On Monday, The Ohio Ballot Board unanimously certified that the proposed constitutional amendment that would raise the state minimum wage to $15 an hour called “Raise the Wage Ohio Amendment” incorporates only one constitutional amendment and therefore advances.
The Committee to Represent the Petitioners including Prentiss Haney, Taneisha Latoya Head, Kandiss Bondurant, Mary Jo Ivan, Diane Morgan, and Andrew Ritterman must now gather over 413,000 signatures from registered voters in at least 44 counties, which equals 10 percent of the votes cast in the most recent gubernatorial election before July 5th. The number of signatures must equal at least 5 percent of the votes cast in the most recent gubernatorial race in each county.
If the sufficient number of signatures are “verified by the Ohio Secretary of State at least 65 days before the election, the full text of the proposed amendment will be placed on the ballot in the regular or general election that occurs subsequent to 125 days after the filing of the petition.”
The “Raise the Wage Ohio Amendment” aims to amend Article II, Section 34a of Ohio’s Constitution in order to raise the minimum wage to $12.75 per hour beginning January 1st, 2025, and then in equal yearly increments until it gets to $15 per hour on January 1st, 2026.
According to Ohio Secretary of State and Chairman of the Ballot Board Frank LaRose, the “sole purpose” of the Ballot Board was to decide whether the proposal incorporates one or more constitutional amendments, not to “debate the merits of the issue.”
This is the third time that the petitioners have submitted this petition. The Ohio Attorney General’s Office rejected the original version of the petition on October 14th, 2022, over summary omissions. The petitioners modified and resubmitted the petition, which the office approved on October 28th, 2022, but then the petitioners decided to make additional changes.
The Buckeye Institute, a think tank with the aim of “advancing free-market public policy in the states,” claimed in a statement that increasing the minimum wage would be bad for Ohio businesses.
“While businesses in large metropolitan areas are already offering starting salaries at or above $15, more rural parts of the state would be harmed by the increase. The business model of hospitality would be severely impacted as the referendum would eliminate the exception for tipped workers. There are better ways to help Ohio workers than a statewide mandate that would encourage businesses to hire fewer workers, “The Buckeye Institute said.
Republicans in both the Ohio House and Senate are moving quickly to put protections in place for the state Constitution prior to the November general election. The Ohio Constitution Protection Amendment aims to raise the threshold for initiative petitions from 50 to 60 percent.
They have also filed a discharge petition to accelerate the process and automatically advance the legislation to the House floor for a vote if 50 Representatives sign on.
State Representative Derek Merrin (R-Monclova) said that protecting the state Constitution is a “top priority” for the Republican Caucus.
“We will protect our Constitution,” Merrin said.
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Hannah Poling is a lead reporter at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Follow Hannah on Twitter @HannahPoling1. Email tips to [email protected]
