Constitutional Revision Commission. The Ohio Constitutional Revision Commission issued its final report in 1977.  Ohio voters approved 16 of the 20 amendments that had their origins in recommendations made to the General Assembly by the Commission.

The O.C.M.C. has approved some recommendations, but has not yet submitted any recommendations to the General Assembly.  See  Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission Recommends Deleting Two Unused Sections Pertaining to Courts.   The Commission played a significant role in recent Ohio legislative redistricting reform efforts, which culminated in the passage of HJR 12.   HJR 12 puts redistricting reform measures on the ballot which would make the redistricting process more nonpartisan.

The Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission is addressing important questions concerning the state’s main governing document, including:

• How to eliminate defects in the debt provisions of the Ohio Constitution.  These provisions require passing frequent constitutional amendments because of an antiquated $750,000 debt limitation.
• Whether to amend the initiative process to prohibit special interest groups from hijacking the Ohio Constitution.
• Whether to modify the initiative process in favor of a system that would encourage members of the public wishing to effect change to pursue statutory enactment rather than the adoption of constitutional amendments.  This may include making the seldom-used statutory initiative process easier.
• How to amend Congressional redistricting provisions to make the redistricting process more nonpartisan.
• Whether to amend Ohio’s current method of electing judges.
• A provision to revise the current constitution which denies the right to vote to “idiot[s and insane persons”.
• The repeal of numerous obsolete provisions of the constitution.

When HB 188 (129th General Assembly) was under consideration by the legislature, committee testimony included:

• Ohio State University President Gordon Gee:

Gee said there is an “absolutely clear and compelling” case for convening a constitutional commission, noting the number of useful reforms from a previous commission, including the linking of the elections of governor and lieutenant governor. He said the commission format would be “bipartisan,” “thoughtful” and “broad-based” and would grant sufficient time to consider all the issues. 

Hannah News, House State Government and Elections, Jun. 7, 2011.

• Dennis Hetzel, executive director of the Ohio Newspaper Association:

“We will leave it up to our individual members to report and editorialize upon the deliberations and outcomes of this commission, but the concept makes sense and will provide Ohio’s citizens a foundation for an important discussion.”

Hannah News, House State Government and Elections, May 24, 2011

• Beth Vanderkooi, Ohio Farm Bureau:

 [the bill is] an “excellent mechanism to review the Ohio Constitution in a manner that, while not immune from partisan politics, is consistent with a bipartisan approach.”

Hannah News, House State Government and Elections, May 24, 2011

At the June 4, 2015 meeting of the Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission’s Finance,  Taxation,  and  Economic  Development  Committee Chair Douglas Cole suggested three ways the Committee might approach recommendations for Article VIII (Public Debt and Public Works). Per a OCMC news release Finance, Taxation, and Economic Development Committee Tackle State Debt:

Cole suggested that the committee could make no changes; keep the general framework of the article and get rid of obsolete provisions; or make changes based on the March 12, 2015 testimony from Seth Metcalf, Deputy Treasurer and General Counsel, Ohio Treasurer of State, who suggested the debt be raised from $750,000 and that Ohio retain the Sinking Fund (a means by which the state sets aside money over time to retire its debt).

The testimony of Seth Metcalf referred to above can be viewed here.  Deputy Treasurer Metcalf summarizes the problems with Article VIII as follows:

The Finance, Taxation and Economic Development Committee of the Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission will meet on Thursday, June 4, 2015 at 1:30 p.m. in South Meeting Room A, 31^st Floor of the Riffe Center for Government and the Arts, 77 S. High St., Columbus.

 The Committee will hear a presentation, “State Debt and State Constitutions: Ohio and the Nation” by Professor Richard Briffault, the Joseph P. Chamberlain Professor of Legislation at Columbia Law School.  They will also discuss the presentation by Seth Metcalf, Deputy Treasurer and General Counsel, Ohio Treasurer of State, made at the March 12, 2015 committee meeting.  Seth Metcalf’s presentation dealt with financial transparency and modernizing Article VIII of the Ohio Constitution.

If you are interested in addressing the committee please contact Steven C. Hollon, Executive Director of the Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission at 614.644.2022.

The  Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission (OCMC) will consider two proposals to amend the Ohio Constitution to extend term limits for Ohio legislators.  The Legislative Branch and Executive Branch Committee recommended these proposals to the full commission.  Both proposals would extend terms limits in the Ohio House and Ohio Senate to twelve years instead of eight.  One proposal applies to current members of the General Assembly, the other only to members elected after the effective date of the constitutional amendment.  The OCMC will decide whether to recommend this constitutional amendment to the General Assembly.  The General Assembly must pass the initiative by a 3/5 vote in order to get it on the ballot.

The Eight is Enough Ohio PAC, formed by current and former legislators and others, was formed to fight any lengthened term limits in Ohio.   In a recent news conference, term limit opponents suggested proposing their own constitutional amendments to shorten legislative terms, or to disallow legislators from serving the maximum term in one chamber, then serving the maximum in the other.  Currently, a legislator may serve eight years in the House plus eight years in the Senate.  The proposed constitutional amendment would allow twelve years in the House plus twelve years in the Senate.  See Cleveland.com, Political action group formed to fight any attempt to change Ohio’s legislative term limits