The Tuesday Count: Signatures submitted for marijuana in Ohio; state legislature strikes back

July 7, 2015

By Tyler King and Josh Altic

Marijuana is predicted to be a big ballot issue in 2016; however, 2015 may be just as pivotal in determining how future marijuana initiatives are crafted due to a marijuana battle shaping up in Ohio. The legislature is facing off against a marijuana legalization campaign, which has led to the legislature proposing its own amendment that would invalidate the marijuana amendment. On the West Coast, Tim Eyman, one of the most notable initiative advocates in Washington, may have set up a conundrum for the Washington Legislature, if signatures for his initiative are certified, and voters approve it. The Louisiana Legislature sent four amendments to the ballot during the month of June.

Initiative proponents are butting heads with government officials on the local level in Ohio as well. The Athens County Board of Elections confirmed that enough signatures had been turned in to qualify a proposed charter and bill of rights for the ballot, but it voted to reject the measure anyway. The charter was designed to impede fracking and establish local control over the oil and gas industry. Proponents are in the process of gathering signatures for similar efforts in Medina County and Meigs County. It is unclear how proponents in Athens County, as well as the other two counties, will respond to this setback.

Signatures submitted for marijuana initiative in Ohio; the legislature strikes back

Ohio could become the first state east of the Mississippi River to legalize recreational marijuana. Around 695,273 signatures were submitted for a Marijuana Legalization Initiative that would appear on the ballot on November 3, 2015. Only 305,591 valid signatures were required. The campaign organization leading the charge is ResponsibleOhio, which will attempt to convince voters that marijuana legalization, and its approach to legalization in particular, is good for Ohioans.

Not all marijuana activists are supporting the initiative, and neither is the Ohio Legislature. ResponsibleOhio's initiative would not just legalize, regulate and tax marijuana, but would establish 10 grower-seller properties throughout the state. Opponents, both pro- and anti-marijuana, see this component of the initiative as creating an economic oligopoly in the Ohio Constitution. Most of the 10 properties already have investors, including former Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Frostee Rucker, University of Cincinnati basketball star Oscar Robertson and a descendant of President William Howard Taft, Woody Taft. To become an investor, ResponsibleOhio required potential investors to commit to contributing $2 million each to the campaign.

On June 30, 2015, the legislature responded by referring its own constitutional amendment, an Initiated Monopolies Amendment, to the ballot on November 3, 2015. A simple majority of voters will need to approve it on election day for it to pass. This measure would preclude ResponsibleOhio's initiative, meaning voters will need to defeat the legislature's amendment in order to legalize marijuana. If both are approved by voters, then the legislature wins this battle. The legislature's amendment would also require two ballot questions for all future initiatives establishing economic monopolies. The first question would ask, "Shall the petitioner, in violation of division (B)(1) of Section 1e of Article II of the Ohio Constitution, be authorized to initiate a constitutional amendment that grants or creates a monopoly, oligopoly, or cartel, specifies or determines a tax rate, or confers a commercial interest, commercial right, or commercial license that is not available to other similarly situated persons?" The second question would be the ballot initiative. If both questions were to be approved, then the amendment would take effect. If only one question were to be approved, then the amendment would be defeated.

Washington's Tim Eyman attempts to force a constitutional amendment; Paul Allen's animal trafficking initiative submits signatures

After the Washington State Supreme Court struck down the Tim Eyman-backed Initiative 1053 in 2013, Eyman and backers decided to take a different approach to requiring a two-thirds vote in the legislature or voter approval to raise taxes. The supreme court determined the Washington Constitution requires a majority vote on legislation, not a two-thirds vote. However, Washingtonians do not have the power to initiate constitutional amendments. Initiative 1053 changed statute, not the constitution. Therefore, the legislature would need to amend the constitution and refer the issue to the ballot, which was viewed as unlikely to happen. Eyman asked the question, "How can we get them to do so?"

The answer may be Initiative 1366, which was designed to put the state legislature in a difficult position. Proponents submitted signatures for the initiative by the deadline on July 2, 2015. The measure would decrease the state's sales tax from 6.5 percent to 5.5 percent unless the legislature refers a constitutional amendment to the ballot requiring a two-thirds vote in the legislature or voter approval to raise taxes. In other words, if voters approve the initiative, legislators would have two options: (1) allow the sales tax to decrease or (2) refer an amendment to the ballot requiring a two-thirds vote in the legislature or voter approval to raise taxes. The first would decrease state tax revenue by about $1 billion, and the second would make increasing taxes more difficult. Opponents of Initiative 1366 have called Eyman's tactic "blackmail."

Also in Washington, an initiative backed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen submitted over 100,000 more signatures than the 246,372 required for certification. Titled Initiative 1401, the measure would toughen penalties for trafficking "covered animal species," which would include "any species of elephant, rhinoceros, tiger, lion, leopard, cheetah, pangolin, marine turtle, shark, or ray." Trafficking products of covered animal species would also come with tougher penalties. Allen, who is responsible for 97 percent of the campaign's contributions, said, "We all have a responsibility to protect endangered animals, and Washington State can serve as a model to lead the way in disrupting the market for these products. If we turn away from our responsibility to protect our planet, these species will become extinct."

Louisiana will see four amendments on the October primary ballot

Of the 67 constitutional amendments that Louisiana legislators proposed during the 2015 legislative session, only four were certified for the ballot on October 24, 2015. The measures primarily address two issues, namely transportation and government finances. New stabilization funds would be created by a Budget and Transportation Stabilization Trust Amendment. The amendment would funnel revenue from mineral taxes into the funds. Another amendment would broaden the fiscal issues that may be addressed during a fiscal legislative session, which are sessions that take place during odd-numbered years.

Local spotlight

Proponents of anti-fracking charter in Athens County face setback

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Proponents of the first of three proposed county initiatives faced a setback on July 6, 2015, when the Athens County Board of Elections voted to prevent their proposed charter from going on the ballot. On June 25, 2015, a group called the Athens County Bill of Rights Committee, which was also behind last year's anti-fracking initiative in Athens, turned in 2,111 signatures in order to put their home rule charter initiative before voters on November 3, 2015. The group needed 1,441 valid signatures to qualify the initiative for the ballot, giving them a cushion of 670 for invalid or improperly filled out signatures. The county board of elections found more than enough valid signatures among those submitted, but voted to reject the initiative anyway, stating, "Upon review and in consultation with the Athens County prosecutor we find that the petition is not a valid charter as it does not structurally change the form of government in Athens County as it purported. Because the petition does not create a valid charter form of government we find that the petition is not valid.”

If the charter had been put on the ballot and approved by voters, it would have established Athens County as a charter county with more autonomy from the state than a county organized according to general law. The county charter, which would have acted for the county as a constitution acts for a state, was designed to claim local control over the oil and gas industry and prohibit the disposal of any wastewater or by-product of the fracking process within county boundaries.

Specifically, the charter would have made it illegal to “deposit, store, treat, inject, dispose of, or process wastewater, produced water, ‘frack’ water, brine or other substances, chemicals or by-products that have been used in, or result from, the extraction of shale gas and oil by high-volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing, on or into the land, air or waters of Athens County.” The charter would not have prohibited the disposal of wastewater produced inside the county boundaries by conventional drilling methods.

The proposed charter amendment was also designed to change one other significant element of county government by giving county residents processes for initiative, referendum and recall. John Howell, a supporter of the initiative, said, “The proposed charter does not change any other aspect of county government function. It seeks only to claim these rights and protect the county’s water supplies."

The Athens County Board of Elections voted against putting the measure on the ballot despite a letter from the county prosecutor, Keller Blackburn, which stated, “It is my opinion that, while the proposed charter does not structurally change the form of government in Athens County as was done with charter governments in Cuyahoga County and Summit County, the board should approve the proposed charter to the ballot unless an opinion from the Attorney General confirms that the proposal is not a charter... When the exercise of the initiative process is begun, the power of the people to use the democratic process should not be infringed without clear guidance that the action is prohibited by law.” A request for an opinion on the proposal was sent to the office of the attorney general, but representatives of the office said an official opinion would not be ready for some time.

Dick McGinn, chairman of the committee of proponents in Athens County, said, "It’s a setback for us, but not necessarily definitive. I think they made a big mistake. We’ll see what happens. It’s a bump in the road, but I don’t see it as an obstruction.”

Proponents are in the process of gathering signatures for similar efforts in Medina County and Meigs County. It is unclear whether this decision by the Athens County Board of Elections will have an impact on these other efforts.

Other measures in the news

• Maine Transportation Bond (2015): Gov. Paul LePage (R) signed an $85 million transportation bond measure.
• South Dakota Independent Candidates Election Law Referendum, Referred Law 19 (2016): Voters will have the opportunity to overturn legislation that makes it more difficult for independent candidates to get on the ballot.
• South Dakota Decreased Youth Minimum Wage Veto Referendum, Referred Law 20 (2016): After the legislature lowered the minimum wage for people under 18 years of age, opponents collected signatures and got the issue placed on the 2016 ballot.

See also

2015 ballot measures

Tuesday Count • 2015 Scorecard

• Ballotpedia's Tuesday Count for 2015
• 2015 ballot measures
• Local ballot measure elections in 2015