Groups to defend citizens' power to amend Ohio constitution [View all]
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Foes of a proposal that would make it harder for citizens to amend Ohio's constitution vowed Tuesday to unleash the same broad activist coalition against it that delivered a scorching rebuke to a Republican-backed anti-union law last decade.
Opponents including the union-backed group We Are Ohio held a Statehouse news conference on Tuesday and criticized what Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose has dubbed the Ohio Constitution Protection Amendment as hypocritical, disturbing and “a slap in the face” to the people.
The Ohio Council of Churches, Common Cause, the League of Women Voters of Ohio, Innovation Ohio and the Ohio Organizing Collaborative also were represented.
The joint resolution containing the proposal, sponsored by GOP state Rep. Brian Stewart, is scheduled for its first hearing Thursday.
It would place a constitutional amendment on 2023 ballots calling for requiring a 60% supermajority of voters to approve citizen-initiated amendments in the future. The same standard would not be applied to amendments advanced by the state Legislature, where the required supermajorities needed to make the ballot are controlled in both chambers by Republicans.
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https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/groups-defend-citizens-power-amend-ohio-constitution-94166776
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