SJR 2

As Introduced
136th General Assembly
    Regular Session  S. J. R. No. 2
       2025-2026
  Senator Blessing
  A JOINT RESOLUTION
  Proposing to amend Sections 1b and 1g of Article II of  1
  the Constitution of the State of Ohio to modify the  2
  process for statutes proposed by initiative petition.        3
     Be it resolved by the General Assembly of the State of  4
Ohio, three-fifths of the members elected to each house  5
concurring herein, that there shall be submitted to the electors  6
of the state, in the manner prescribed by law at the general  7
election to be held on November 3, 2026, a proposal to amend  8
Sections 1b and 1g of Article II of the Constitution of the  9
State of Ohio to read as follows:  10
  ARTICLE II  11
      Section 1b. When at any time, not less than ten days prior  12
to the commencement of any session of the general assembly,  13
there shall have been filed with the secretary of state a  14
petition signed by three per centum of the electors and verified  15
as herein provided, proposing a law, the full text of which  16
shall have been set forth in such petition, the secretary of  17
state shall transmit the same to the general assembly as soon as  18
it convenes. If said proposed law shall be passed by the general  19
assembly, either as petitioned for or in an amended form, it  20
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As Introduced
shall be subject to the referendum. If it shall not be passed,  21
or if it shall be passed in an amended form, or if no action  22
shall be taken thereon within four months from the time it is  23
received by the general assembly, it shall be submitted by the  24
secretary of state to the electors for their approval or  25
rejection, if such submission shall be demanded by supplementary  26
petition verified as herein provided and signed by not less than  27
three per centum of the electors in addition to those signing  28
the original petition, which supplementary petition must be  29
signed and filed with the secretary of state within ninety days  30
after the proposed law shall have been rejected by the general  31
assembly or after the expiration of such term of four months, if  32
no action has been taken thereon, or after the law as passed by  33
the general assembly shall have been filed by the governor in  34
the office of the secretary of state. The proposed law shall be  35
submitted at the next regular or general election occurring  36
subsequent to one hundred twenty-five days after the  37
supplementary petition is filed in the form demanded by such  38
supplementary petition, which form shall be either as first  39
petitioned for or with any amendment or amendments which may  40
have been incorporated therein by either branch or by both  41
branches, of the general assemblywith the secretary of state. If  42
a proposed law so submitted is approved by a majority of the  43
electors voting thereon, it shall be the law and shall go into  44
effect as herein provided in lieu of any amended form of said  45
law which may have been passed by the general assembly, and such  46
amended law passed by the general assembly shall not go into  47
effect until and unless the law proposed by supplementary  48
petition shall have been rejected by the electors. All such  49
initiative petitions, last above described, shall have printed  50
across the top thereof, in case of proposed laws: "Law Proposed  51
by Initiative Petition First to be Submitted to the General  52
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As Introduced
Assembly." Ballots shall be so printed as to permit an  53
affirmative or negative vote upon each measure submitted to the  54
electors. Any proposed law or amendment to the constitution  55
submitted to the electors as provided in 1a and 1b, if approved  56
by a majority of the electors voting thereon, shall take effect  57
thirty days after the election at which it was approved and  58
shall be published by the secretary of state. If conflicting  59
proposed laws or conflicting proposed amendments to the  60
constitution shall be approved at the same election by a  61
majority of the total number of votes cast for and against the  62
same, the one receiving the highest number of affirmative votes  63
shall be the law, or in the case of amendments to the  64
constitution shall be the amendment to the constitution. No law  65
proposed by initiative petition and approved by the electors  66
shall be subject to the veto of the governor.  67
        A law proposed by initiative petition and approved by the  68
electors shall not be amended, repealed, or suspended by the  69
general assembly for two years from the date the law takes  70
effect unless by an affirmative vote of three-fifths of each  71
house of the general assembly. Any law passed by the general  72
assembly that amends, repeals, or suspends a law proposed by  73
initiative petition and approved by the electors before two  74
years from the date the law takes effect shall be void and  75
unconstitutional unless done so by an affirmative vote of three-  76
fifths of each house of the general assembly.  77
        Section 1g. Any initiative, supplementary, or referendum  78
petition may be presented in separate parts but each part shall  79
contain a full and correct copy of the title, and text of the  80
law, section or item thereof sought to be referred, or the  81
proposed law or proposed amendment to the constitution. Each  82
signer of any initiative, supplementary, or referendum petition  83
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As Introduced
must be an elector of the state and shall place on such petition  84
after his name the date of signing and his place of residence. A  85
signer residing outside of a municipality shall state the county  86
and the rural route number, post office address, or township of  87
his residence. A resident of a municipality shall state the  88
street and number, if any, of his residence and the name of the  89
municipality or post office address. The names of all signers to  90
such petitions shall be written in ink, each signer for himself.  91
To each part of such petition shall be attached the statement of  92
the circulator, as may be required by law, that he witnessed the  93
affixing of every signature. The secretary of state shall  94
determine the sufficiency of the signatures not later than one  95
hundred five days before the election.  96
        The Ohio supreme court shall have original, exclusive  97
jurisdiction over all challenges made to petitions and  98
signatures upon such petitions under this section. Any challenge  99
to a petition or signature on a petition shall be filed not  100
later than ninety-five days before the day of the election. The  101
court shall hear and rule on any challenges made to petitions  102
and signatures not later than eighty-five days before the  103
election. If no ruling determining the petition or signatures to  104
be insufficient is issued at least eighty-five days before the  105
election, the petition and signatures upon such petitions shall  106
be presumed to be in all respects sufficient.  107
        If the petitions or signatures are determined to be  108
insufficient, ten additional days shall be allowed for the  109
filing of additional signatures to such petition. If additional  110
signatures are filed, the secretary of state shall determine the  111
sufficiency of those additional signatures not later than sixty-  112
five days before the election. Any challenge to the additional  113
signatures shall be filed not later than fifty-five days before  114
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As Introduced
the day of the election. The court shall hear and rule on any  115
challenges made to the additional signatures not later than  116
forty-five days before the election. If no ruling determining  117
the additional signatures to be insufficient is issued at least  118
forty-five days before the election, the petition and signatures  119
shall be presumed to be in all respects sufficient.  120
        No law or amendment to the constitution submitted to the  121
electors by initiative and supplementary petition and receiving  122
an affirmative majority of the votes cast thereon, shall be held  123
unconstitutional or void on account of the insufficiency of the  124
petitions by which such submission of the same was procured; nor  125
shall the rejection of any law submitted by referendum petition  126
be held invalid for such insufficiency. Upon all initiative,  127
supplementary, and referendum petitions provided for in any of  128
the sections of this article, it shall be necessary to file from  129
each of one-half of the counties of the state, petitions bearing  130
the signatures of not less than one-half of the designated  131
percentage of the electors of such county. A true copy of all  132
laws or proposed laws or proposed amendments to the  133
constitution, together with an argument or explanation, or both,  134
for, and also an argument or explanation, or both, against the  135
same, shall be prepared. The person or persons who prepare the  136
argument or explanation, or both, against any law, section, or  137
item, submitted to the electors by referendum petition, may be  138
named in such petition and the persons who prepare the argument  139
or explanation, or both, for any proposed law or proposed  140
amendment to the constitution may be named in the petition  141
proposing the same. The person or persons who prepare the  142
argument or explanation, or both, for the law, section, or item,  143
submitted to the electors by referendum petition, or against any  144
proposed law submitted by supplementary initiative petition,  145
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As Introduced
shall be named by the general assembly, if in session, and if  146
not in session then by the governor. The law, or proposed law,  147
or proposed amendment to the constitution, together with the  148
arguments and explanations, not exceeding a total of three  149
hundred words for each, and also the arguments and explanations,  150
not exceeding a total of three hundred words against each, shall  151
be published once a week for three consecutive weeks preceding  152
the election, in at least one newspaper of general circulation  153
in each county of the state, where a newspaper is published. The  154
secretary of state shall cause to be placed upon the ballots,  155
the ballot language for any such law, or proposed law, or  156
proposed amendment to the constitution, to be submitted. The  157
ballot language shall be prescribed by the Ohio ballot board in  158
the same manner, and subject to the same terms and conditions,  159
as apply to issues submitted by the general assembly pursuant to  160
Section 1 of Article XVI of this constitution. The ballot  161
language shall be so prescribed and the secretary of state shall  162
cause the ballots so to be printed as to permit an affirmative  163
or negative vote upon each law, section of law, or item in a law  164
appropriating money, or proposed law, or proposed amendment to  165
the constitution. The style of all laws submitted by initiative  166
and supplementary petition shall be: "Be it Enacted by the  167
People of the State of Ohio," and of all constitutional  168
amendments: "Be it Resolved by the People of the State of Ohio."  169
The basis upon which the required number of petitioners in any  170
case shall be determined shall be the total number of votes cast  171
for the office of governor at the last preceding election  172
therefor. The foregoing provisions of this section shall be  173
self-executing, except as herein otherwise provided. Laws may be  174
passed to facilitate their operation, but in no way limiting or  175
restricting either such provisions or the powers herein  176
reserved.  177
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As Introduced
  EFFECTIVE DATE  178
        If adopted by a majority of the electors voting on this  179
proposal, Sections 1b and 1g of Article II amended by this  180
proposal shall take immediate effect and the existing versions  181
of Sections 1b and 1g of Article II of the Constitution of the  182
State of Ohio shall be repealed from that effective date.  183