[ NOTE:
This page discusses the 1997 workers' compensation referendum. If
you are interested in information on the 2006 workers' compensation
referendum attempt, click here.] Referendum
Challenge to Benefits Reduction Act
On Monday, July 21, 1997 referendum
petitions containing 414,934 signatures were filed with the Ohio
Secretary of State, to challenge the Benefits Reduction Act.
This referendum challenge will be State Issue 2. A no
vote will help reject the changes made by S.B. 45, the Ohio Workers'
Compensation Benefits Reduction Act. What happens next?
Signatures on the individual petitions [called
"part-petitions"] will be verified. If sufficient valid signatures have
been filed, the law will be submitted to a vote in November.
More specific information about this process is
available by selecting one of the following links:
What happens once the petition is
filed?
The petition was filed with the Ohio
Secretary of State. The Secretary of State will separate the
part-petitions by county. The Secretary of State will then send the
part-petitions from each county to that County's Board of Elections.
The County Board of Elections will review
each part-petition. The Board of Elections will determine whether the
part-petitions are properly verified, and will also check the
signatures, to ensure that the signatures are of registered voters in
that county. The County Boards of Election will eliminate duplicate,
illegal, and improper signatures.
The County Boards of Election will then
report to the Ohio Sectretary of State on the number of valid and
invalid signatures.
[ see R.C. 3519.15.]
What are the requirements for the
signatures to be valid?
Valid signatures must be [1] from a
registered voter and [2] have the proper information filled out.
Valid petitions must have been properly
filled out and signed by the circulator.
[see Oh. Const. Art. II, Section
1(g); R.C. 3519.06; R.C. 3519.10]
How many signatures are necessary for
the referendum challenge to be effective?
For the referendum challenge to be
effective, there are two requirements which must be met. There is a
state-wide signature requirement and a per-county signature
requirement.
The state-wide signature requirement is
six percent of the electorate that voted for the office of governor in
the last election. This is 200,775 signatures. 414,934 signatures were
filed.
The per-county signature requirement is
three percent from 44 counties. The signatures filed exceeded 3 percent
of the electors in 85 counties, and exceeded 6 percent of the electors
in 66 counties. [see Oh. Const. Art. II, Section 1(c); Oh.
Const. Art. II, Section 1(g)]
If there are enough valid signatures
filed, what happens?
If the Ohio Secretary of State finds that
enough valid signatures have been filed, the matter will be placed on
the November ballot. The people of the state will vote on whether or
not the law will go into effect. The law will not go into effect until
and unless a majority of voters approve it during the November
election.
As part of the election process,
arguments for and against the law will be prepared. These arguments
cannot exceed 300 words.
Arguments against the law will be
prepared by the Committee which sponsored the petition. Arguments for
the law will be made by a committee named by the General Assembly, if
it is in session. If the General Assembly is not in session, then the
committee will be named by the governor.
The law and the arguments for and against
the law will be published once a week for the three weeks preceeding
the election, in at least one newspaper of general circulation in each
county where a newspaper is published.
[see Oh. Const. Art. II, Section
1(c); Oh. Const. Art. II, Section 1(g)]
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