Ohio AG certifies ballot language on term limits

By Marc Kovac | September 9, 2015 at 12:00a.m.

COLUMBUS

Republican Attorney General Mike DeWine has certified the petition language for a proposed constitutional amendment to tighten term limits in the state, a required step before proponents can begin to collect signatures.

DeWine’s decision Tuesday means proponents of the “Strengthening Term Limits on State Legislators” amendment had the required 1,000 initial petition signatures and language that the attorney general formally found to be a “fair and truthful” summary of the proposed issue.

“Without passing upon the advisability of the approval or rejection of the measure to be referred ... I hereby certify that the summary is a fair and truthful statement of the proposed law,” DeWine wrote in a letter confirming the certification.

The proposed amendment next heads to the state Ballot Board for its initial review before proponents can begin collecting the 300,000-plus names required to place the issue before voters.

A group calling itself Eight is Enough has proposed a constitutional amendment to limit members of the Ohio House and Senate to eight years in one chamber or 12 years total in the two chambers. Additional provisions would ensure that partial terms are counted toward the lifetime term limits.

Ohio already has term limits, thanks to a voter-approved amendment in 1992 that set the ceiling at eight years.

For lawmakers, that means four-consecutive terms in the Ohio House or two terms in the Ohio Senate. But legislators, with voter support, can move from one chamber to the other or return to office after sitting out for four years.

Part of the impetus behind the proposed amendment is an earlier move by the Constitutional Modernization Commission, which has discussed term limits and considered a proposal to extend lawmaker limits to 12 years. The change is far from a done deal, however. It would have to be placed before voters for a final decision.