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Maude Porter Wright dot com and from the Ohio Education Association representing 124,000 members who work to inspire their students to think creatively and experience the joy of learning online at OHEA.org The 60% voter approval amendment on an August special election gets the green light from Republican lawmakers just hours before the deadline to set that summer vote.

And though Republicans are backing the idea, not all conservatives are.

I talked to one with a different view this week in the state of Ohio.

Welcome to the state of ohio.

I'm karen Kasler.

State lawmakers have passed a resolution to ask voters to make it harder to amend the constitution in a vote just hours before the 90 day legal deadline for an August vote on that proposal.

But the decision drew hundreds of angry protesters to the statehouse and could also bring a lawsuit.

Uncertainty about this vote in the House had been building since the Senate passed its version of the resolution and a bill to create the August special election last month.

The House chamber was packed, and for the first time in months, there were 99 members present, with Republicans starting the session by filling two vacant seats in the upstairs gallery.

It was standing room only with some supporters and mostly opponents waiting for the vote.

Republican Brian Stewart, who had sponsored the resolution in the House, said raising the threshold to 60% will protect the Constitution from big money, out-of-state interests buying their way onto the ballot.

He had said a few weeks ago that the Republican billionaire from Illinois funding a political action committee to press for this vote was, quote, kind of an example of what we're trying to address for the long term.

And Stewart noted the other two changes to the process in the resolution.

They will ask Ohioans, not us, to decide whether all 88 counties should have a voice in determining what amendments make it onto the ballot and whether to eliminate the cumbersome two year period which gives initiative petitions effectively a do over when they fail to meet the requirements for ballot access.

Putting this issue in front of Ohioans, that is Democratic.

But Democrats were universally opposed.

Bride Ro Sweeney said.

This amendment is the latest in a series of actions by Republicans and what she called the most corrupt statehouse in the nation.

What are here when the sponsors say they want to protect the Constitution is that they want to protect the Constitution from you, the people, the it's only for them, their special interests, the people, the courts.

Democracy be damned.

They do not.

What I hear is that they do not trust the people of this state.

They think that they know better than the people that give them their power.

Supporters have been comparing the US Constitution, which has around 7600 words to Ohio's Constitution, which has 67,000 words to address the functions of state government not included in the US Constitution.

Republican Bob Peterson brought up a few amendments he said do not belong in the state's founding document.

In our Constitution today, we defined four parcels and four specific addresses and actually changed that one parcel to elections.

That doesn't make sense to me.

Also, I have a friend who did that 67,000 word count and tells me that there's 32.

The the country of Iraq is mentioned 32 times in our constitution.

That doesn't make sense to me.

These are policy issues that should not be included in the Constitution.

I think we can do better.

The move of the Columbus Casino was a 2010 amendment proposed by state lawmakers at the request of the casino developer Penn National and Iraq.

As in the Ohio Constitution, because of a 2009 amendment that provides for sales of bonds to create bonuses for veterans of conflicts in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan and Iraq.

That amendment was also proposed by state lawmakers.

The House then voted to add in to the resolution that it would be voted on in a special election on August 8th.

All Democrat and nine Republicans voted against that.

The gallery erupted and demonstrators were removed.

Debate then continued.

Republican Tracey Richardson called voting for the 60% resolution an act of character.

We are entrusted to do all that we can to protect the rights contained within our Constitution.

These, my friends, are not ordinary rights.

Rather, they are rights that define and shape how we live and are granted to us not by this body or any other government body, but rather by the God who created us.

These rights contained in the Constitution are thus sacred and should be treated as such.

Democrat Richard Brown concluded his lengthy speech against the resolution with this comment.

If S.T.A.R.T.

were a person, it would be charged with a convicted felonious assault.

S.T.A.R.T.

is an assault on democracy.

It's an assault on Ohio's constitution.

It's an assault on 111 years of constitutional process and precedent.

It is an assault on majority rule.

It is an assault on the rule of law.

It is an assault on the concept of one person, one vote.

And worst of all, it is an assault on the people of Ohio.

62 House Republicans said yes, giving the resolution its required 3/5 majority.

All 32 Democrats who voted no were joined by five Republicans Jamie Callander, Jay Edwards, Brett Hillyer, Jeff Luray, and Tom Patten.

The estimated cost of the special election around $20 million will likely be set aside in the state budget, which is now being heard in the Senate.

Hundreds of demonstrators were at the state House for the vote, some supporting the resolution.

But overwhelmingly the people in the crowd were against it.

State House correspondent Joe Ingles has more on the reaction to the vote.

So outside the House chamber, a large crowd mostly opposing the resolution, was chanting loudly enough that they could be heard inside.

Democrats came out of the chamber and joined the crowd to show their support.

Minority Leader Allison Russo told reporters she's disappointed with Republican Speaker Jason Stevens, who was elected to that position with the support of all 32 Democrats.

I think the Republican majority has made it very clear that they will cave to extremist and cave to out-of-state special interests, cave to partizan politics.

Russo says her focus will be to work to defeat the amendment.

Ohio Education Association President Scott Dimauro says his members and other unions will help, like they did when Republicans passed an anti collective bargaining law more than a decade ago that was repealed by voters.

Politicians then kicked a hornet's nest.

And incited a movement across the state.

Jen Miller with the League of Women Voters of Ohio says the coalition against this resolution is growing with more than 250 groups opposing it.

She says her group is also considering a lawsuit over the wording of the resolution.

That's being questioned by some constitutional experts.

We are looking at that because it's absolutely illegal to call for an August election in a resolution.

But Stevens says he thinks the resolution is legal.

You know, our legal team has put together and looked at, you know, the resolution and feels like that it's a solid resolution and should be able to withstand, you know, any legal challenge.

That's Vander Quoi with Columbus Right to Life, A group that supported the resolution says she's looking forward to bringing it to voters.

We need to see additional safeguards.

So I think sorry, Ohio.

Election Day will be August 8th unless the resolution is stopped by a day in court first.

Joe Ingles, Statehouse News Bureau.

Most of the opposition to the resolution and the special election comes from people who are with voter rights groups or Democratic leaning groups, including labor unions.

But the plan is also opposed by the by partizan elections officials who would have to conduct the August election.

The Libertarian Party, five former state attorneys general from both parties and Ohio's four living ex-governors, two Republicans and two Democrats.

Supporters are primarily conservative Republicans aligned with anti-abortion organizations, evangelical Christian groups and gun rights advocates.

The Ohio Restaurant Association is opposed because backers of an amendment to raise the minimum wage are gathering signatures for an amendment next fall.

But not all conservatives are on board.

One prominent opponent is Rob Holgate, the vice president of the American Policy Roundtable, which advocates for conservative Christians in Ohio.

You are a Christian.

You're a conservative.

You're pro-life.

And yet you're against this resolution and the August special election.

Why?

Oh, there's a variety of reasons.

The war against it.

When I read the Constitution and it says We the People, it's nice to know that the people are empowered to have a say.

Now, I know the other side immediately says, well, they're going to have a say.

They're going to have, say, an August election.

Well, we heard their testimony from a few months ago, read on the statehouse floor how they really feel about August elections.

So to us, in the 60% increasing it, it's nothing more than a power grab.

And it's blatant hypocrisy when you look at their position on August elections from a few months ago to their position on August elections today.

But you are pro-life.

I mean, that's been part of this whole discussion is the abortion amendments coming in?

Yes.

Yes.

The protection of innocent life.

The record of the American Policy Roundtable has been clear from its founding in 1980 that issues very important.

We don't feel the issue of 60% and the issue of life is one in the same.

The Constitution is a very important document.

And when we start putting issues and making one issue more important than the Ohio Constitution, we're going to have a lot deeper discussions.

We know why it was done.

We know that there's groups out there collecting signatures for an abortion amendment.

Let's have that fight and let's have that discussion.

That language is bad enough.

We think if Ohioans had the opportunity to have a say on that, more than 50% of Ohioans would reject that language.

Its being put forth.

We don't think the rules of the game need to be changed for that and the way it was done in this power grab to do it at the last minute.

The way the Republicans have done it in Ohio leaves a lot of people scratching their head.

There's a lot of pro-life people that do believe in the Constitution and believe in We the People.

And having a say, we're very fortunate to live in the state of Ohio where we have direct access to the Constitution for and I know there's a number of folks that say it's too easy to amend the Ohio Constitution.

It's too easy to amend.

I don't know if they've ever tried to gather 400 and some odd thousand valid signatures and 44 of the 88 counties.

But for those that haven't done the work, it's expensive and it's hard work.

I want to come back to that, but I want to ask you about one thing that we've heard throughout this argument is that supporters have been saying this will keep big money out of state special interests from buying their way onto the ballot and into Ohio's founding document.

The casino in 2009 is usually brought up as an example.

If that 60% threshold were in place, then though, we wouldn't have casinos, arguably because they passed that amendment passed in 2009 with 53%.

63% of Ohioans said they want it.

And that's why we have casinos.

I'm not for changing the threshold to 60%.

Neither is the American Policy Roundtable, because we would have defeated the gambling industry.

That issue is not more important than the Ohio Constitution.

But you bring up 2009.

Can we take a look back at that?

Let's talk about that.

So Dan Gilbert and his friends legally bought a piece of the Ohio Constitution.

The Republicans now are acting holier than thou and acting like that's a bad thing.

The problem is the Republicans were part of the deal.

They were making money and consulting fees and buying advertising, and all their friends were.

They weren't against it then.

They're against it now.

And there was an amendment done in 2015 to prevent monopolies from happening again.

So that's the one they point out.

But there was something else said on the House floor earlier this week as well that talked about the change of location of casinos.

Let's talk about that.

2009.

In the fall, Ohioans passed the constitutional amendment allowing the for brick and mortar casinos.

We then voted in 2010 to change the location, but they didn't make the casino industry go out and get the signatures to change the location.

It was done via joint resolution by the General Assembly.

Why?

Because the gambling industry is the most powerful special interests there is, and it still is to this day.

That's why we have sports wagering on every one's device.

The special interests are going to have the money to play in the game no matter what the threshold is.

The difference may be instead of them gathering the signatures, they're going to park the trucks out front.

Ludlow the wheelbarrows to the politicians and not talk directly to the people.

And that's a concern.

So I think Republicans aren't remembering history correctly when it comes to the gambling amendment in 2009.

The other thing that you mentioned, the elements of this resolution beyond the 60% threshold, it would also require signatures from all 88 counties, not just from 44 and it eliminates the ten day period where extra signatures can be gathered if the initial petition drive falls short.

The argument is, as you mentioned, that it's too easy to get on to the Constitution or to get onto the ballot, to go into the Constitution.

And the whole state should be involved in that petition drive because the whole state's going to weigh in.

And the ten day care period is a do over that most people don't get in their jobs.

So, oh, where do we start?

19 of 71 Is that the number?

19 of 71?

71 proposed constitutional.

Amendments from the people, from the petition process, 19 of 71 have passed, yet it's too easy to get on the ballot and get in the Ohio Constitution.

That makes no sense.

This is a power grab by the legislature, pure and simple.

If the Democrats had done what the Republicans did this week, Republicans would be turning over chairs and screaming, You're trying to take power from the people.

The difference is the Republicans are in charge right now by a massive majority.

The unfortunate part is I don't think they've studied history enough to know that doesn't always they don't always stay in power.

So there's some concerns there.

The thought of everyone does have a say in all 88 counties.

But let's talk about Ohio and how spread out it is.

The fact that you have to get 5% in 44 of the counties is a tough task.

Have they been in Columbiana county, going door to door on a rainy April day trying to get signatures?

It's not like you can park it the big urban areas and just collect signatures as people come and go.

It's not an easy task and they know it isn't.

But listen, they've been so hypocritical this week.

That doesn't surprise me that they're saying that either.

You talk about lawmakers needing to study history.

That's what you're saying that they should be doing.

But there's also the future to look at here.

And you've talked about unintended consequences that if this goes forward, there may be an effect and specifically on an amendment that passed in November 2011 by almost 66%, and that was the health care amendment.

Let's talk a little bit about that.

Yeah, well, it's being discussed in the courts right now, right.

As it pertains to the heartbeat bill.

The left is using that as an example where it says you can't prohibit the purchase or sale of health care.

No rule or law shall prohibit the purchase or sale of health care.

So the courts are talking about that right now.

But this was an anti-Obamacare.

Yes, that was done as a health care freedom amendment in two that was being done all across the country.

And Ohioans overwhelmingly approved it.

And there's language in there that some people are questioning.

And again, the left using it in court cases.

And are we going to leave it up to judges to decide, But that language, as well as the casino language, if the threshold is up to 60%, all that bad language that everyone talks about, it will remain in there forever.

You're not going to get it out that that's just pure and simple.

So when they talk about caving to special interests, the gambling industry, sitting back, smiling, saying if they go to 60%, those casinos are locked in forever.

If the Republicans really felt that that was bad and a bad deal and I know obviously John Kasich did because of the memorandum of understanding in that whole lawsuit, that's a whole nother show.

Why wouldn't they put up a joint resolution to try and change that?

The thing is, they say they're giving Ohioans, you know, what is it, one person, one vote or whatever they're saying.

They know what they're doing.

They're being hypocritical in their speech in the way that they're talking.

No Ohioans are asking to vote on the 60%.

How many outside of 270 came down here and testified and said, you know what, I want to give the General Assembly more power because I trust politicians more and I trust we the people.

No one saying that across the aisle.

But for some reason, that's what the Republicans here.

Now, supporters will say that there were people who were at the state house this week who were supportive and they were in the gallery.

They were in.

The they the wants thrown out the supporters.

But the whole idea of a 60% threshold, and that's kind of I mean, that's that's more than a simple majority.

It's a supermajority in a way is 60% other states.

Ohio is one of three states potentially.

If this passes, that would have 60%.

Yeah, Florida's one that has 60%.

Take a look how many amendments they've had.

All they've done is empower the legislature to put all the amendments they want, because that's where the special interests focus.

But guess what the Florida legislature is talking about up in it because 60% is not enough.

They want to go to 67.

So it's an incremental power grab.

They understand that they're going to take a little bit from the people now or attempt to take some from the people now and in the future attempt to take more.

Just look to use Pennsylvania.

They have no direct route to citizens, to the their state constitution.

They have to trust their lawmakers.

How fun does that sound?

You know, the American Policy Roundtable has stated often, as I have on this show, when it comes to the constitution of the state of Ohio, we believe we should only be voting on amendments in the fall of even numbered years.

That's been our position forever.

Why?

Because we're guaranteed to get the most amount of Ohioans to turn out and vote in the fall of even numbered years.

So why don't we want the most people participating that we can have?

What about the idea?

I know that the concept of making it harder to get into the Constitution has been floated out there to try to get more groups to consider the initiated statute, which of course is a law.

It has a lower threshold of signatures, but it can also be changed by the legislature.

AT Yeah, because people don't trust the legislature.

They think that if they went and got something passed by the people, they're fearful.

The legislature look at their actions.

Is it a shock?

They're not trusted by Ohioans in what they do.

Look at what they said four months ago compared to what they do today.

I mean, I understand why Ohioans are skeptical.

I think they're going to be shocked at how bad the 60% proposal gets beat down when it comes to the voters in the August election.

Again, though, the General Assembly is going to have to do something else to make sure we have an official August election date, because that resolution that they passed doesn't guarantee an August election date that doesn't create and Trump old statute.

Set a precedent.

Might have one would disagree with you, But let's move on from that, because I'm not a lawyer and neither are you.

So you play one on TV.

So I'm sure why not?

But the idea of the initiated statute, there's nothing in this resolution that kind of steers people toward that.

That's one thing that some Republicans who oppose this had said we should have a safe harbor or something to try to get more people to and groups to consider the initiated statute.

And I wish people would.

I love when people are involved in the process.

The thing is, they're saying continually, it's too easy to amend the Ohio Constitution.

Okay, give me three examples.

And they all point to 2009 and the casino industry.

Okay.

Well, your friends helped do that.

So can we have a couple more examples?

19 of 71 have passed.

It's not too easy.

They know that it's a power grab.

It is a very short sighted idea when you think about it, because five years from now, they're going to be scratching their heads and say, Why did we do this?

It's a short sighted idea.

This has caused a bit of a rift between you and some other conservatives.

I was listening to a Christian radio talk program that you guest hosted, and John Stover from Ohio, Value Voters called in.

And there's some struggle here in terms of real philosophy.

There is when it comes to strategy.

I mean, we've been clear at the American Pulse roundtable, I think from the beginning that would be against this proposal.

We talked about it all the way back.

I believe I testified right down the hall for the Constitutional Modernization Commission years ago.

Yes, ten, ten years ago.

Oh, wow.

Regarding upping the threshold, we were against it then.

We're against it now.

And it's because of we the people.

Where does the power reside?

Where do you think the power should reside?

Where do you believe your rights come from?

I don't believe they come from the lawmakers.

I don't believe the power should reside in the lawmakers.

I believe our rights come from the Almighty and I believe the power resides in the people to make those decisions.

Republicans have usually been very good at turning out their voters.

How do you think this is going to go if there is an August election?

I think they're a bit naive to think that every person that affiliate with the Republican Party is apt to trust lawmakers, and that's what they're asking them to do.

And I think the Ohio voters are smart enough to realize that this is bigger than one issue.

And they're going to have a lot of questions to answer.

And I think they're going to be a bit surprised when they talk to people on the streets and get outside of to 70.

A lot of political reporters love stories about strange bedfellows.

And this is one of those stories because you are aligned with some groups that you probably don't agree with on anything else.

Well, we're Ohioans and we believe in the Constitution.

You know, we can tell I can tell countless stories.

And I believe you were there.

Do you remember back in the day, Brian Rothenberg and I sitting shoulder to shoulder during Supreme Court arguments, I believe about, filed a brief in the case and people were looking around and their heads are spinning like you.

Guys the time Democratic guys, activists.

You guys, people said people said you guys don't even agree that today's Tuesday but well, but but we do when it comes to the Constitution and it comes where the power comes from, we may not agree on on how to vote on issues.

But when it comes to the documents that helped define our government, we would rather have the power in the people than have the power in the lawmakers.

And I think what this proposal does is provide those special interests that they continually talk about.

Although they can't cite many examples, it provides a special interest to have more direct influence on the lawmakers instead of having to deal directly and go get signatures from the people.

And when it comes to 60% and if a special interest group wanted to do a petition, they're going to be the only ones that have the money to do it.

So they're cutting the people out of this entirely.

Turning now to a different topic, a slogan that Ohio used to bring in tourists for more than 15 years in the eighties and nineties is back.

The old brand, the heart of it all is part of a new plan to promote Ohio as a tourism destination, but also a potential home.

The heart of it all replaces Find It Here, which was widely criticized when it was unveiled in 2016.

Ohio Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalic says going back to the old brand makes sense as the state tries to bring together its strategy for attracting tourists, as well as potential residents.

At the Department of Development.

We have been for the last several years starting to promote the state more holistically.

Look, Ohio is a great place to not only visit, but a great place to work, a great place to live.

And look, we're in a competition for people and we want to continue this momentum that we're seeing in Ohio and we want to tell the world about it.

And so the initiative that has been announced here today, the changing of the brand, Ohio, the heart of it all, is really a more inclusive and more holistic way to talk about all of the great things that are happening here in the state of Ohio.

The state says 233 million tourists spent $53 billion in Ohio last year, the highest spending ever, and up 13% from 2021.

And the state's annual report says more than 424,000 Ohio jobs are linked to tourism.

The heart of it all slogan was launched in 1984 under Democratic former Governor Dick Celeste.

He told me Governor Mike DeWine whispered into his ear that the slogan was going to be reborn when they saw each other.

Recently, Celeste said he's delighted and said the slogan, quote, captures both something about our history, something about our geography, and I think something about our state of mind.

And that is it for this week from my colleagues at the Statehouse News Bureau of Ohio Public Radio and Television.

Thanks for watching.

Please check out our Web site at state News dot org and follow us and the show on Facebook and Twitter.

And please join us again next time for the state of Ohio.

Support for the statewide broadcast of the state of Ohio comes from medical mutual, providing more than 1.4 million Ohioans peace of mind with a selection of health insurance plans online at med mutual dot com slash Ohio by the law offices of Porter Wright, Morris and Arthur LLP.

Now with eight locations across the country, Porter Wright is a legal partner with a new perspective to the business community.

More at Porter right dot com and from the Ohio Education Association representing 124,000 members who work to inspire their students to think creatively and experience the joy of learning online at OHEA.org