Lawmakers voted to schedule a special election on August 8, with the adoption of Senate Joint Resolution 2.

The special election is for a ballot issue proposing a constitutional amendment to require approval by 60%  of voters to approve any constitutional amendment which would be effective immediately upon voter approval. The current requirement is for a majority vote.

The constitutional amendment also modifies procedures for an initiative petition proposing a constitutional amendment by prohibiting any additional signatures to be filed for the initiative petition, if found to be insufficient.

If a referendum petition or an initiative petition proposing a law is determined to be insufficient, ten additional days will be allowed for the filing of additional signatures.

The amendment also changes the signature requirements for an initiative petition proposing an amendment to the constitution to require from each county of the state petitions bearing the signatures of not less than five per cent of the electors of the county, while for all other initiative, supplementary, and referendum petitions the signature requirement remains unchanged, requiring petitions from one-half of the counties bearing signatures of one-half the percentage of electors in the county.

These changes would be effective January 1, 2024, if approved by voters.

State senators Rob McColley and Theresa Gavarone introduced Senate Bill 92, a bill to permit special elections to be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in August under any of the following circumstances:

• For the purpose of submitting a statewide ballot issue to the voters under Section 1 of Article XVI, Ohio Constitution
• When a primary election is required preceding a special election to fill a vacancy in an office
• For the election of a party candidate for U.S. Congress due to the withdrawal, disqualification, or death of a congressional candidate prior to the 19th day before the day of the general election.

August elections for these purposes were eliminated by a law passed in 2021.

The Ohio office of Secretary of State has published increased contribution limits.

The contribution limits for PACs, PCEs and individuals may contribute to statewide candidates, candidates for General Assembly, county parties, PACs, and PCEs increased from $13,704.41 to $15,499.69 per election; and from $41,113.24 to $46,499.08  per calendar year to state parties; and from $20,556.62 to $23,249.54 per calendar year to legislative campaign funds.

The amount of gifts corporations and labor unions may provide per year to a state political party, county political party, or legislative campaign fund, for certain specified purposes, such as facilities; equipment, and supplies, increased from $11,274.23 to $12,751.16.

Republican state lawmakers announced a new ethics bill titled the Ohio Ethics and Financial Disclosure Reform Act.

The bill would require all lobbying income to be reported and sourced directly to the clients they represent.

The bill would also prohibit elected officials from getting paid to serve on corporate boards unless the seat was held prior to taking office and the official has ownership in the corporation.

Nominees hoping to serve on the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) will have to disclose any income, previous business relationships, or ties to entities regulated by the PUC.

The bill does not have a number and has not been formally introduced.

City Council passed an ordinance prohibiting the city of Cleveland from doing business with companies found to practice wage theft or commit payroll fraud.

Ordinance 892-2022 requires businesses seeking city contracts or financial assistance to report to the city’s Fair Employment Wage Board any adverse determinations by a government agency finding that they, or a subcontractor committed wage theft or payroll fraud within the last three years.

If a person fails to self-report such a finding against a business, they could be found guilty of a first-degree misdemeanor.

Wage theft is defined as any violation of state or federal law regarding the prompt payment of wages, payment of minimum wage, or prevailing wage rates.

Payroll fraud is defined as the concealment of a business’s true tax liability by not reporting or underreporting applicable wages or by paying employees under-the-table.

The Fair Employment Wage Board will be responsible for maintaining a list of businesses that have been found to commit wage theft or payroll fraud.

Akron City Council passed an ordinance to increase contribution limits for city candidates.

The ordinance increases contribution limits for individuals giving to mayor and at-large council candidates from $750 to $1,000 per election and increases individual limits for ward council candidates from $500 to $750 per election.

The ordinance allows any political party or PAC to contribute up to $2,000 to mayor and at-large council candidates, and up to $1,500 to ward council candidates.

The ordinance is effective immediately.

Incumbent Republican Gov. Mike DeWine handily won re-election in Ohio.

As of Wednesday morning, with 95% of votes counted, DeWine prevailed over Democratic candidate Nan Whaley by roughly 25 percentage points.

Voters in Toledo, Ohio defeated Issue 19, a charter amendment that would have made the amendment process consistent with the process in the Ohio Constitution.

The Amendment would have also reduced the number of signatures required for an elector to initiate an ordinance or referendum from 12% to 7% of the total number of votes cast for all candidates for mayor at the most recent general municipal election.

The Amendment would have also increased the term limit for mayor from two to three consecutive terms.

The Amendment would have also increased the limit for contracts or purchases can be made without authorization by appropriate legislation from $10,000 to $25,000.

Columbus, Ohio Voters passed Issue 19.

Issue 19 is a charter amendment increasing the time that a petition committee has to gather signatures from one year to two years.

The Amendment also adds a 10-day curing period if the initial petition falls short of the required signatures, during which a petition committee may collect more signatures.

Akron City Council Vice President Jeff Fusco introduced an ordinance to increase contribution limits for city candidates.

The ordinance increases contribution limits for individuals giving to mayor and at-large council candidates from $750 to $1,000 per election and increases individual limits for ward council candidates from $500 to $750 per election.

The ordinance allows city candidates to accept campaign contributions or loans of up to $2,500 from any political party or PAC.

If passed, the ordinance would be effective immediately.

Public hearings on the ordinance have been scheduled for July 11 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Ohio State Sen. Sandra Williams announced her resignation this week to take a position in the public sector two months before the end of her term.

Along with resigning from the 21^st Senate District seat, Williams has also withdrawn her name as a candidate for Ohio’s 18^th House District.

The resignation will go into effect on Monday, June 6, and will not trigger a special election in the state.

Interim City Manager of Cincinnati, Ohio, John Curp, approved rules and regulations for the solicitation ban passed by City Council last year.

Ordinance 0415-2021 prohibits councilmembers from soliciting campaign contributions from developers who have an interest before council, created the Office of Ethics & Good Government, and authorized the city manager to establish rules and begin enforcement.

The new rules require all persons or entities who request or apply for city business to disclose financially interested persons by filing a form with the Office of Ethics & Good Government.

The office will maintain a City Business List and a Financially Interested Persons List on their website.

A financially interested person is a person or entity who has a financial interest in city business, including anyone who owns or controls 20% or more of the entity.

Campaigns are prohibited from accepting campaign contributions from a person on the temporary prohibition list.

The new rules and regulations will go into effect May 26.

Two training sessions for elected officials, business leaders, and the public are scheduled for May 20 at 1:30 p.m. and May 23 at 11 a.m. in Room 115 of City Hall.

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose issued a directive instructing all boards of elections in the state to remove the names of candidates for Ohio House, Ohio Senate, and State Central Committee from the May 3 primary ballot, stating that the boards of election must reprogram their databases and prepare ballots by April 5, and it is not possible to include the primary contests on the ballot because of the Supreme Court’s decision last week invalidating the February 24, 2022 General Assembly district plan.

The General Assembly has the authority to decide when the election will be held.

They can move the election, or allow the statewide, congressional, and local races to continue on the May 3 ballot and reschedule the General Assembly primary contests for a later date.

Senate Bill 316 was introduced this week to move the primary to June 28.

The Cincinnati City Council voted unanimously to approve the first-ever code of conduct for council members and their staff.

All council members and their staff must sign a copy of the code of conduct and file it with the clerk.

Future council members and staff must sign the document within 45 days of taking office or starting the job.

Mayor Aftab Pureval was also required to create and sign a code of conduct, which he signed and released after the council vote.

It is nearly identical to the council version except the provisions regarding the city’s economic development.

The Office of City Solicitor chose Chris Liu, Chief Hearing Examiner, to be the city’s first head of the new Ethics and Good Government Division.

Two staff members have also been hired for the division, which is working to implement a new hotline for reporting ethics and fraud violations and to expand online resources for viewing campaign contributions.