COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Ohio’s auditor wants to ban certain amendments to the state Constitution and is seeking a state constitutional amendment to do so.
Auditor Dave Yost, a Republican, told a state panel on Thursday that it should be more difficult for people to amend the constitution through ballot initiatives that create monopolies or further their own economic self-interests. He pitched a way to curb such ballot issues with an amendment of his own.
“The Constitution shouldn’t be somebody’s paycheck,” Yost told a committee of the Constitutional Modernization Commission. “The constitutional initiative - a process that was designed to protect the many against the powerful few - has been hijacked by the powerful few.”
Yost’s comments follow the opening of four voter-approved casinos and come as groups seek to legalize marijuana and create designated grow sites around the state. One proposal, from ResponsibleOhio, would establish 10 grow sites, some of which investors have already purchased.
Yost said his plan would not prevent people from seeking ballot issues to legalize marijuana. But he said it would restrict such proposals that limit competition and supply while allowing a privileged few to profit from their constitutional status.
Commission members said they would work on proposed wording for Yost’s amendment and seek additional testimony about the topic.
If Yost’s idea is approved by voters, groups backing the creation of monopolies or specific economic interests would have to go to the ballot twice. First, they must ask voters to suspend or repeal the limitation. Then, voters would need to approve the issue.
Yost told reporters he was working with Ohio lawmakers to place his plan before voters this fall, so it could potentially be debated at the same time as the marijuana proposals. His proposal would have to pass the General Assembly before Aug. 5.
“Now is the time to nip this nonsense in the bud,” he said.
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