by J.D. Davidson
Supporters of a higher minimum wage in Ohio haven’t waited long to move forward with a proposed constitutional amendment that was rejected two weeks ago.
The group pushing to put the question before voters must clear the Ohio Ballot Board, which will decide if it contains just a single constitutional amendment or multiple amendments. The board will meet Nov. 7 to consider the proposal, according to Secretary of State Frank LaRose.
Attorney General Dave Yost accepted the “Raise the Wage Ohio” petition that proposed the state state-minimum-wage rate. As previously reported by The Center Square, Yost rejected the petition earlier this month as misleading with numerous omissions.
Yost received a revised proposal just days after rejecting the first.
The petition would raise the state minimum wage to $10.50 an hour Jan. 1, 2025 and increase it annually from there for three years to reach $15 an hour Jan. 1, 2028.
It would also increase the minimum wage for inflation, beginning Jan. 1, 2029, and require employers pay employees who receive tips the full minimum wage with tips on top of the hourly rate.
If the Ohio Ballot Board certifies the petition, the group must collect signatures from at least 3% of registered voters based on the ballots cast in the last gubernatorial election. Those signatures must come from at least 44 of the state’s 88 counties, and in each of those counties, the number must be at least 1.5% of the vote cast in the last gubernatorial election.
The petition then must be signed by the secretary of state at least 10 days before the beginning of any General Assembly session, and the secretary of state will send the petition to the General Assembly as soon as it convenes. The General Assembly has four months to act.
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J.D. Davidson is a regular contributor to The Center Square. An Ohio native, Davidson is a veteran journalist with more than 30 years of experience in newspapers in Ohio, Georgia, Alabama and Texas. He has served as a reporter, editor, managing editor and publisher.
Photo “Minimum Wage Raise” by Fibonacci Blue CC BY 2.0.
