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As Introduced
136th
General Assembly
Regular
Session
S. J. R. No. 2
2025-2026
Senator
Blessing
A
J O I N T R E S O L U T I O N
Proposing
to amend
Sections
1b
and
1g
of
Article II of the Constitution of the State of Ohio
to
modify the process for statutes proposed by initiative petition.
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, 2026, a proposal to amend
Sections
1b
and
1g
of
Article II of the Constitution of the State of Ohio to read as
follows:
ARTICLE
II
Section
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
with
the secretary of state
.
If a proposed law so submitted is approved by a majority 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 majority 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.
A
law proposed by initiative petition and approved by the electors
shall not be amended, repealed, or suspended by the general assembly
for two years from the date the law takes effect unless by an
affirmative vote of three-fifths of each house of the general
assembly. Any law passed by the general assembly that amends,
repeals, or suspends a law proposed by initiative petition and
approved by the electors before two years from the date the law takes
effect shall be void and unconstitutional unless done so by an
affirmative vote of three-fifths of each house of the general
assembly.
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 his name the date of signing and his
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 his residence. A resident of a municipality shall state
the street and number, if any, of his 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 himself. To each
part of such petition shall be attached the statement of the
circulator, as may be required by law, that he 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 majority 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
initiative
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.
EFFECTIVE
DATE
If
adopted by a majority of the electors voting on this proposal,
Sections
1b
and
1g
of
Article II amended by this proposal shall take
immediate
effect
and the existing
versions
of
Sections
1b
and
1g
of
Article II of the Constitution of the State of Ohio shall be repealed
from that effective date.