Constitutional Commission is the Way to Go

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-27-2011

Publication Title

The Columbus Dispatch

Keywords

Ohio law, constitutional law, state law, constitutional convention

Abstract

Ohio operates under the often-amended Ohio Constitution of 1851, the seventh oldest state constitution in the country and, with more than 50,000 words, the 10th longest. The Ohio Constitution, replete with confusing, outdated and obsolete provisions, is in need of serious review, but there have been only two such reviews in the last century. Almost 100 years ago, the constitution received a major makeover when Ohio voters approved 34 of 42 amendments proposed by the Ohio Constitutional Convention of 1912. And during the 1970s, Ohio voters approved 15 separate amendments that had their origin in the recommendations of the Ohio Constitutional Revision Commission, a body that was created by the legislature and operated with great success from 1971 to 1977. In November 2012, Ohio voters will be asked, as they are asked every 20 years, whether they want a Constitutional Convention. If they vote yes, there will be a nonpartisan election of delegates in 2013, and the resulting convention will make proposals directly to the electorate.

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