Plan to restrict constitutional access in Ohio delayed again

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Efforts Tuesday by Republican state lawmakers moving to ask Ohio voters this August to raise the threshold for passing future constitutional amendments — with the idea of thwarting a November abortion rights question — were again plagued by delays. 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. Clearly, that has not happened in this rush to revise our constitution.” 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. 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. 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.” 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.