|
CONSTITUTION
of the STATE OF OHIO
(with amendments to 2009)
| Preamble |
|
|
|
Article I: |
§1,
§2, §3,
§4, §5,
§6, §7,
§8, §9,
§10, §10a,
§11, §12,
§13, §14,
§15, §16,
§17, §18,
§19, §19a,
§19b, §20 |
Bill of Rights |
| Article II: |
§1,
§1a,
§1b, §1c,
§1d, §1e,
§1f, §1g,
§2, §3,
§4,
§5, §6,
§7,
§8, §9,
§10, §11,
§12,
§13, §14,
§15, §16,
§17, §18,
§19, §20,
§21, §22,
§23, §24,
§25, §26,
§27, §28,
§29, §30,
§31, §32,
§33, §34,
§34a, §35,
§36, §37,
§38, §39,
§40, §41,
§42 |
Legislative |
|
Article III: |
§1,
§1a, §1b,
§2, §3,
§4, §5,
§6, §7,
§8, §9,
§10, §11,
§12, §13,
§14, §15,
§16, §17,
§17a, §18,
§19, §20,
§21, §22 |
Executive |
| Article IV: |
§1,
§2, §3,
§4,
§5, §6,
§7, §8, §9,
§10, §11, §12,
§13, §14,
§15, §16,
§17, §18,
§19, §20,
§21, §22,
§23 |
Judicial |
|
Article V: |
§1,
§2, §2a,
§3, §4,
§5, §6,
§7, §8,
§9 |
Elective Franchise |
| Article VI: |
§1,
§2, §3,
§4, §5,
§6 |
Education |
|
Article VII: |
§1,
§2, §3 |
Public Institutions |
| Article VIII: |
§1,
§2, §2a,
§2b,
§2c, §2d,
§2e,
§2f, §2g,
§2h, §2i,
§2j, §2k,
§2l, §2m,
§2n, §2o,
§2p, §2q,
§2r,
§3, §4,
§5, §6,
§7, §8,
§9, §10,
§11,
§12, §13,
§14, §15,
§16,
§17 |
Public Debt
and Public Works |
|
Article IX: |
§1,
§2, §3,
§4, §5 |
Militia |
| Article X: |
§1,
§2, §3,
§4, §5,
§6, §7 |
County and
Township Organizations |
|
Article XI: |
§1,
§2, §3,
§4, §5,
§6, §6a,
§7,
§8,
§9, §10,
§11, §12,
§13, §14,
§15 |
Apportionment |
| Article XII: |
§1,
§2, §2a,
§3, §4,
§5, §5a,
§6, §7,
§8, §9,
§10, §11,
§12, §13 |
Finance and Taxation |
|
Article XIII: |
§1,
§2, §3,
§4, §5,
§6, §7 |
Corporations |
| Article XIV: |
|
Ohio
Livestock Care Standards Board |
|
Article XV: |
§1,
§2, §3,
§4, §5,
§6, §7,
§8, §9, §9a,
§10, §11 |
Miscellaneous |
| Article XVI: |
§1,
§2, §3 |
Amendments |
|
Article XVII: |
§1,
§2, §3 |
Elections |
| Article
XVIII: |
§1,
§2, §3,
§4, §5,
§6, §7,
§8, §9,
§10, §11,
§12, §13,
§14 |
Municipal Corporations |
|
Schedules 1851 Constitution |
|
Schedules 1912 Constitution |
Preamble
We, the people of the State of
Ohio, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, to secure its blessings and
promote our common welfare, do establish this Constitution.
TOP
Article I:
Bill
of Rights
Inalienable
Rights.
§1 All men are, by nature, free
and independent, and have certain inalienable rights, among which are those of
enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting
property, and seeking and obtaining happiness and safety.
(1851)
TOP
Right
to alter, reform, or abolish
government, and repeal
special privileges.
§2 All political power is
inherent in the people. Government is instituted for their equal protection and
benefit, and they have the right to alter, reform, or abolish the same, whenever
they may deem it necessary; and no special privileges or immunities shall ever
be granted, that may not be altered, revoked, or repealed by the General
Assembly.
(1851)
TOP
Right
to assemble.
§3 The people have the right to
assemble together, in a peaceable manner, to consult for the common good; to
instruct their representatives; and to petition the General Assembly for the
redress of grievances.
(1851)
TOP
Bearing
arms; standing
armies; military
power.
§4 The people have the right to
bear arms for their defense and security; but standing armies, in time of peace,
are dangerous to liberty, and shall not be kept up; and the military shall be in
strict subordination to the civil power.
(1851)
TOP
Trial by jury.
§5 The right of trial by jury
shall be inviolate, except that, in civil cases, laws may be passed to authorize
the rendering of a verdict by the concurrence of not less than three-fourths of
the jury.
(1851, am. 1912)
TOP
Slavery
and involuntary
servitude.
§6 There shall be no slavery in
this state; nor involuntary servitude, unless for the punishment of crime.
(1851)
TOP
Rights
of conscience; education; the necessity
of religion
and knowledge.
§7 All men have a natural and
indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their
own conscience. No person shall be compelled to attend, erect, or support any
place of worship, or maintain any form of worship, against his consent; and no
preference shall be given, by law, to any religious society; nor shall any
interference with the rights of conscience be permitted. No religious test shall
be required, as a qualification for office, nor shall any person be incompetent
to be a witness on account of his religious belief; but nothing herein shall be
construed to dispense with oaths and affirmations. Religion, morality, and
knowledge, however, being essential to good government, it shall be the duty of
the General Assembly to pass suitable laws, to protect every religious
denomination in the peaceable enjoyment of its own mode of public worship, and
to encourage schools and the means of instruction.
(1851)
TOP
Writ of habeas corpus.
§8 The privilege of the writ of
habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless, in cases of rebellion or invasion,
the public safety require it.
(1851)
TOP
Bail
§9 All persons shall be bailable
by sufficient sureties, except for a person who is charged with a capital
offense where the proof is evident or the presumption great and except for a
person who is charged with a felony where the proof is evident or the
presumption great and who where the person poses a substantial risk of serious
physical harm to any person or to the community. Where a person is charged with
any offense for which the person may be incarcerated, the court may determine at
any time the type, amount, and conditions of bail. Excessive
bail shall not be required; nor excessive fines imposed; nor cruel and unusual
punishments inflicted.
The General Assembly shall fix by
law standards to determine whether a person who is charged with a felony where
the proof is evident or the presumption great poses a substantial risk of
serious physical harm to any person or to the community. Procedures for
establishing the amount and conditions of bail shall be established pursuant to
Article IV, Section 5(b) of the Constitution of the State of Ohio.
(1851, am. 1997)
TOP
Trial for crimes;
witness.
§10 Except in cases of
impeachment, cases arising in the army and navy, or in the militia when in
actual service in time of war or public danger, and cases involving offenses for
which the penalty provided is less than imprisonment in the penitentiary, no
person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous, crime,
unless on presentment or indictment of a grand jury; and the number of persons
necessary to constitute such grand jury and the number thereof necessary to
concur in finding such indictment shall be determined by law. In any trial, in
any court, the party accused shall be allowed to appear and defend in person and
with counsel; to demand the nature and cause of the accusation against him, and
to have a copy thereof; to meet witnesses face to face, and to have compulsory
process to procure the attendance of witnesses in his behalf, and speedy public
trial by an impartial jury of the county in which the offense is alleged to have
been committed; but provision may be made by law for the taking of the
deposition by the accused or by the state, to be used for or against the
accused, of any witness whose attendance can not be had at the trial, always
securing to the accused means and the opportunity to be present in person and
with counsel at the taking of such deposition, and to examine the witness face
to face as fully and in the same manner as if in court. No person shall be
compelled, in any criminal case, to be a witness against himself; but his
failure to testify may be considered by the court and jury and may be the
subject of comment by counsel. No person shall be twice put in jeopardy for the
same offense.
(1851, am. 1912)
TOP
Rights
of victims
of crime.
§10a Victims of criminal
offenses shall be accorded fairness, dignity, and respect in the criminal
justice process, and, as the General Assembly shall define and provide by law,
shall be accorded rights to reasonable and appropriate notice, information,
access, and protection and to a meaningful role in the criminal justice process.
This section does not confer upon any person a right to appeal or modify any
decision in a criminal proceeding, does not abridge any other right guaranteed
by the Constitution of the United States or this constitution, and does not
create any cause of action for compensation or damages against the state, any
officer, employee, or agent of the state or of any political subdivision, or any
officer of the court.
(1994)
TOP
Freedom of speech;
of the press; of libels.
§11 Every citizen may freely
speak, write, and publish his sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for
the abuse of the right; and no law shall be passed to restrain or abridge the
liberty of speech, or of the press. In all criminal prosecutions for libel, the
truth may be given in evidence to the jury, and if it shall appear to the jury,
that the matter charged as libelous is true, and was published with good
motives, and for justifiable ends, the party shall be acquitted.
(1851)
TOP
Transportation,
etc. for crime.
§12 No person shall be
transported out of the state, for any offense committed within the same; and no
conviction shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture of estate.
(1851)
TOP
Quartering
troops.
§13 No soldier shall, in time of
peace, be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner; nor, in time
of war, except in the manner prescribed by law.
(1851)
TOP
Search
warrants and general
warrants.
§14 The right of the people to be secure in their persons,
houses, papers, and possessions, against unreasonable searches and seizures
shall not be violated; and no warrant shall issue, but upon probable cause,
supported by oath or affirmation, particularly describing the place to be searched and
the person and things to be seized.
(1851)
TOP
No imprisonment
for debt.
§15 No person shall be
imprisoned for debt in any civil action, on mesne or final process, unless in
cases of fraud.
(1851)
TOP
Redress
for injury; Due process.
§16 All courts shall be open,
and every person, for an injury done him in his land, goods, person, or
reputation, shall have remedy by due course of law, and shall have justice
administered without denial or delay.
Suits may be brought against the
state, in such courts and in such manner, as may be provided by law.
(1851, am. 1912)
TOP
No hereditary
privileges.
§17 No hereditary emoluments,
honors, or privileges, shall ever be granted or conferred by this State.
(1851)
TOP
Suspension
of laws.
§18 No power of suspending laws
shall ever be exercised, except by the General Assembly.
(1851)
TOP
Eminent Domain.
§19 Private property shall ever
be held inviolate, but subservient to the public welfare. When taken in time of
war or other public exigency, imperatively requiring its immediate seizure or
for the purpose of making or repairing roads, which shall be open to the public,
without charge, a compensation shall be made to the owner, in money, and in all
other cases, where private property shall be taken for public use, a
compensation there for shall first be made in money, or first secured by a
deposit of money; and such compensation shall be assessed by a jury, without
deduction for benefits to any property of the owner.
(1851)
TOP
Damages for
wrongful
death.
§19a The amount of damages
recoverable by civil action in the courts for death caused by the wrongful act,
neglect, or default of another, shall not be limited by law.
(1912)
TOP
Protect
Private Property Rights in Ground Water, Lakes and Other Watercourses.
§ 19b. (A) The protection of the
rights of Ohio's property owners, the protection of Ohio's natural resources,
and the maintenance of the stability of Ohio's economy require the recognition
and protection of property interests in ground water, lakes, and watercourses.
(B) The preservation of private
property interests recognized under divisions (C) and (D) of this section shall
be held inviolate, but subservient to the public welfare as provided in Section
19 of Article I of the Constitution.
(C) A property owner has a
property interest in the reasonable use of the ground water underlying the
property owner's land.
(D) An owner of riparian land has
a property interest in the reasonable use of the water in a lake or watercourse
located on or flowing through the owner's riparian land.
(E) Ground water underlying
privately owned land and non navigable waters located on or flowing through
privately owned land shall not be held in trust by any governmental body. The
state, and a political subdivision to the extent authorized by state law, may
provide for the regulation of such waters. An owner of land voluntarily may
convey to a governmental body the owner's property interest held in the ground
water underlying the land or non navigable waters located on or flowing through
the land.
(F) Nothing in this section
affects the application of the public trust doctrine as it applies to Lake Erie
or the navigable waters of the state.
(G) Nothing in Section 1e of
Article II, Section 36 of Article II, Article VIII, Section 1 of Article X,
Section 3 of Article XVIII, or Section 7 of Article XVIII of the Constitution
shall impair or limit the rights established in this section.
(2008)
TOP
Powers
reserved
to the people.
§20 This enumeration of rights
shall not be construed to impair or deny others retained by the people, and all
powers, not herein delegated, remain with the people.
(1851)
TOP
Article II: Legislative
In whom power
vested.
§1 The legislative power of the
state shall be vested in a General Assembly consisting of a Senate and House of
Representatives but the people reserve to themselves the power to propose to the
General Assembly laws and amendments to the constitution, and to adopt or reject
the same at the polls on a referendum vote as hereinafter provided. They also
reserve the power to adopt or reject any law, section of any law or any item in
any law appropriating money passed by the General Assembly, except as herein
after provided; and independent of the General Assembly to propose amendments to
the constitution and to adopt or reject the same at the polls. The limitations
expressed in the constitution, on the power of the General Assembly to enact
laws, shall be deemed limitations on the power of the people to enact laws.
(1851, am. 1912, 1918, 1953)
TOP
Initiative
and referendum
to amend constitution.
§1a The first aforestated power
reserved by the people is designated the initiative, and the signatures of ten
per centum of the electors shall be required upon a petition to propose an
amendment to the constitution. When a petition signed by the aforesaid required
number of electors, shall have been filed with the secretary of state, and
verified as herein provided, proposing an amendment to the constitution, the
full text of which shall have been set forth in such petition, the secretary of
state shall submit for the approval or rejection of the electors, the proposed
amendment, in the manner hereinafter provided, at the next succeeding regular or
general election in any year occurring subsequent to one hundred twenty-five
days after the filing of such petition. The initiative petitions, above
described, shall have printed across the top thereof: "Amendment to the
Constitution Proposed by Initiative Petition to be Submitted Directly to the
Electors."
(1912,
am. 2008)
TOP
Initiative
and referendum
to enact laws.
§1b When at any time, not less than ten days prior to the
commencement of any session of the General Assembly, there shall have been filed
with the secretary of state a petition signed by three per centum of the
electors and verified as herein provided, proposing a law, the full text of
which shall have been set forth in such petition, the secretary of state shall
transmit the same to the General Assembly as soon as it convenes. If said
proposed law shall be passed by the General Assembly, either as petitioned for
or in an amended form, it shall be subject to the referendum. If it shall not be
passed, or if it shall be passed in an amended form, or if no action shall be
taken thereon within four months from the time it is received by the General
Assembly, it shall be submitted by the secretary of state to the electors for
their approval or rejection, if such submission shall be demanded by
supplementary petition verified as herein provided and signed by not less than
three per centum of the electors in addition to those signing the original
petition, which supplementary petition must be signed and filed with the
secretary of state within ninety days after the proposed law shall have been
rejected by the General Assembly or after the expiration of such term of four
months, if no action has been taken thereon, or after the law as passed by the
General Assembly shall have been filed by the governor in the office of the
secretary of state. The proposed law shall be submitted at the next regular or
general election occurring subsequent to one hundred twenty-five days after the
supplementary petition is filed in the form demanded by such supplementary
petition which form shall be either as first petitioned for or with any
amendment or amendments which may have been incorporated therein by either
branch or by both branches, of the General Assembly. If a proposed law so
submitted is approved by a majority of the electors voting thereon, it shall be
the law and shall go into effect as herein provided in lieu of any amended form
of said law which may have been passed by the General Assembly, and such amended
law passed by the General Assembly shall not go into effect until and unless the
law proposed by supplementary petition shall have been rejected by the electors.
All such initiative petitions, last above described, shall have printed across
the top thereof, in case of proposed laws: "Law Proposed by Initiative
Petition First to be Submitted to the General Assembly." Ballots shall be
so printed as to permit an affirmative or negative vote upon each measure
submitted to the electors. Any proposed law or amendment to the constitution
submitted to the electors as provided in section la and section 1b, if approved
by a majority of the electors voting thereon, shall take effect thirty days
after the election at which it was approved and shall be published by the
secretary of state. If conflicting proposed laws or conflicting
proposed amendments to the constitution shall be approved at the same election
by a majority of the total number of votes cast for and against the same, the
one receiving the highest number of affirmative votes shall be the law, or in
the case of amendments to the constitution shall be the amendment to the
constitution. No law proposed by initiative petition and approved by the
electors shall be subject to the veto of the governor.
(1912, am. 2008)
TOP
Referendum
to challenge laws enacted by General Assembly.
§1c The second aforestated power
reserved by the people is designated the referendum, and the signatures of six
per centum of the electors shall be required upon a petition to order the
submission to the electors of the state for their approval or rejection, of any
law, section of any law or any item in any law appropriating money passed by the
General Assembly. No law passed by the General Assembly shall go into effect
until ninety days after it shall have been filed by the governor in the office
of the secretary of state, except as herein provided. When a petition, signed by
six per centum of the electors of the state and verified as herein provided,
shall have been filed with the secretary of state within ninety days after any
law shall have been filed by the governor in the office of the secretary of
state, ordering that such law, section of such law or any item in such law
appropriating money be submitted to the electors of the state for their approval
or rejection, the secretary of state shall submit to the electors of the state
for their approval or rejection such law, section or item, in the manner herein
provided, at the next succeeding regular or general election in any year
occurring subsequent to one hundred twenty-five days after the filing of such
petition, and no such law, section or item shall go into effect until and unless
approved by a majority of those voting upon the same. If, however, a referendum
petition is filed against any such section or item, the remainder of the law
shall not thereby be prevented or delayed from going into effect.
(1912, am. 2008)
TOP
Emergency
laws; not subject to referendum.
§1d Laws providing for tax
levies, appropriations for the current expenses of the state government and
state institutions, and emergency laws necessary for the immediate preservation
of the public peace, health or safety, shall go into immediate effect. Such
emergency laws upon a yea and nay vote must receive the vote of two thirds of
all the members elected to each branch of the General Assembly, and the reasons
for such necessity shall be set forth in one section of the law, which section
shall be passed only upon a yea and nay vote, upon a separate roll call thereon.
The laws mentioned in this section shall not be subject to the referendum.
(1912)
TOP
Powers;
limitation
of use.
§1e The powers defined herein as
the "initiative" and "referendum" shall not be used to pass
a law authorizing any classification of property for the purpose of levying
different rates of taxation thereon or of authorizing the levy of any single tax
on land or land values or land sites at a higher rate or by a different rule
than is or may be applied to improvements thereon or to personal property.
(1912)
TOP
Power
of
municipalities.
§1f The initiative and
referendum powers are hereby reserved to the people of each municipality on all
questions which such municipalities may now or hereafter be authorized by law to
control by legislative action; such powers shall be exercised in the manner now
or hereafter provided by law.
(1912)
TOP
Petition
requirements
and preparation; submission; ballot language; by Ohio
ballot board.
§1g Any initiative, supplementary, or referendum petition may be
presented in separate parts but each part shall contain a full and correct copy
of the title, and text of the law, section or item thereof sought to be
referred, or the proposed law or proposed amendment to the constitution. Each
signer of any initiative, supplementary, or referendum petition must be an
elector of the state and shall place on such petition after his name the date of
signing and his place of residence. A signer residing outside of a municipality
shall state the county and the rural route number, post office address, or
township of his residence. A resident of a municipality shall state the street
and number, if any, of his residence and the name of the municipality or the
post office address. The names of all signers to such petitions shall be written
in ink, each signer for himself. To each part of such petition shall be attached
the statement of the circulator, as
may be required by law, that he witnessed the affixing of every signature. The
secretary of state shall determine the sufficiency of the signatures not later
than one hundred five days before the election.
The Ohio supreme court shall have
original, exclusive jurisdiction over all challenges made to petitions and
signatures upon such petitions under this section. Any challenge to a petition
or signature on a petition shall be filed not later than ninety-five days before
the day of the election. The court shall hear and rule on any challenges made to
petitions and signatures not later than eighty-five days before the election. If
no ruling determining the petition or signatures to be insufficient is issued at
least eighty-five days before the election, the petition and signatures upon
such petitions shall be presumed to be in all respects sufficient.
If the petitions or signatures
are determined to be insufficient, ten additional days shall be allowed for the
filing of additional signatures to such petition. If additional signatures are
filed, the secretary of state shall determine the sufficiency of those
additional signatures not later than sixty-five days before the election. Any
challenge to the additional signatures shall be filed not later than fifty-five
days before the day of the election. The court shall hear and rule on any
challenges made to the additional signatures not later than forty-five days
before the election. If no ruling determining the additional signatures to be
insufficient is issued at least forty-five days before the election, the
petition and signatures shall be presumed to be in all respects sufficient.
No law or amendment to the
constitution submitted to the electors by initiative and supplementary petition
and receiving an affirmative majority of the votes cast thereon, shall be held
unconstitutional or void on account of the insufficiency of the petitions by
which such submission of the same was procured; nor shall the rejection of any
law submitted by referendum petition be held invalid for such insufficiency.
Upon all initiative, supplementary, and referendum petitions provided for in any
of the sections of this article, it shall be necessary to file from each of
one-half of the counties of the state, petitions bearing the signatures of not
less than one-half of the designated percentage of the electors of such county.
A true copy of all laws or proposed laws or proposed amendments to the
constitution, together with an argument or explanation, or both, for, and also
an argument or explanation, or both, against the same, shall be prepared. The
person or persons who prepare the argument or explanation, or both, against any
law, section, or item, submitted to the electors by referendum petition, may be
named in such petition and the persons who prepare the argument or explanation,
or both, for any proposed law or proposed amendment to the constitution may be
named in the petition proposing the same. The person or persons who prepare the
argument or explanation, or both, for the law, section, or item, submitted to
the electors by referendum petition, or against any proposed law submitted by
supplementary petition, shall be named by the General Assembly, if in session,
and if not in session then by the governor. The law, or proposed law, or
proposed amendment to the constitution, together with the arguments and
explanations, not exceeding a total of three hundred words for each, and also
the arguments and explanations, not exceeding a total of three hundred words
against each, shall be published once a week for three consecutive weeks
preceding the election, in at least one newspaper of general circulation in each
county of the state, where a newspaper is published. The secretary of state
shall cause to be placed upon the ballots, the ballot language for any such law,
or proposed law, or proposed amendment to the constitution, to be submitted. The
ballot language shall be prescribed by the Ohio ballot board in the same manner,
and subject to the same terms and conditions, as apply to issues submitted by
the general assembly pursuant to Section 1 of Article XVI of this constitution:
The ballot language shall be so prescribed and the secretary of state shall
cause the ballots so to be printed as to permit an affirmative or negative vote
upon each law, section of law, or item in a law appropriating money, or proposed
law, or proposed amendment to the constitution. The style of all laws submitted
by initiative and supplementary petition shall be: "Be it Enacted by the
People of the State of Ohio," and of all constitutional amendments:
"Be it Resolved by the People of the State of Ohio." The basis upon
which the required number of petitioners in any case shall be determined shall
be the total number of votes cast for the office of governor at the last
preceding election there for. The foregoing provisions of this section shall be
self-executing, except as herein otherwise provided. Laws may be passed to
facilitate their operation but in no way limiting or restricting either such
provisions or the powers herein reserved.
(1912, am. 1971, 1978, 2008)
TOP
Election
and term of state legislators.
§2 Representatives shall be
elected biennially by the electors of the respective House of Representatives
districts; their term of office shall commence on the first day of January next
thereafter and continue two years.
Senators shall be elected by the
electors of the respective Senate districts; their terms of office shall
commence on the first day of January next after their election. All terms of
senators which commence on the first day of January, 1969 shall be four years,
and all terms which commence on the first day of January, 1971 shall be four
years. Thereafter, except for the filling of vacancies for unexpired terms,
senators shall be elected to and hold office for terms of four years.
No person shall hold the office
of State Senator for a period longer than two successive terms of four years. No
person shall hold the office of State Representative for a period longer than
four successive terms of two years. Terms shall be considered successive unless
separated by a period of four or more years. Only terms beginning on or after
January 1, 1993 shall be considered in determining an individuals eligibility
to hold office.
In determining the eligibility of
an individual to hold office in accordance with this article, (A) time spent in
an office in fulfillment of a term to which another person was first elected
shall not be considered provided that a period of at least four years passed
between the time, if any, in which the individual previously held that office,
and the time the individual is elected or appointed to fulfill the unexpired
term; and (B) a person who is elected to an office in a regularly scheduled
general election and resigns prior to the completion of the term for which he or
she was elected, shall be considered to have served the full term in that
office.
(1967, am. 1992)
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Residence
requirements
for state legislators.
§3 Senators and representatives
shall have resided in their respective districts one year next preceding their
election, unless they shall have been absent on the public business of the
United States, or of this state.
(1851, am. 1967)
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Dual office
and conflict of interest
prohibited.
§4 No member of the General
Assembly shall, during the term for which he was elected, unless during such
term he resigns there from, hold any public office under the United States, or
this state, or a political subdivision thereof; but this provision does not
extend to officers of a political party, notaries public, or officers of the
militia or of the United States armed forces.
No member of the General Assembly
shall, during the term for which he was elected, or for one year thereafter, be
appointed to any public office under this state, which office was created or the
compensation of which was increased, during the term for which he was elected.
(1851, am. 1973)
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Who shall not hold office.
§5 No person hereafter convicted
of an embezzlement of the public funds, shall hold any office in this state; nor
shall any person, holding public money for disbursement, or otherwise, have a
seat in the General Assembly, until he shall have accounted for, and paid such
money into the treasury.
(1851)
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Powers
of each house.
§6 Each house shall be the judge
of the election, returns, and qualifications of its own members. A majority of
all the members elected to each house shall be a quorum to do business; but, a
less number may adjourn from day to day, and compel the attendance of absent
members, in such manner, and under such penalties, as shall be prescribed by
law.
Each house may punish its members
for disorderly conduct and, with the concurrence of two-thirds of the members
elected thereto, expel a member, but not the second time for the same cause.
Each house has all powers necessary to provide for its safety and the
undisturbed transaction of its business, and to obtain, through committees or
otherwise, information affecting legislative action under consideration or in
contemplation, or with reference to any alleged breach of its privileges or
misconduct of its members, and to that end to enforce the attendance and
testimony of witnesses, and the production of books and papers.
(1851, am. 1973)
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Organization
of each house of the General Assembly.
§7 The mode of organizing each
house of the General Assembly shall be prescribed by law.
Each house, except as otherwise
provided in this constitution, shall choose its own officers. The presiding
officer in the Senate shall be designated as president of the Senate and in the
House of Representatives as speaker of the House of Representatives.
Each house shall determine its
own rules of proceeding.
(1851, am. 1973)
TOP
Sessions
of the General Assembly.
§8 Each General Assembly shall
convene in first regular session on the first Monday of January in the
odd-numbered year, or on the succeeding day if the first Monday of January is a
legal holiday, and in second regular session on the same date of the following
year. Either the governor, or the presiding officers of the General Assembly
chosen by the members thereof, acting jointly, may convene the General Assembly
in special session by a proclamation which may limit the purpose of the session.
If the presiding officer of the Senate is not chosen by the members thereof, the
president pro tempore of the Senate may act with the speaker of the House of
Representatives in the calling of a special session.
(1973)
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House and
Senate Journals (yeas and nays).
§9 Each house shall keep a
correct journal of its proceedings, which shall be published. At the desire of
any two members, the yeas and nays shall be entered upon the journal; and, on
the passage of every bill, in either house, the vote shall be taken by yeas and
nays, and entered upon the journal.
(1851, am. 1973)
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Rights
of members to protest.
§10 Any member of either house
shall have the right to protest against any act, or resolution thereof; and such
protest, and the reasons therefor, shall without alteration, commitment, or
delay, be entered upon the journal.
(1851)
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Filling
vacancy in house or senate
seat.
§11 A vacancy in the Senate or
in the House of Representatives for any cause, including the failure of a
member-elect to qualify for office, shall be filled by election by the members
of the Senate or the members of the House of Representatives, as the case may
be, who are affiliated with the same political party as the person last elected
by the electors to the seat which has become vacant. A vacancy occurring before
or during the first twenty months of a Senatorial term shall be filled
temporarily by election as provided in this section, for only that portion of
the term which will expire on the thirty-first day of December following the
next general election occurring in an even-numbered year after the vacancy
occurs, at which election the seat shall be filled by the electors as provided
by law for the remaining, unexpired portion of the term, the member-elect so
chosen to take office on the first day in January next following such election.
No person shall be elected to fill a vacancy in the Senate or House of
Representatives, as the case may be, unless he meets the qualifications set
forth in this constitution and the laws of this state for the seat in which the
vacancy occurs. An election to fill a vacancy shall be accomplished,
notwithstanding the provisions of section 27, Article II of this constitution,
by the adoption of a resolution, while the Senate or the House of
Representatives, as the case may be, is in session, with the taking of the yeas
and nays of the members of the Senate or the House of Representatives, as the
case may be, affiliated with the same political party as the person last elected
to the seat in which the vacancy occurs. The adoption of such resolution shall
require the affirmative vote of a majority of the members elected to the Senate
or the House of Representatives, as the case may be, entitled to vote thereon.
Such vote shall be spread upon the journal of the Senate or the House of
Representatives, as the case may be, and certified to the secretary of state by
the clerk thereof. The secretary of state shall, upon receipt of such
certification, issue a certificate of election to the person so elected and upon
presentation of such certificate to the Senate or the House of Representatives,
as the case may be, the person so elected shall take the oath of office and
become a member of the Senate or the House of Representatives, as the case may
be, for the term for which he was so elected.
(1851, am. 1961, 1968, 1973)
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Privilege
of members from
arrest, and of speech.
§12 Senators and
representatives, during the session of the General Assembly, and in going to,
and returning from the same, shall be privileged from arrest, in all cases,
except treason, felony, or breach of the peace; and for any speech, or debate,
in either house, they shall not be questioned elsewhere.
(1851)
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Legislative
sessions to be public; exceptions.
§13 The proceedings of both
houses shall be public, except in cases which, in the opinion of two-thirds of
those present, require secrecy.
(1851)
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Power of
adjournment.
§14 Neither house shall, without
the consent of the other, adjourn for more than five days, Sundays excluded; nor
to any other place than that, in which the two houses are in session.
(1851, am. 1973)
TOP
How bills
shall be passed.
§15 (A) The General Assembly
shall enact no law except by bill, and no bill shall be passed without the
concurrence of a majority of the members elected to each house. Bills may
originate in either house, but may be altered, amended, or rejected in the
other.
(B) The style of the laws of this
state shall be, "be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of
Ohio."
(C) Every bill shall be
considered by each house on three different days, unless two-thirds of the
members elected to the house in which it is pending suspend this requirement,
and every individual consideration of a bill or action suspending the
requirement shall be recorded in the journal of the respective house. No bill
may be passed until the bill has been reproduced and distributed to members of
the house in which it is pending and every amendment been made available upon a
members request.
(D) No bill shall contain more
than one subject, which shall be clearly expressed in its title. No law shall be
revived or amended unless the new act contains the entire act revived, or the
section or sections amended, and the section or sections amended shall be
repealed.
(E) Every bill which has passed
both houses of the General Assembly shall be signed by the presiding officer of
each house to certify that the procedural requirements for passage have been met
and shall be presented forthwith to the governor for his approval.
(F) Every joint resolution which
has been adopted in both houses of the General Assembly shall be signed by the
presiding officer of each house to certify that the procedural requirements for
adoption have been met and shall forthwith be filed with the secretary of state.
(1973)
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Bills to be signed
by governor; veto.
§16 If the governor approves an
act, he shall sign it, it becomes law and he shall file it with the secretary of
state.
If he does not approve it, he
shall return it with his objections in writing, to the house in which it
originated, which shall enter the objections at large upon its journal, and may
then reconsider the vote on its passage. If three-fifths of the members elected
to the house of origin vote to repass the bill, it shall be sent, with the
objections of the governor, to the other house, which may also reconsider the
vote on its passage. If three fifths of the members elected to the second house
vote to repass it, it becomes law notwithstanding the objections of the
governor, and the presiding officer of the second house shall file it with the
secretary of state. In no case shall a bill be repassed by a smaller vote than
is required by the constitution on its original passage. In all cases of
reconsideration the vote of each house shall be determined by yeas and nays, and
the names of the members voting for and against the bill shall be entered upon
the journal.
If a bill is not returned by the
governor within ten days, Sundays excepted, after being presented to him, it
becomes law in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the General Assembly
by adjournment prevents its return; in which case, it becomes law unless, within
ten days after such adjournment, it is filed by him, with his objections in
writing, in the office of the secretary of state. The governor shall file with
the secretary of state every bill not returned by him to the house of origin
that becomes law without his signature.
The governor may disapprove any item or items in any bill making
an appropriation of money and the item or items, so disapproved, shall be void,
unless repassed in the manner prescribed
by this section for the repassage of a bill.
(1851, am. 1903, 1912, 1973)
TOP
Repealed. Referred
to the signing
of all bills and joint resolutions
by the presiding
officer of
each house.
§17
(1851, rep. 1973)
TOP
Repealed. Referred
to the style of laws.
§18
(1851, rep. 1973)
TOP
Repealed. Referred
to the exclusion of
senators and representatives
from appointment
to any civil
office of this
state.
§19
(1851, rep. 1973)
TOP
Term
of office, and compensation
of officers in certain
cases.
§20 The General Assembly, in
cases not provided for in this constitution, shall fix the term of office and
the compensation of all officers; but no change therein shall affect the salary
of any officer during his existing term, unless the office be abolished.
(1851)
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Contested elections.
§21 The General Assembly shall
determine, by law, before what authority, and in what manner elections shall be
conducted.
(1851)
TOP
Appropriations.
§22 No money shall be drawn from
the treasury, except in pursuance of a specific appropriation, made by law; and
no appropriation shall be made for a longer period than two years.
(1851)
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Impeachments;
how instituted
and conducted.
§23 The House of Representatives
shall have the sole power of impeachment, but a majority of the members elected
must concur therein. Impeachments shall be tried by the Senate; and the
senators, when sitting for that purpose, shall be upon oath or affirmation to do
justice according to law and evidence. No person shall be convicted without the
concurrence of two-thirds of the senators.
(1851)
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Officers
liable to impeachment; consequences.
§24 The governor, judges, and
all state officers, may be impeached for any misdemeanor in office; but judgment
shall not extend further than removal from office, and disqualification to hold
any office under the authority of this state. The party impeached, whether
convicted or not, shall be liable to indictment, trial, and judgment, according
to law.
(1851)
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Repealed. When sessions
shall commence.
§25
(1851, rep. 1973)
TOP
Laws to have a uniform
operation.
§26 All laws, of a general
nature, shall have a uniform operation throughout the state; nor, shall any act,
except such as relates to public schools, be passed, to take effect upon the
approval of any other authority than the General Assembly, except, as otherwise
provided in this constitution.
(1851)
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Election
and appointment of officers; filling
vacancies.
§27 The election and appointment
of all officers, and the filling of all vacancies, not otherwise provided for by
this constitution, or the constitution of the United States, shall be made in
such manner as may be directed by law; but no appointing power shall be
exercised by the General Assembly, except as prescribed in this constitution;
and in these cases, the vote shall be taken "viva voce."
(1851, am. 1953)
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Retroactive
laws.
§28 The General Assembly shall
have no power to pass retroactive laws, or laws impairing the obligation of
contracts; but may, by general laws, authorize courts to carry into effect, upon
such terms as shall be just and equitable, the manifest intention of parties,
and officers, by curing omissions, defects, and errors, in instruments and
proceedings, arising out of their want of conformity with the laws of this
state.
(1851)
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No extra
compensation; exceptions.
§29 No extra compensation shall
be made to any officer, public agent, or contractor, after the service shall
have been rendered, or the contract entered into; nor shall any money be paid,
on any claim, the subject matter of which shall not have been provided for by
preexisting law, unless such compensation, or claim, be allowed by two-thirds of
the members elected to each branch of the General Assembly.
(1851)
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New counties.
§30 No new county shall contain
less than four hundred square miles of territory, nor shall any county be
reduced below that amount; and all laws creating new counties, changing county
lines, or removing county seats, shall, before taking effect, be submitted to
the electors of the several counties to be affected thereby, at the next general
election after the passage thereof, and be adopted by a majority of all the
electors voting at such election, in each of said counties; but any county now
or hereafter containing one hundred thousand inhabitants, may be divided,
whenever a majority of the voters residing in each of the proposed divisions
shall approve of the law passed for that purpose; but no town or city within the
same shall be divided, nor shall either of the divisions contain less than
twenty thousand inhabitants.
(1851)
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Compensation
of members and officers
of the General Assembly.
§31 The members and officers of
the General Assembly shall receive a fixed compensation, to be prescribed by
law, and no other allowance or perquisites, either in the payment of postage or
otherwise; and no change in their compensation shall take effect during their
term of office.
(1851)
TOP
Divorces
and judicial
power.
§32 The General Assembly shall
grant no divorce, nor exercise any judicial power not herein expressly conferred.
(1851)
TOP
Mechanics
and contractors
liens.
§33 Laws may be passed to secure
to mechanics, artisans, laborers, subcontractors and material men, their just
dues by direct lien upon the property, upon which they have bestowed labor or
for which they have furnished material. No other provision of the constitution
shall impair or limit this power.
(1912)
TOP
Welfare
of employees.
§34 Laws may be passed fixing
and regulating the hours of labor, establishing a minimum wage, and providing
for the comfort, health, safety and general welfare of all employees; and no
other provision of the constitution shall impair or limit this power.
(1912)
TOP
Minimum Wage.
§34a Except as provided in this section, every employer shall
pay their employees a wage rate of not less than six dollars and eighty-five
cents per hour beginning January 1, 2007. On the thirtieth day of each
September, beginning in 2007, this state minimum wage rate shall be increased
effective the first day of the following January by the rate of inflation for
the twelve month period prior to that September according to the consumer price
index or its successor index for all urban wage earners and clerical workers for
all items as calculated by the federal government rounded to the nearest five
cents. Employees under the age of sixteen and employees of businesses with
annual gross receipts of two hundred fifty thousand dollars or less for the
preceding calendar year shall be paid a wage rate of not less than that
established under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act or its successor law.
This gross revenue figure shall be increased each year beginning January 1, 2008
by the change in the consumer price index or its successor index in the same
manner as the required annual adjustment in the minimum wage rate set forth
above rounded to the nearest one thousand dollars. An employer may pay an
employee less than, but not less than half, the minimum wage rate required by
this section if the employer is able to demonstrate that the employee receives
tips that combined with the wages paid by the employer are equal to or greater
than the minimum wage rate for all hours worked. The provisions of this section
shall not apply to employees of a solely family owned and operated business who
are family members of an owner. The state may issue licenses to employers authorizing
payment of a wage rate below that required by this section to individuals with
mental or physical disabilities that may otherwise adversely affect their
opportunity for employment.
As used in this section:
"employer," "employee," "employ,"
"person" and "independent contractor" have the same meanings
as under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act or its successor law, except that
"employer" shall also include the state and every political
subdivision and "employee" shall not include an individual employed in
or about the property of the employer or individuals residence on a casual
basis. Only the exemptions set forth in this section shall apply to this
section.
An employer shall at the time of
hire provide an employee the employers name, address, telephone number, and
other contact information and update such information when it changes. An
employer shall maintain a record of the name, address, occupation, pay rate,
hours worked for each day worked and each amount paid an employee for a period
of not less than three years following the last date the employee was employed.
Such information shall be provided without charge to an employee or person
acting on behalf of an employee upon request. An employee, person acting on
behalf of one or more employees and/or any other interested party may file a
complaint with the state for a violation of any provision of this section or any
law or regulation implementing its provisions. Such complaint shall be promptly
investigated and resolved by the state. The employees name shall be kept
confidential unless disclosure is necessary to resolution of a complaint and the
employee consents to disclosure. The state may on its own initiative investigate
an employers compliance with this section and any law or regulation
implementing its provisions. The employer shall make available to the state any
records related to such investigation and other information required for
enforcement of this section or any law or regulation implementing its
provisions. No employer shall discharge or in any other manner discriminate or
retaliate against an employee for exercising any right under this section or any
law or regulation implementing its provisions or against any person for
providing assistance to an employee or information regarding the same.
An action for equitable and
monetary relief may be brought against an employer by the attorney general
and/or an employee or person acting on behalf of an employee or all similarly
situated employees in any court of competent jurisdiction, including the common
pleas court of an employees county of residence, for any violation of this
section or any law or regulation implementing its provisions within three years
of the violation or of when the violation ceased if it was of a continuing
nature, or within one year after notification to the employee of final
disposition by the state of a complaint for the same violation, whichever is
later. There shall be no exhaustion requirement, no procedural, pleading or
burden of proof requirements beyond those that apply generally to civil suits in
order to maintain such action and no liability for costs or attorneys fees on
an employee except upon a finding that such action was frivolous in accordance
with the same standards that apply generally in civil suits. Where an employer
is found by the state or a court to have violated any provision of this section,
the employer shall within thirty days of the finding pay the employee back
wages, damages, and the employees costs and reasonable attorneys fees.
Damages shall be calculated as an additional two times the amount of the back
wages and in the case of a violation of an anti-retaliation provision an amount
set by the state or court sufficient to compensate the employee and deter future
violations, but not less than one hundred fifty dollars for each day that the
violation continued. Payment under this paragraph shall not be stayed pending
any appeal.
This section shall be liberally
construed in favor of its purposes. Laws may be passed to implement its
provisions and create additional remedies, increase the minimum wage rate and
extend the coverage of the section, but in no manner restricting any provision
of the section or the power of municipalities under Article XVIII of this
constitution with respect to the same.
If any part of this section is
held invalid, the remainder of the section shall not be affected by such holding
and shall continue in full force and effect.
(2006)
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Workers
compensation.
§35 For the purpose of providing compensation to workmen and
their dependents, for death, injuries or occupational disease, occasioned in the
course of such workmens employment, laws may be passed establishing a state
fund to be created by compulsory contribution thereto by employers, and
administered by the state, determining the terms and conditions upon which payment shall be made
there from. Such compensation shall be in lieu of all other rights to
compensation, or damages, for such death, injuries, or occupational disease, and
any employer who pays the premium or compensation provided by law, passed in
accordance herewith, shall not be liable to respond in damages at common law or
by statute for such death, injuries or occupational disease. Laws may be passed
establishing a board which may be empowered to classify all occupations,
according to their degree of hazard, to fix rates of contribution to such fund
according to such classification, and to collect, administer and distribute such
fund, and to determine all rights of claimants thereto. Such board shall set
aside as a separate fund such proportion of the contributions paid by employers
as in its judgment may be necessary, not to exceed one per centum thereof in any
year, and so as to equalize, insofar as possible, the burden thereof, to be
expended by such board in such manner as may be provided by law for the
investigation and prevention of industrial accidents and diseases. Such board
shall have full power and authority to hear and determine whether or not an
injury, disease or death resulted because of the failure of the employer to
comply with any specific requirement for the protection of the lives, health or
safety of employees, enacted by the General Assembly or in the form of an order
adopted by such board, and its decision shall be final; and for the purpose of
such investigations and inquiries it may appoint referees. When it is found,
upon hearing, that an injury, disease or death resulted because of such failure
by the employer, such amount as shall be found to be just, not greater than
fifty nor less than fifteen per centum of the maximum award established by law,
shall be added by the board, to the amount of the compensation that may be
awarded on account of such injury, disease, or death, and paid in like manner as
other awards; and, if such compensation is paid from the state fund, the premium
of such employer shall be increased in such amount, covering such period of time
as may be fixed, as will recoup the state fund in the amount of such additional
award, notwithstanding any and all other provisions in this constitution.
(1912, am. 1923)
TOP
Conservation
of natural resources.
§36 Laws may be passed to
encourage forestry and agriculture, and to that end areas devoted exclusively to
forestry may be exempted, in whole or in part, from taxation. Notwithstanding
the provisions of section 2 of Article XII, laws may be passed to provide that
land devoted exclusively to agricultural use be valued for real property tax
purposes at the current value such land has for such agricultural use. Laws may
also be passed to provide for the deferral or recoupment of any part of the
difference in the dollar amount of real property tax levied in any year on land
valued in accordance with its agricultural use and the dollar amount of real
property tax which would have been levied upon such land had it been valued for
such year in accordance with section 2 of Article XII. Laws may also be passed
to provide for converting into forest reserves such lands or parts of lands as
have been or may be forfeited to the state, and to authorize the acquiring of
other lands for that purpose; also, to provide for the conservation of the
natural resources of the state, including streams, lakes, submerged and swamp
lands and the development and regulation of water power and the formation of
drainage and conservation districts; and to provide for the regulation of
methods of mining, weighing, measuring and marketing coal, oil, gas and all
other minerals.
(1912, am. 1973)
TOP
Workday
and workweek on public
projects.
§37 Except in cases of
extraordinary emergency, not to exceed eight hours shall constitute a days
work, and not to exceed forty-eight hours a weeks work, for workmen engaged
on any public work carried on or aided by the state, or any political
subdivision thereof, whether done by contract, or otherwise.
(1912)
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Removal of officials
for misconduct.
§38 Laws shall be passed
providing for the prompt removal from office, upon complaint and hearing, of all
officers, including state officers, judges and members of the General Assembly,
for any misconduct involving moral turpitude or for other cause provided by law;
and this method of removal shall be in addition to impeachment or other method
of removal authorized by the constitution.
(1912)
TOP
Regulating
expert testimony in criminal
trials.
§39 Laws may be passed for the
regulation of the use of expert witnesses and expert testimony in criminal
trials and proceedings.
(1912)
TOP
Registering
and warranting
land titles.
§40 Laws may be passed providing
for a system of registering, transferring, insuring and guaranteeing land titles
by the state or by the counties thereof, and for settling and determining
adverse or other claims to and interests in, lands the titles to which are so
registered, insured or guaranteed, and for the creation and collection of
guaranty funds by fees to be assessed against lands, the titles to which are
registered; and judicial powers with right of appeal may by law be conferred upon county recorders
or other officers in matters arising under the operation of such system.
(1912)
TOP
Prison labor.
§41 Laws may be passed providing
for and regulating the occupation and employment of prisoners sentenced to the
several penal institutions and reformatories in the state.
(1912, am. 1978)
TOP
Continuity
of government operations in emergencies
caused by enemy attack.
§42 The General Assembly shall
have the power and the immediate duty to pass laws to provide for prompt and
temporary succession to the powers and duties of public offices, of whatever
nature and whether filled by election or appointment, the incumbents of which
may become unavailable for carrying on the powers and duties of such offices and
to pass such other laws as may be necessary and proper for insuring the
continuity of governmental operations in periods of emergency resulting from
disasters caused by enemy attack.
(1961)
TOP
Article III: Executive
Executive
department; key state officers.
§1 The executive department
shall consist of a governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor of
state, treasurer of state, and an attorney general, who shall be elected on the
first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, by the electors of the state,
and at the places of voting for members of the General Assembly.
(1851, am. 1885)
TOP
Joint
vote cast for governor and lieutenant.
§1a In the general election for
governor and lieutenant governor, one vote shall be cast jointly for the
candidates nominated by the same political party or petition. The General
Assembly shall provide by law for the nomination of candidates for governor and
lieutenant governor.
(1976)
TOP
Lieutenant governor duties
assigned by governor.
§1b The lieutenant governor
shall perform such duties in the executive department as are assigned to him by
the governor and as are prescribed by law.
(1976)
TOP
Term
of office of key state officers.
§2 The governor, lieutenant
governor, secretary of state, treasurer of state, and attorney general shall
hold their offices for four years commencing on the second Monday of January,
1959. Their terms of office shall continue until their successors are elected
and qualified. The auditor of state shall hold his office for a term of two
years from the second Monday of January, 1961 to the second Monday of January,
1963 and thereafter shall hold this office for a four year term. No person shall
hold the office of governor for a period longer than two successive terms of
four years.
No person shall hold any one of
the offices of lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer of state,
attorney general, or auditor of state for a period longer than two successive
terms of four years. Terms shall be considered successive unless separated by a
period of four or more years. Only terms beginning on or after January 1, 1995
shall be considered in determining an individuals eligibility to hold the
office of lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer of state, attorney
general, or auditor of state.
In determining the eligibility of an individual to hold an office
in accordance with this article, (A) time spent in an office in fulfillment of a
term to which another person was first elected shall not be considered provided
that a period of at least four years passed between the time, if any, in which
the individual previously held that office, and the time the individual is
elected or appointed to fulfill the unexpired term; and (B) a person who is
elected to an office in a regularly scheduled general election and resigns prior
to the completion of the term for which he or she was elected, shall be considered to
have served the full term in that office.
(1851, am. 1954, 1992)
TOP
Counting
votes for key state officers.
§3 The returns of every election
for the officers, named in the foregoing section, shall be sealed and
transmitted to the seat of government, by the returning officers, directed to
the president of the Senate, who, during the first week of the next regular
session, shall open and publish them, and declare the result, in the presence of
a majority of the members of each house of the General Assembly. The joint
candidates having the highest number of votes cast for governor and lieutenant
governor and the person having the number of votes for any other office shall be
declared duly elected; but if any two or more have an equal and the highest
number of votes for the same office or offices, one of them or any two for whom
joint votes were cast for governor and lieutenant governor, shall be chosen by
joint vote of both houses.
(1851, am. 1976)
TOP
Repealed. Referred
to returns
of election made to
the secretary
of state when there is
no session of the General Assembly in January
after an election.
§4
(1851, rep. 1976)
TOP
Executive
power vested in governor.
§5 The supreme executive power
of this state shall be vested in the governor.
(1851)
TOP
Governor to
see that laws executed; may require
written information.
§6 He may require information,
in writing from the officers in the executive department, upon any subject
relating to the duties of their respective offices; and shall see that the laws
are faithfully executed.
(1851)
TOP
Governors
annual message to General Assembly;
Recommendations
for legislation.
§7 He shall communicate at every
session, by message, to the General Assembly, the condition of the state, and
recommend such measures as he shall deem expedient.
(1851)
TOP
Governor may
convene special session
of legislature
with limited
purposes.
§8 The governor on extraordinary
occasions may convene the General Assembly by proclamation and shall state in
the proclamation the purpose for which such special session is called, and no
other business shall be transacted at such special session except that named in
the proclamation or message to the General Assembly issued by the governor
during said special session, but the General Assembly may provide for the
expenses of the session and other matters incidental thereto.
(1851, am. 1912)
TOP
When governor may
adjourn the legislature.
§9 In case of disagreement
between the two houses, in respect to the time of adjournment, he shall have the
power to adjourn the General Assembly to such time as he may think proper, but
not beyond the regular meetings thereof.
(1851)
TOP
Governor is
commander-in-chief
of militia.
§10 He shall be
commander-in-chief of the military and naval forces of the state, except when
they shall be called into the service of the United States.
(1851)
TOP
Governor may
grant reprieves, commutations
and pardons.
§11 The governor shall have
power, after conviction, to grant reprieves, commutations, and pardons, for all
crimes and offences, except treason and cases of impeachment, upon such
conditions as the governor may think proper; subject, however, to such
regulations, as to the manner of applying for commutations and pardons, as may
be prescribed by law. Upon conviction for treason, the governor may suspend the
execution of the sentence, and report the case to the General Assembly, at its
next meeting, when the General Assembly shall either pardon, commute the
sentence, direct its execution, or grant a further reprieve. The governor shall
communicate to the General Assembly, at every regular session, each case of
reprieve, commutation, or pardon granted, stating the name and crime of the
convict, the sentence, its date, and the date of the commutation, pardon, or
reprieve, with the governors reasons therefor.
(1851, am. 1995)
TOP
Seal of the
state, and by whom kept.
§12 There shall be a seal of the
state, which shall be kept by the governor, and used by him officially; and
shall be called "The Great Seal of the State of Ohio."
(1851)
TOP
How grants
and commissions issued.
§13 All grants and commissions
shall be issued in the name, and by the authority, of the state of Ohio; sealed
with the great seal; signed by the governor countersigned by the secretary of
state.
(1851)
TOP
Who is ineligible
for governor.
§14 No member of Congress, or
other person holding office under the authority of this state, or of the United
States, shall execute the office of governor, except as herein provided.
(1851)
TOP
Succession in case of vacancy in
office of governor.
§15 (A) In the case of the
death, conviction on impeachment, resignation, or removal, of the governor, the
lieutenant governor shall succeed to the office of governor.
(B) When the governor is unable
to discharge the duties of office by reason of disability, the lieutenant
governor shall serve as governor until the governors disability terminates.
(C) In the event of a vacancy in
the office of governor or when the governor is unable to discharge the duties of
office, the line of succession to the office of governor or to the position of
serving as governor for the duration of the governors disability shall
proceed from the lieutenant governor to the president of the Senate and then to
the speaker of the House of Representatives.
(D) Any person serving as
governor for the duration of the governors disability shall have the powers,
duties, title and compensation of the office of governor.
(E) No person shall
simultaneously serve as governor and lieutenant governor, president of the
Senate or speaker of the House of Representatives, nor shall any person
simultaneously receive the compensations of the office of governor and that of
lieutenant governor, president of the Senate, or speaker of the House of
Representatives.
(1976)
TOP
Repealed. Referred
to duties of lieutenant
governor.
§16
(1851, rep. 1976)
TOP
If a vacancy shall occur while
executing the office
of governor, who shall act.
§17 When a vacancy occurs in
both the office of governor and lieutenant governor because of the death,
conviction on impeachment, resignation, or removal of the persons elected to
those offices prior to the expiration of the first twenty months of a term, a
governor and lieutenant governor shall be elected at the next general election
occurring in an even-numbered year after the vacancy occurs, for the unexpired
portion of the term. The officer next in line of succession to the office of
governor shall serve as governor from the occurrence the vacancy until the newly
elected governor has qualified.
If by reason of death,
resignation, or disqualification, the governor-elect shall assume the office of
governor at the commencement of the gubernatorial term, the lieutenant
governor-elect shall assume the office of governor for the full term. If at the
commencement of such term, the governor-elect fails to assume the office by
reason of disability, the lieutenant governor-elect shall serve as governor
until the disability of the governor elect terminates.
(1976)
TOP
Filling
a vacancy in the office
of lieutenant governor.
§17a Whenever there is a vacancy
in the office of the lieutenant governor, the governor shall nominate a
lieutenant governor, who shall take office upon confirmation by vote of a
majority of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly.
(1989)
TOP
Governor to
fill vacancies in key state offices.
§18 Should the office of auditor of state, treasurer of state,
secretary of state, or attorney general become vacant, for any of the causes
specified in the fifteenth section of this article, the governor shall fill the
vacancy until the disability is
removed, or a successor is elected and qualified. Such successor shall be
elected for the unexpired term of the vacant office at the first general
election in an even numbered year that occurs more than forty days after the
vacancy has occurred; provided, that when the unexpired term ends within one
year immediately following the date of such general election, an election to
fill such unexpired term shall not be held and the appointment shall be for such
unexpired term.
(1851, am. 1969)
TOP
Compensation
of key state officers.
§19 The officers mentioned in
this article shall, at stated times, receive for their services, a compensation
to be established by law, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during
the period for which they shall have been elected.
(1851)
TOP
Annual report
of executive officers.
§20 The officers of the
executive department, and of the public state institutions shall, at least five
days preceding each regular session of the General Assembly, severally report to
the governor, who shall transmit such reports, with his message to the General Assembly.
(1851)
TOP
Appointments
to office; advice
and consent of Senate.
§21 When required by law,
appointments to state office shall be subject to the advice and consent of the
Senate. All statutory provisions requiring advice and consent of the Senate to
appointments to state office heretofore enacted by the General Assembly are
hereby validated, ratified and confirmed as to all appointments made hereafter,
but any such provision may be altered or repealed by law.
No appointment shall be consented
to without concurrence of a majority of the total number of senators provided
for by this constitution, except as hereinafter provided for in the case of
failure of the Senate to act. If the Senate has acted upon any appointment to
which its consent is required and has refused to consent, an appointment of
another person shall be made to fill the vacancy.
If an appointment is submitted
during a session of the General Assembly, it shall be acted upon by the Senate
during such session of the General Assembly, except that if such session of the
General Assembly adjourns sine die within ten days after such submission without
acting upon such appointment, it may be acted upon at the next session of the
General Assembly.
If an appointment is made after
the Senate has adjourned sine die, it shall be submitted to the Senate during
the next session of the General Assembly.
In acting upon an appointment a
vote shall be taken by a yea and nay vote of the members of the Senate and shall
be entered upon its journal. Failure of the Senate to act by a roll call vote on
an appointment by the governor within the time provided for herein shall
constitute consent to such appointment.
(1961)
TOP
Supreme Court
to determine
disability
of governor or governor elect; succession.
§22 The Supreme Court has
original, exclusive, and final, jurisdiction to determine disability of the
governor or governor-elect upon presentment to it of a joint resolution by the
General Assembly, declaring that the governor or governor-elect is unable to
discharge the powers and duties of the office of governor by reason of
disability. Such joint resolution shall be adopted by a two-thirds vote of the
members elected to each house. The Supreme Court shall give notice of the
resolution to the governor and after a public hearing, at which all interested
parties may appear and be represented, shall determine the question of
disability. The court shall make its determination within twenty-one days after
presentment of such resolution.
If the governor transmits to the
Supreme Court a written declaration that the disability no longer exists, the
Supreme Court shall, after public hearing at which all interested parties may
appear and be represented, determine the question of the continuation of the
disability. The court shall make its determination within twenty-one days after
transmittal of such declaration.
The Supreme Court has original,
exclusive, and final jurisdiction to determine all questions concerning
succession to the office of the governor or to its powers and duties.
(1976)
TOP
Article IV: Judicial
Judicial
power vested in court.
§1 The judicial power of the
state is vested in a supreme court, courts of appeals, courts of common pleas
and divisions thereof, and such other courts inferior to the Supreme Court as
may from time to time be established by law.
(1851, am. 1883, 1912, 1968, 1973)
TOP
Organization
and jurisdiction
of Supreme Court.
§2 (A) The Supreme Court shall,
until otherwise provided by law, consist of seven judges, who shall be known as
the chief justice and justices. In case of the absence or disability of the
chief justice, the judge having the period of longest total service upon the
court shall be the acting chief justice. If any member of the court shall be
unable, by reason of illness, disability or disqualification, to hear, consider
and decide a cause or causes, the chief justice or the acting chief justice may
direct any judge of any court of appeals to sit with the judges of the Supreme
Court in the place and stead of the absent judge. A majority of the Supreme
Court shall be necessary to constitute a quorum or to render a judgment.
(B)(1) The Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction in the following:
(a) Quo
warranto;
(b) Mandamus;
(c) Habeas corpus;
(d) Prohibition;
(e)
Procedendo;
(f) In any cause on review as may be necessary to its complete determination;
(g) Admission to the practice
of law, the discipline of persons so admitted, and all other matters relating
to the practice of law.
(2) The Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction as follows:
(a) In appeals from the courts
of appeals as a matter of right in the following:
(i) Cases originating in the courts of appeals;
(ii) Cases in which the death
penalty has been affirmed;
(iii) Cases involving questions arising under the constitution of the United
States or of this state.
(b) In appeals from the courts
of appeals in cases of felony on leave first obtained.
(c) In direct appeals from the courts of common pleas or other courts of record
inferior to the court of appeals as a matter of right in cases in which the
death penalty has been imposed.
(d) Such revisory jurisdiction
of the proceedings of administrative officers or agencies as may be conferred
by law;
(e) In cases of public or great general interest, the Supreme Court may direct
any court of appeals to certify its record to the Supreme Court, and may review
and affirm, modify, or reverse the judgment of the court of appeals;
(f) The Supreme Court shall
review and affirm, modify, or reverse the judgment in any case certified by
any court of appeals pursuant to section 3(B)(4) of this article.
(3) No law shall be passed or rule made whereby any person shall be prevented
from invoking the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.
(C) The decisions in all cases in
the Supreme Court shall be reported together with the reasons therefor.
(1851, am. 1883, 1912, 1944, 1968, 1994)
TOP
Organization
and jurisdiction
of court of appeals.
§3 (A) The state shall be
divided by law into compact appellate districts in each of which there shall be
a court of appeals consisting of three judges. Laws may be passed increasing the
number of judges in any district wherein the volume of business may require such
additional judge or judges. In districts having additional judges, three judges
shall participate in the hearing and disposition of each case. The court shall
hold sessions in each county of the district as the necessity arises. The county
commissioners of each county shall provide a proper and convenient place for the
court of appeals to hold court.
(B)(1) The courts of appeals
shall have original jurisdiction in the following:
(a) Quo
warranto;
(b) Mandamus;
(c) Habeas corpus;
(d) Prohibition;
(e) Procedendo
(f) In any cause on review as
may be necessary to its complete determination.
(2) Courts of appeals shall have such jurisdiction as may be
provided by law to review and affirm, modify, or reverse judgments or final
orders of the courts of record inferior to the court of appeals within the
district, except that courts of appeals shall not have jurisdiction to review on
direct appeal a judgment that imposes a sentence of death. Courts of appeals
shall have such appellate jurisdiction as may be provided by law to review and
affirm, modify, or reverse final orders or actions of administrative officers or
agencies.
(3) A majority of the judges
hearing the cause shall be necessary to render a judgment. Judgments of the
courts of appeals are final except as provided in section 2(B)(2) of the
article. No judgment resulting from a trial by jury shall be reversed on the
weight of the evidence except by the concurrence of all three judges hearing the
cause.
(4) Whenever the judges of a
court of appeals find that a judgment upon which they have agreed is in conflict
with a judgment pronounced upon the same question by any other court of appeals
of the state, the judges shall certify the record of the case to the Supreme
Court for review and final determination.
(C) Laws may be passed providing
for the reporting of cases in the courts of appeals.
(1968, am. 1994)
TOP
Organization
and jurisdiction
of common pleas court.
§4 (A) There shall be a court of
common pleas and such divisions thereof as may be established by law serving
each county of the state. Any judge of a court of common pleas or a division
thereof may temporarily hold court in any county. In the interests of the fair,
impartial, speedy, and sure administration of justice, each county shall have
one or more resident judges, or two or more counties may be combined into
districts having one or more judges resident in the district and serving the
common pleas court of all counties in the district, as may be provided by law.
Judges serving a district shall sit in each county in the district as the
business of the court requires. In counties or districts having more than one
judge of the court of common pleas, the judges shall select one of their number
to act as presiding judge, to serve at their pleasure. If the judges are unable
because of equal division of the vote to make such selection, the judge having
the longest total service on the court of common pleas shall serve as presiding
judge until selection is made by vote. The presiding judge shall have such
duties and exercise such powers as are prescribed by rule of the Supreme Court.
(B) The courts of common pleas
and divisions thereof shall have such original jurisdiction over all justifiable
matters and such powers of review of proceedings of administrative officers and
agencies as may be provided by law.
(C) Unless otherwise provided by
law, there shall be probate division and such other divisions of the courts of
common pleas as may be provided by law. Judges shall be elected specifically to
such probate division and to such other divisions. The judges of the probate
division shall be empowered to employ and control the clerks, employees,
deputies, and referees of such probate division of the common pleas courts.
(1968, am. 1973)
TOP
Powers
and duties of Supreme Court; rules.
§5 (A)(1) In addition to all
other powers vested by this article in the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court
shall have general superintendence over all courts in the state. Such general
superintending power shall be exercised by the chief justice in accordance with
rules promulgated by the Supreme Court
(2) The Supreme Court shall
appoint an administrative director who shall assist the chief justice and who
shall serve at the pleasure of the court. The compensation and duties of the
administrative director shall be determined by the court.
(3) The chief justice or acting
chief justice, as necessity arises, shall assign any judge of a court of common
pleas or a division thereof temporarily to sit or hold court on any other court
of common pleas or division thereof or any court of appeals or shall assign any
judge of a court of appeals temporarily to sit or hold court on any other court
of appeals or any court of common pleas or division thereof and upon such
assignment said judge shall serve in such assigned capacity until the
termination of the assignment. Rules may be adopted to provide for the temporary
assignment of judges to sit and hold court in any court established by law.
(B) The Supreme Court shall prescribe rules governing practice
and procedure in all courts of the state, which rules shall not abridge,
enlarge, or modify any substantive right. Proposed rules shall be filed by the
court, not later than the fifteenth day of January, with the clerk of each house of the
General Assembly during a regular session thereof, and amendments to any such
proposed rules may be so filed not later than the first day of May in that
session. Such rules shall take effect on the following first day of July, unless
prior to such day the General Assembly adopts a concurrent resolution of
disapproval. All laws in conflict with such rules shall be of no further force
or effect after such rules have taken effect.
Courts may adopt additional rules
concerning local practice in their respective courts which are not inconsistent
with the rules promulgated by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court may make
rules to require uniform record keeping for all courts of the state, and shall
make rules governing the admission to the practice of law and discipline of
persons so admitted.
(C) The chief justice of the
Supreme Court or any judge of that court designated by him shall pass upon the
disqualification of any judge of the courts of appeals or courts of common pleas
or division thereof. Rules may be adopted to provide for the hearing or
disqualification matters involving judges of courts established by law.
(1968, am. 1973)
TOP
Election
of judges; compensation.
§6 (A)(1) The chief justice and
the justices of the Supreme Court shall be elected by the electors of the state
at large, for terms of not less than six years.
(2) The judges of the courts of
appeals shall be elected by the electors of their respective appellate
districts, for terms of not less than six years.
(3) The judges of the courts of
common pleas and the divisions thereof shall be elected by the electors of the
counties, districts, or, as may be provided by law, other subdivisions, in which
their respective courts are located, for terms of not less than six years, and
each judge of a court of common pleas or division thereof shall reside during
his term of office in the county, district, or subdivision in which his court is
located.
(4) Terms of office of all judges
shall begin on the days fixed by law, and laws shall be enacted to prescribe the
times and mode of their election.
(B) The judges of the Supreme
Court, courts of appeals, courts of common pleas, and divisions thereof, and of
all courts of record established by law, shall, at stated times, receive for
their services such compensation as may be provided by law, which shall not be
diminished during their term of office. The compensation of all judges of the
Supreme Court, except that of the chief justice, shall be the same. The
compensation of all judges of the courts of appeals shall be the same. Common
pleas judges and judges of divisions thereof, and judges of all courts of record
established by law shall receive such compensation as may be provided by law.
Judges shall receive no fees or perquisites, nor hold any other office of profit
or trust, under the authority of this state, or of the United States. All votes
for any judge, for any elective office, except a judicial office, under the
authority of this state, given by the General Assembly, or the people shall be
void.
(C) No person shall be elected or
appointed to any judicial office if on or before the day when he shall assume
the office and enter upon the discharge of its duties he shall have attained the
age of seventy years. Any voluntarily retired judge, or any judge who is retired
under this section, may be assigned with his consent, by the chief justice or
acting chief justice of the Supreme Court to active duty as a judge and while so
serving shall receive the established compensation for such office, computed
upon a per diem basis, in addition to any retirement benefits to which he may be
entitled. Laws may be passed providing retirement benefits for judges.
(1968, am. 1973)
TOP
Repealed. Probate courts.
§7
(1851, am. 1912, 1947, 1951, rep.
1968)
TOP
Repealed. Probate court; Jurisdiction.
§8
(1851, rep. 1968)
TOP
Repealed. Justices
of the peace.
§9
(1851, rep. 1912)
TOP
Repealed. Other judges; election.
§10
(1851, rep. 1968)
TOP
Repealed. Classification
of Supreme Court
judges.
§11
(1851, rep. 1883)
TOP
Repealed. Vacancies, how filled.
§12
(1851, am. 1912, rep. 1968)
TOP
Vacancy in
office of judge, how filled.
§13 In case the office of any
judge shall become vacant, before the expiration of the regular term for which
he was elected, the vacancy shall be filled by appointment by the governor,
until a successor is elected and has qualified; and such successor shall be
elected for the unexpired term, at the first general election for the office
which is vacant that occurs more than forty days after the vacancy shall have
occurred; provided, however, that when the unexpired term ends within one year
immediately following the date of such general election, an election to fill
such unexpired term shall not be held and the appointment shall be for such
unexpired term.
(1851, am. 1942)
TOP
Repealed. Referred
to compensation and ineligibility
for other office
for Supreme Court
justices and common
pleas judges.
§14
(1851, rep. 1968)
TOP
Changing
number of judges; establishing
other courts.
§15 Laws may be passed to
increase or diminish the number of judges of the Supreme Court, to increase
beyond one or diminish to one the number of judges of the court of common pleas
in any county, and to establish other courts, whenever two-thirds of the members
elected to each house shall concur therein; but no such change, addition or
diminution shall vacate the office of any judge; and any existing court
heretofore created by law shall continue in existence until otherwise provided.
(1851, am. 1912)
TOP
Repealed. Clerks
of court elections.
§16
(1851, rep. 1933)
TOP
Judges
removable.
§17 Judges may be removed from
office, by concurrent resolution of both houses of the General Assembly, if
two-thirds of the members, elected to each house, concur therein; but, no such
removal shall be made, except upon complaint, the substance of which shall be
entered on the journal, nor, until the party charged shall have had notice
thereof, and an opportunity to be heard.
(1851)
TOP
Powers
and jurisdiction
of judges.
§18 The several judges of the
Supreme Court, of the common pleas, and of such other courts as may be created,
shall, respectively, have and exercise such power and jurisdiction, at chambers,
or otherwise, as may be directed by law.
(1851)
TOP
Courts
of conciliation.
§19 The General Assembly may
establish courts of conciliation, and prescribe their powers and duties; but
such courts shall not render final judgment in any case, except upon submission,
by the parties, of the matter in dispute, and their agreement to abide such
judgment.
(1851)
TOP
Style of
process, prosecution, and indictment.
§20 The style of all process
shall be, "The state of Ohio;" all prosecutions shall be carried on,
in the name, and by the authority, of the state of Ohio; and all indictments
shall conclude, "against the peace and dignity of the state of Ohio."
(1851)
TOP
Supreme Court
commission.
§[21]22 A commission, which shall consist of five members, shall
be appointed by the governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, the
members of which shall hold office for the term of three years from and after
the first day of February, 1876, to dispose of such part of the business then on
the dockets of the Supreme Court, as shall, by arrangement between said
commission and said court, be transferred to such commission; and said
commission shall have like jurisdiction and power in respect to such business as
are or may be vested in said court; and the members of said commission shall
receive a like compensation for the time being, with the judges of said court. A
majority of the members of said commission shall be necessary to form a quorum
or pronounce a decision, and its decision shall be
certified, entered, and enforced as the judgments of the Supreme Court, and at
the expiration of the term of said commission, all business undisposed of shall
by it be certified to the Supreme Court and disposed of as if said commission
had never existed. The clerk and reporter of said court shall be the clerk and
reporter of said commission, and the commission shall have such other attendants
not exceeding in number those provided by law for said court, which attendants
said commission may appoint and remove at its pleasure.
Any vacancy occurring in said
commission, shall be filled by appointment of the governor, with the advice and
consent of the Senate, if the Senate be in session, and if the Senate be not in
session, by the governor, but in such last case, such appointment shall expire
at the end of the next session of the General Assembly. The General Assembly
may, on application of the Supreme Court duly entered on the journal of the
court and certified, provide by law, whenever two-thirds of such [each] house
shall concur therein, from time to time, for the appointment, in like manner, of
a like commission with like powers, jurisdiction and duties; provided, that the
term of any such commission shall not exceed two years, nor shall it be created
oftener than once in ten years.
(1875)
TOP
Judges in
less populous counties; service
on more than one court.
§23 Laws may be passed to
provide that in any county having less than forty thousand population, as
determined by the next preceding federal census, the board of county
commissioners of such county, by a unanimous vote or ten percent of the number
of electors of such county voting for governor at the next preceding election,
by petition, may submit to the electors of such county the question of providing
that in such county the same person shall serve as judge of the court of common
pleas, judge of the probate court, judge of the juvenile court, judge of the
municipal court, and judge of the county court, or of two or more of such
courts. If a majority of the electors of such county vote in favor of such
proposition, one person shall thereafter be elected to serve in such capacities,
but this shall not affect the right of any judge then in office from continuing
in office until the end of the term for which he was elected.
Elections may be had in the same
manner to discontinue or change the practice of having one person serve in the
capacity of judge of more than one court when once adopted.
(1965)
TOP
Article V: Elective Franchise
Who may vote.
§1 Every citizen of the United
States, of the age of eighteen years, who has been a resident of the state,
county, township, or ward, such time as may be provided by law, and has been
registered to vote for thirty days, has the qualifications of an elector, and is
entitled to vote at all elections. Any elector who fails to vote in at least one
election during any period of four consecutive years shall cease to be an
elector unless he again registers to vote.
(1851, am. 1923, 1957, 1970, 1976,
1977)
TOP
By ballot.
§2 All elections shall be by
ballot.
(1851)
TOP
Names of candidates
on ballot.
§2a The names of all candidates
for an office at any election shall be arranged in a group under the title of
that office. The General Assembly shall provide by law the means by which
ballots shall give each candidates name reasonably equal position by rotation
or other comparable methods to the extent practical and appropriate to the
voting procedure used. At any election in which a candidates party
designation appears on the ballot, the name or designation of each candidates
party, if any, shall be printed under or after each candidates name in less
prominent type face than that in which the candidates name is printed. An
elector may vote for candidates (other than candidates for electors of president
and vice-president of the United States, and other than candidates for governor
and lieutenant governor) only and in no other way than by indicating his vote
for each candidate separately from the indication of his vote for any other
candidate.
(1949, am. 1975, 1976)
TOP
Repealed. Referred
to the privilege
from arrest
of voters during
elections.
§3
(1851, rep. 1976)
TOP
Exclusion
from franchise.
§4 The General Assembly shall
have power to exclude from the privilege of voting, or of being eligible to
office, any person convicted of a felony.
(1851, am. 1976)
TOP
Repealed. Referred
to those persons not
considered residents
of the state.
§5
(1851, rep. 1976)
TOP
Idiots
or insane persons.
§6 No idiot, or insane person,
shall be entitled to the privileges of an elector.
(1851)
TOP
Primary
elections.
§7 All nominations for elective
state, district, county and municipal offices shall be made at direct primary
elections or by petition as provided by law, and provision shall be made by law
for a preferential vote for United States senator, but direct primaries shall
not be held for the nomination of township officers or for the officers of
municipalities of less than two thousand population, unless petitioned for by a
majority of the electors of such township or municipality. All delegates from
this state to the national conventions of political parties shall be chosen by
direct vote of the electors in a manner provided by law. Each candidate for such
delegate shall state his first and second choices for the presidency, but the
name of no candidate for the presidency shall be so used without his written
authority.
(1912, am. 1975)
TOP
Term
limits
for U.S. senators
and representatives.
§8 No person shall hold the
office of United States Senator from Ohio for a period longer that two
successive terms of six years. No person shall hold the office of United States
Representative from Ohio for a period longer than four successive terms of two
years. Terms shall be considered successive unless separated by a period of four
or more years. Only terms beginning on or after January 1, 1993 shall be
considered in determining an individuals eligibility to hold office.
(1992)
TOP
Eligibility
of officeholders.
§9 In determining the
eligibility of an individual to hold an office in accordance with this article,
(A) time spent in an office in fulfillment of a term to which another person was
first elected shall not be considered provided that a period of at least four
years passed between the time, if any, in which the individual previously held
that office, and the time the individual is elected or appointed to fulfill the
unexpired term, and (B) a person who is elected to an office in a regularly
scheduled general election and resigns prior to the completion of the term for
which he or she was elected, shall be considered to have served the full term in
that office.
(1992)
TOP
Article VI: Education
Funds for religious
and educational purposes.
§1 The principal of all funds,
arising from the sale, or other disposition of lands, or other property, granted
or entrusted to this state for educational and religious purposes, shall be used
or disposed of in such manner as the General Assembly shall prescribe by law.
(1851, am. 1968)
TOP
School funds.
§2 The General Assembly shall
make such provisions, by taxation, or otherwise, as, with the income arising
from the school trust fund, will secure a thorough and efficient system of
common schools throughout the state; but no religious or other sect, or sects,
shall ever have any exclusive right to, or control of, any part of the school
funds of this state.
(1851)
TOP
Public
school system, boards
of education.
§3 Provision shall be made by law for the organization,
administration and control of the public school system of the state supported by
public funds: provided, that each school district embraced wholly or in part
within any city shall have the power by referendum vote to determine for itself
the number of members and the organization of the
district board of education, and provision shall be made by law for the exercise
of this power by such school districts.
(1912)
TOP
State board
of education.
§4 There shall be a state board
of education which shall be selected in such manner and for such terms as shall
be provided by law. There shall be a superintendent of public instruction, who
shall be appointed by the state board of education. The respective powers and
duties of the board and of the superintendent shall be prescribed by law.
(1912, am. 1953)
TOP
Loans for higher
education.
§5 To increase opportunities to
the residents of the state for higher education, it is hereby determined to be
in the public interest and a proper public purpose for the state to guarantee
the re payment of loans made to residents of this state to assist them in
meeting the expenses of attending an institution of higher education. Laws may
be passed to carry into effect such purpose including the payment, when
required, of any such guarantee from moneys available for such payment after
first providing the moneys necessary to meet the requirements of any bonds or
other obligations heretofore or hereafter authorized by any section of the
constitution. Such laws and guarantees shall not be subject to the limitations
or requirements of Article VIII or of Section 11 of Article XII of the
constitution. Amended Substitute House Bill No. 618 enacted by the General
Assembly on July 11, 1961, and Amended Senate Bill No. 284 enacted by the
General Assembly on May 23, 1963, and all appropriations of moneys made for the
purpose of such enactments, are hereby validated, ratified, confirmed, and
approved in all respects, and they shall be in full force and effect from and
after the effective date of this section, as laws of this state until amended or
repealed by law.
(1965)
TOP
Tuition
credits program.
§6 (A) To increase opportunities
to the residents of this state for higher education, it is hereby determined to
be in the public interest and a proper public purpose for the state to maintain
a program for the sale of tuition credits such that the proceeds of such credits
purchased for the benefit of a person then a resident of this state shall be
guaranteed to cover a specified amount when applied to the cost of tuition at
any state institution of higher education, and the same or a different amount
when applied to the cost of tuition at any other institution of higher
education, as may be provided by law.
(B) The tuition credits program
and the Ohio tuition trust fund previously created by law, which terms include
any successor to that program or fund, shall be continued subject to the same
laws, except as may hereafter be amended. To secure the guarantees required by
division (A) of this section, the general assembly shall appropriate money
sufficient to offset any deficiency that occurs in the Ohio tuition trust fund,
at any time necessary to make payment of the full amount of any tuition payment
or refund that would have been required by a tuition payment contract, except
for the contracts limit of payment to money available in the trust fund.
Notwithstanding section 29 of Article II of this Constitution, or the limitation
of a tuition payment contract executed before the effective date of this
section, such appropriations may be made by a majority of the members elected to
each house of the general assembly, and the full amount of any such enhanced
tuition payment or refund may be disbursed to and accepted by the beneficiary or
purchaser. To these ends there is hereby pledged the full faith and credit and
taxing power of the state.
All assets that are maintained in
the Ohio tuition trust fund shall be used solely for the purposes of that fund.
However, if the program is terminated or the fund is liquidated, the remaining
assets after the obligations of the fund have been satisfied in accordance with
law shall be transferred to the general revenue fund of the state.
Laws shall be passed, which may
precede and be made contingent upon the adoption of this amendment by the
electors, to provide that future conduct of the tuition credits program shall be
consistent with this amendment. Nothing in this amendment shall be construed to
prohibit or restrict any amendments to the laws governing the tuition credits
program or the Ohio tuition trust fund that are not inconsistent with this
amendment.
(1994)
TOP
Article VII: Public Institutions
Insane, blind, and deaf and
dumb.
§1 Institutions for the benefit
of the insane, blind, and deaf and dumb, shall always be fostered and supported
by the state; and be subject to such regulations as may be prescribed by the
General Assembly.
(1851)
TOP
Directors
of penitentiary, trustees
of benevolent and other state institutions; how appointed.
§2 The directors of the
penitentiary shall be appointed or elected in such manner as the General
Assembly may direct; and the trustees of the benevolent, and other state
institutions, now elected by the General Assembly, and of such other state
institutions, as may be hereafter created, shall be appointed by the governor,
by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and upon all nominations made
by the governor, the question shall be taken by yeas and nays, and entered upon
the journals of the Senate.
(1851)
TOP
Filling
vacancies in
directorships
of state institutions.
§3 The governor shall have power
to fill all vacancies that may occur in the offices aforesaid, until the next
session of the General Assembly, and, until a successor to his appointee shall
be confirmed and qualified.
(1851)
TOP
Article VIII: Public Debt
and Public Works
Public debt; limit
of deficit
spending by state.
§1 The state may contract debts
to supply casual deficits or failures in revenues, or to meet expenses not
otherwise provided for; but the aggregate amount of such debts, direct and
contingent, whether contracted by virtue of one or more acts of the General
Assembly, or at different periods of time, shall never exceed seven hundred and
fifty thousand dollars; and the money, arising from the creation of such debts,
shall be applied to the purpose for which it was obtained, or to repay the debts
so contracted, and to no other purpose whatever.
(1851)
TOP
State may incur debts
for defense or to retire
outstanding debts.
§2 In addition to the above
limited power, the state may contract debts to repel invasion, suppress
insurrection, defend the state in war, or to redeem the present outstanding
indebtedness of the state; but the money, arising from the contracting of such
debts, shall be applied to the purpose for which it was raised, or to repay such
debts, and to no other purpose whatever, and all debts, incurred to redeem the
present outstanding indebtedness of the state, shall be so contracted as to be
payable by the sinking fund, hereinafter provided for, as the same shall
accumulate.
(1851)
TOP
Repealed. Referred
to adjusted compensation
for service in World War I.
§2a
(1921, rep. 1953)
TOP
Adjusted compensation
for service in World War II; World War II veterans bonuses.
§2b The board of commissioners created by section 8 of Art. VIII
of the Constitution of the state of Ohio, designated therein "The
Commissioners of the Sinking Fund," shall, forthwith upon the adoption of
this amendment, proceed to issue and sell, from time to time, bonds of the state
of Ohio in such amounts of face value as it may deem necessary to provide the
funds, or such part thereof, as may be required to pay the compensation and the
expenses of administering this section as herein provided for, provided,
however, that the aggregate total amount of face value of bonds so issued shall
not exceed three hundred million dollars. The full faith and credit of the state
of Ohio is hereby pledged for the payment of such bonds. All bonds so issued
shall mature in thirty semiannual installments after the respective dates
thereof, and the maturities thereof shall be so fixed that the total amounts of
payments on account of principal and interest to be paid on each of such
semiannual installment payment dates shall be approximately equal, but no such
bonds shall be issued or bear dates later than the first day of April, 1951. All
bonds so issued shall bear interest at such rates as the commissioners of the
sinking fund may fix, which interest shall be payable semiannually. Such bonds,
and the interest thereon as income, shall be exempt from all taxes levied by the
state of Ohio or any taxing district thereof. The bonds may, at the option of the sinking
fund commission, be issued subject to call on any interest payment date at par
and accrued interest. All sales of such bonds by the commissioners of the
sinking fund shall be in accordance with such regulations as it shall make and
promulgate, provided, however, that such bonds shall be sold only to the highest
bidder or bidders therefor after notice of such sale shall have been published
once each week for three consecutive weeks on the same day of each of such
weeks, the first of such notices being published at least twenty-one full days
before the date of sale, in a newspaper of general circulation in each of the
eight most populous counties in the state of Ohio, and provided that each of
such published notices shall state the day, hour and place of the sale, the
total face value of the bonds to be sold, their denominations, dates, and the
dates of their maturities, information relative to the rates of interest which
the bonds will bear, and the dates upon which interest will be payable. The
commissioners of the sinking fund shall have the right to reject any or all bids
and to re-advertise and re-offer bonds for sale. Out of the proceeds of the sale
of all bonds that amount which represents accrued interest, if any, shall be
paid into the treasury of the state of Ohio into a fund to be known as the World
War II compensation bond retirement fund. The balance shall be paid into the
treasury of the state of Ohio into a fund to be known as the World War II
compensation fund. The General Assembly of the state of Ohio may appropriate and
cause to be paid into the World War II compensation bond retirement fund or the
World War II compensation fund, out of the funds in the treasury of the state
not otherwise appropriated, such amounts as it may deem proper for use upon
order of the commissioners of the sinking fund for the purposes for which such
funds are created as herein provided. If the General Assembly should so
appropriate any funds to the World War II compensation fund prior to the time
the commissioners of the sinking fund shall have issued bonds of the aggregate
total amount of face value authorized in this section, the aggregate total
amount of face value of bonds so authorized to be issued shall be reduced by the
amount of the funds so appropriated.
During the period of fifteen
years beginning January 1, 1949, the treasurer of state of the state of Ohio
shall without appropriation thereof by the General Assembly, transfer into said
World War II compensation bond retirement fund one million dollars each month
out of funds in the state treasury derived from taxes levied by the state for
the purpose of providing revenues to defray the expenses of the state, excepting
the taxes levied by the state by sections 5527, 5541, and 6291 of the General
Code of Ohio [RC §5735.05, 5735.25, 4303.02] as the same may be in effect on
the effective date of this section. To secure such monthly transfer of funds a
lien is hereby created upon all funds coming into the state treasury after
January 1, 1949, derived from taxes as aforesaid, which lien shall be the first
and best lien upon all such funds. It shall be the duty of the treasurer of
state to set aside and use for the purpose of making such monthly transfer of
funds, part of each dollar received in the state treasury in each calendar year
during said period of fifteen years beginning January 1, 1949, derived from
taxes as aforesaid, so that the total amount of money so set aside in each of
such calendar years shall be twelve million dollars, and so that the ratio which
the amount of each dollar so set aside shall bear to one dollar shall be the
same as the ratio which the amount of twelve million dollars shall bear to the
total amount of money received in the state treasury in such calendar years
derived from taxes as aforesaid. The treasurer of state shall set aside part of
each dollar before paying out, transferring, or disposing of in any other
manner, such dollar or any part thereof for any other purpose whatsoever, and he
shall make the transfer of one million dollars each month to the World War II
compensation bond retirement fund, herein-above provided for, out of said sum of
twelve million dollars so set aside in each of such calendar years.
The commissioners of the sinking fund shall, on or before the
first day of July in each calendar year, levy and certify to the auditor of the
state of Ohio a state tax on all taxable property subject to taxation on the
general tax lists of all counties in the state of Ohio for such year at such
rate as it shall determine to be necessary to provide, together with other money
which will be available in the World War II compensation bond retirement fund,
the total amount of funds which will be required in the next following calendar
year for the retirement of bonds and the payment of interest payable in such
year. Such levy shall be in addition to all other taxes levied now or hereafter
within the period during which bonds issued pursuant to the provisions of this
section shall be outstanding, by or pursuant to law or any provision of the
Constitution of the state of Ohio, and shall not be considered in applying any
limitation or aggregate tax rates now or
hereafter within the period during which bonds issued pursuant to the provisions
of this section shall be outstanding, provided by or pursuant to law or any
provision of the Constitution of the state of Ohio. The auditor of state shall
certify such levies to the auditor of each county in Ohio, who shall extend the
same on the tax lists of his county for the year in which such levy is made and
shall place same for collection on the tax duplicates of his county to be
collected the same time and in the same manner as other taxes on such
duplicates. Said taxes herein authorized, when collected, shall be paid into the
World War II compensation bond retirement fund in the treasury of the state. The
World War II compensation bond retirement fund shall be paid out, without
appropriation thereof by the General Assembly of Ohio, upon the order of the
commissioners of the sinking fund for the purpose of the payment, or retirement
in other manner, of said bonds and interest thereon.
The World War II compensation
fund shall be paid out upon order of the commissioners of the sinking fund,
without appropriation by the General Assembly of Ohio, in payment of the
expenses of administering this section, and as compensation as follows: every
person who shall have served in active duty in the armed forces of the United
States at any time between December 7, 1941 and September 2, 1945, both dates
inclusive, and who, at the time of commencing such service, was and had been a
resident of the state of Ohio for at least one year immediately preceding the
commencement of such service, and who shall have been separated from such
service under honorable conditions, or who is still in such service, or who has
been retired, and who was in service for a period of at least ninety days, shall
be entitled to receive compensation of ten dollars for each month during which
such person was in active domestic service and fifteen dollars for each month
during which such person was in active foreign service within said period of
time; provided, however, that any person who was serving in active duty in the
armed forces of the United States on the seventh day of December, 1941, and who
did not so serve at least ninety days thereafter because of a service-connected
injury or death shall be deemed to have served at least ninety days within the
period of time commencing December 7, 1941 and ending September 2, 1945; and
provided, further, that the maximum amount of compensation payable under this
section shall not be in excess of four hundred dollars; and provided, further,
that no compensation shall be paid under this section to any person who shall
have received from another state a bonus or compensation of a like nature as is
provided under this section. No compensation shall be paid under this section to
any person for any periods of time spent under penal confinement during the
period of active duty. Compensation for a fraction of a month of service shall
be paid on the basis of one-thirtieth of the above monthly amounts for each day
of such service. Service in the merchant marine of the United States shall not
be considered for the purpose of this section. Domestic service" as used
herein means service within the continental limits of the United States
(excluding Alaska). Foreign service" as used herein means service in all
other places, including sea duty.
Either the surviving husband or
wife, or the surviving child or children, or the surviving parents or parent, of
a deceased person shall be paid the same amount of compensation that such
deceased person would be entitled to receive under this section, if living;
provided, however, that if such deceased persons death was service-connected
and in line of duty, his survivors as hereinbefore designated, shall be paid
four hundred dollars regardless of the amount of compensation which such
deceased person would be entitled to receive under this section, if living;
provided further, that the amount of compensation payable to such survivors of
such deceased person shall be payable only to one of the three groups of
survivors hereinbefore designated in the order in which said groups are herein
named; and provided further, that the surviving husband or wife of more than one
deceased person who would be entitled to receive compensation under this
section, if living, shall be paid only that amount of compensation payable by
reason of the first of the deaths of such deceased persons.
No sale or assignment of any
right or claim to compensation under this section shall be valid, no claims of
creditors shall be enforceable against rights or claims to or payments of
compensation under this section, and no fees shall be charged for services in
connection with the prosecution of any right or claim to compensation or the
collection of any compensation under this section.
The commissioners of the sinking fund shall have complete charge
of making payments of the compensation provided for in this section and shall
adopt and promulgate regulations governing their procedure in connection therewith, including
determinations as to who are proper beneficiaries and the amounts to which such
beneficiaries are entitled, determinations as to whether an applicant has the
necessary residence requirements, and such other regulations as it may deem
necessary and proper; provided, however, that all applications for payment of
compensation under this section shall be made to the commissioners of the
sinking fund before July 1, 1950.
The commissioners of the sinking
fund shall select and appoint such legal counsel and employees as it may deem
necessary, fix their compensation and prescribe their duties, and all such
appointees shall serve at its pleasure.
The people of the state of Ohio
declare that their enactment of this special amendment of the Constitution of
the state of Ohio is to meet the specific emergency covered thereby, and they
declare it to be their intention to in no manner affect or change any of the
existing provisions of the said constitution except as herein set forth. The
provisions of this section shall be self executing.
Upon the retirement of all the
bonds that may be issued hereunder and the payment of all valid claims for
compensation made within the limitations of time as prescribed herein, the
commissioners of the sinking fund shall make a final report to the General
Assembly of Ohio, and any balance remaining in any of the funds herein created
and referred to shall be disposed of as shall be provided by law.
(1947)
TOP
Construction
of state highway system.
§2c The state may contract debts
not exceeding five hundred million dollars for the purpose of providing moneys
for acquisition of rights-of-way and for construction and reconstruction of
highways on the state highway system. Not more than one hundred twenty-five
million dollars of the debt authorized by this section shall be contracted
within any calendar year, and no part of such debt shall be contracted after the
thirty-first day of March, 1962. The principal amount of any part of such debt
at any time contracted shall be paid in substantially equal semiannual or annual
installments, beginning not later than eighteen months after such debt is
contracted, and in such number of installments that the entire debt shall be
discharged not later than the year 1972. Securities evidencing the debt
authorized by this section shall bear interest and shall be sold upon such terms
as may be prescribed by law.
Both the principal of such debt
and the interest thereon shall be exempt from taxation by this state or by any
taxing subdivision thereof. Moneys raised under the authority of this section
shall be expended only to provide adequate highways, including the acquisition
of rights-of-way and including participation therein with the federal
government, municipal corporations, counties and other legally authorized
participants, but excluding costs of planning and supervision by the state. All
construction shall be done by contract as shall be provided by law. No part of
such proceeds shall be appropriated except to meet the requirements of programs
or schedules of acquisition of rights-of-way, highway construction and
reconstruction which the governor, or other highway authority with the
concurrence of the governor, shall submit to the General Assembly before such
appropriations are made. Such appropriations shall be made only for major
thoroughfares of the state highway system and urban extensions thereof. The debt
contracted under the authority of this section shall be paid by revenue bonds
issued by the state of Ohio as provided by law, secured by a pledge of moneys
derived from fees, excises or license taxes, levied by the state of Ohio,
relating to registration, operation, or use of vehicles on public highways, or
to fuels used for propelling such vehicles, and a sufficient amount thereof
shall be set aside each year, before any other distribution is made, to pay the
interest on the outstanding debt and principal of such debt becoming due in that
year, without other appropriations, but according to regulations to be
established by law.
The General Assembly shall meet
on the second Monday in January, 1954, for the sole purpose of enacting laws
Pursuant to this section.
(1953)
TOP
Korean War veterans
bonuses.
§2d The board of commissioners created by section 8 of Article
VIII of the Ohio Constitution designated therein "The Commissioners of the
Sinking Fund," shall, forthwith upon the adoption of this amendment,
proceed to issue and sell, from time to time, bonds of the state of Ohio in such
amounts of face value as are necessary to provide the funds, or such part
thereof, as may be required to pay the compensation and the expenses of
administering this section as herein provided for, provided that the
aggregate total amount of face value of bonds so issued shall not exceed ninety
million dollars. The full faith and credit of the state of Ohio is hereby
pledged for the payment of such bonds. All bonds so issued shall mature in
thirty semiannual installments commencing not later than two years after the
respective dates thereof. The maturities thereof shall be so fixed that the
total amounts of payments on account of principal and interest to be paid on
each of such semiannual installment payment dates shall be substantially equal.
No such bonds shall be issued or bear dates later than the first day of April,
1959. All bonds so issued shall bear interest at such rates as the commissioners
of the sinking fund may fix, which interest shall be payable semiannually Such
bonds, and the interest thereon as income, shall be exempt from all taxes levied
by the state of Ohio or any taxing district thereof.
The bonds may, at the option of
the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund, be issued subject to call on any interest
payment date at par and accrued interest. All sales of such bonds by the
Commissioners of the Sinking Fund shall be in accordance with such regulations
as it shall make and promulgate, provided that such bonds shall be sold only to
the highest bidder or bidders therefor after notice of such sale shall have been
published once each week for three consecutive weeks on the same day of each of
such weeks, the first of such notices being published at least twenty-one full
days before the date of sale, in a newspaper of general circulation in each of
the eight most populous counties in the state of Ohio, and provided that each of
such published notices shall state the day, hour and place of the sale, the
total face value of the bonds to be sold, their denominations, dates, and the
dates of their maturities, information relative to the rates of interest which
the bonds will bear, and the dates upon which interest will be payable. The
Commissioners of the Sinking Fund shall have the right to reject any or all bids
and to readvertise and reoffer bonds for sale. Out of the proceeds of the sale
of all bonds that amount which represents accrued interest, if any, shall be
paid into the treasury of the state of Ohio into a fund to be known as The
Korean Conflict Compensation Bond Retirement Fund. The balance shall be paid
into the treasury of the state of Ohio into a fund to be known as The Korean
Conflict Compensation Fund. The General Assembly of the state of Ohio may
appropriate and cause to be paid into The Korean Conflict Compensation Bond
Retirement Fund or The Korean Conflict Compensation Fund, out of the funds in
the treasury of the state not otherwise appropriated, such amount as is proper
for use upon order of the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund for the purposes for
which such funds are created as herein provided. If the General Assembly should
so appropriate any funds to The Korean Conflict Compensation Fund prior to the
time the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund shall have issued bonds of the
aggregate total amount of face value authorized in this section, the aggregate
total amount of face value of bonds so authorized to be issued shall be reduced
by the amount of the funds so appropriated.
The Commissioners of the Sinking Fund shall, on or before the
first day of July in each calendar year, levy and certify to the auditor of the
state of Ohio a state tax on all taxable property subject to taxation on the
general tax lists of all counties in the state of Ohio for such year at such
rate as it shall determine to be necessary to provide, together with other money
which will be available in The Korean Conflict Compensation Bond Retirement
Fund, the total amount of funds which will be required in the next following
calendar year for the retirement of bonds and the payment of interest payable in
such year. Such levy shall be in addition to all other taxes levied now or
hereafter within the period during which bonds issued pursuant to the provisions
of this section shall be outstanding, by or pursuant to law or any provision of
the Ohio Constitution shall not be considered in applying any limitation or
aggregate tax rates now or hereafter the period during which bonds issued
pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be outstanding, provided by or
pursuant to law or any provision of the Ohio Constitution. The auditor of state
shall certify such levies to the auditor of each county in the state of Ohio,
who shall extend the same on the tax lists of his county for the year in which
such levy is made and shall place the same for collection on the tax duplicates
of his county to be collected at the same time and in the same manner as other
taxes on such duplicates. Said taxes herein authorized, when collected, shall be
paid into The Korean Conflict Compensation Bond Retirement Fund in the treasury
of the state. The Korean Conflict Compensation Bond Retirement Fund shall be
paid out, without appropriation thereof by the General Assembly of Ohio upon the
order of the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund for the purpose of the payment,
or retirement in other manner, of said bonds and interest thereon.
The Korean Conflict Compensation
Fund shall be paid out upon order of the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund,
without appropriation by the General Assembly of Ohio, in payment of the
expenses of administering this section, and as compensation as follows: Every
person who shall have served on active duty in the armed forces of the United
States at any time between June 25th 1950, and July 19, 1953, both dates
inclusive, and who at the time of commencing such service, was and had been a
resident of the state of Ohio for at least one year immediately preceding the
commencement of such service, and (1) who shall have been separated from such
service under honorable conditions or (2) who is still in such service, or (3)
who has been retired, shall be entitled to receive compensation of ten dollars
for each month during which such person was in active domestic service and of
fifteen dollars for each month during which such person was in active foreign
service within said period of time; provided that the maximum amount of
compensation payable under this section shall not be in excess of four hundred
dollars; and provided that no compensation shall be paid under this section to
any person who shall have received from another state a bonus or compensation of
a like nature as is provided under this section. Compensation for a fraction of
a month of service shall be paid on the basis of one-thirtieth of the above
monthly amounts for each day of such service. Service in the Merchant Marine of
the United States shall not be considered for the purpose of this section.
"Domestic service" as used herein, means service within the
continental limits of the United States excluding Alaska and sea duty.
"Foreign service" as used herein means service in all other places,
including sea duty.
No compensation shall be paid
under this section to any person for any periods of time spent under penal
confinement during the period of active duty.
Either the surviving husband or
wife, or the surviving child or children, or the surviving parents or parent,
including persons standing in loco parentis for one year preceding commencement
of service in the armed forces of the United States, of a deceased person shall
be paid the same amount of compensation that such deceased person would have
been entitled to receive under this section, if living; provided that if such
deceased persons death is determined to have been service-connected by the
Veterans Administration of the United States government, his survivors as
herein designated, shall be entitled to four hundred dollars regardless of the
amount of compensation which such deceased person would have been entitled to
receive under this section if living; provided that the amount of compensation
payable to such survivors of such deceased person shall be payable only to one
of the three groups of survivors herein designated in the order in which said
groups are named.
No sale or assignment of any
right or claim to compensation under this section shall be valid, no claims of
creditors shall be enforceable against rights or claims to or payments of
compensation under this section, and no fees shall be charged for services in
connection with the prosecution of any right or claim to compensation or the
collection of any compensation under this section.
The Commissioners of the Sinking
Fund shall have complete charge of making payments of the compensation provided
for in this section and shall adopt and promulgate regulations governing their
procedure in connection therewith, including determinations as to who are proper
beneficiaries and the amounts to which such beneficiaries are entitled,
determinations as to whether an applicant has the necessary residence
requirements, and such other regulations that are necessary and proper; provided
that all applications for payment of compensation under this section shall be
made to the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund before January 1, 1959.
The Commissioners of the Sinking
Fund shall select and appoint such legal counsel and employees that are
necessary, fix their compensation and prescribe their duties, and all such
appointees shall serve at its pleasure.
The Commissioners of the Sinking
Fund shall permit review of individual records of claims by representatives of
recognized veterans organizations when authorized to do so by the applicant.
There is hereby transferred, out
of the fund known as the "World War II Compensation Fund", created by
section 2b of Article VIII of the Ohio Constitution, the sum of four million
dollars, to The Korean Conflict Compensation Fund, for the purpose of defraying
the immediate cost of administration and compensation.
The people of the state of Ohio declare that their enactment of
this special amendment of the Ohio Constitution is to meet the specific
emergency covered thereby, and they declare it to be their intention to in no
manner affect or change any of the
existing provisions of the said constitution except as herein set forth. The
provisions of this section shall be self executing.
Upon payment of all valid claims
for compensation made within the limitations of time as prescribed herein, the
Commissioners of the Sinking Fund may transfer any funds in The Korean Conflict
Compensation Fund to The Korean Conflict Compensation Bond Retirement Fund.
Upon retirement of all of the
bonds that may be issued hereunder and the payment of all valid claims for
compensation made within the limitations of time as prescribed herein, the
Commissioners of the Sinking Fund shall make a final report to the General
Assembly of Ohio, and any balance remaining in any of the funds herein created
and referred to shall be disposed of as shall be provided by law.
(1956)
TOP
Providing
means for securing
funds for highway
and public building
construction.
§2e The state may borrow money
and issue bonds or other obligations therefor for the purpose of acquiring,
constructing, reconstructing and otherwise improving and equipping buildings and
structures, excluding highways, and for the purpose of acquiring sites for such
buildings and structures, for the penal, correctional, mental, and welfare
institutions of the state; for the state supposed universities and colleges of
the state; for class room facilities to be leased or sold by the state to public
school districts unable within limitations provided by law to provide adequate
facilities without assistance from the state, and for state offices; provided
that the aggregate total amount of such borrowing under authority of this
section shall not exceed $150,000,000. Not more than thirty million dollars of
such borrowing shall be contracted within any calendar year. Note more than
thirty million dollars of such borrowing shall be contracted within any calendar
year. No part of such borrowing shall be contracted after the last day of
December 1964. All bonds or other obligations issued pursuant to this section
shall mature within twenty years from date of issue. Not more than $75,000,000
of the total expenditure from such borrowing shall be for acquisition,
construction, reconstruction and other improvement and equipping of buildings
and structures, or for acquisition of sites for such buildings and structures,
for the state supported universities and colleges, public school class room
facilities and state offices; and not more than $75,000,000 of the total
expenditure from such borrowing shall be for acquisition, construction,
reconstruction and other improvement and equipping of buildings and structures,
or for acquisition of sites for such buildings and structures, for the penal,
correctional, mental, and welfare institutions of the state.
The faith and credit of the state
are hereby pledged for the payment of such bonds or other obligations and the
interest thereon, and they shall be payable from all excises and taxes of the
state, except ad valorem taxes on real and personal property, income taxes, and
fees, excises, or license taxes relating to registration, operation, or use of
vehicles on public highways, or to fuels used for propelling such vehicles.
During the period beginning with
the effective date of the first authorization to issue bonds or other
obligations under authority of this section and ending on the last day of
December 1964, and continuing during such time as such bonds or other
obligations are outstanding, and moneys in the capital improvements bond
retirement fund are insufficient to pay all interest, principal and charges for
the issuance and retirement of such bonds and other obligations, there shall be
levied, for the purpose of paying interest, principal, and charges for the
issuance and retirement of such bonds and other obligations, an excise tax on
sales of cigarettes at the rate of one-half cent on each ten cigarettes or
fractional part thereof, and an excise tax on the use, consumption, or storage
for consumption of cigarettes by consumers in this state at the rate of one-half
cent on each ten cigarettes or fractional part thereof. Such tax on the use,
consumption or storage for consumption of cigarettes by consumers in this state
shall not be levied upon cigarettes upon which the tax on sales has been paid.
The moneys received into the state treasury from the one-half cent excise tax on
sales of cigarettes and from the one-half cent excise tax on the use,
consumption or storage for consumption of cigarettes by consumers in this state
shall be paid into the capital improvements bond retirement fund. The General
Assembly of Ohio shall enact laws providing for the collection of such taxes.
There is hereby created in the state treasury a fund to be known
as the capital improvements bond retirement fund. The capital improvements bond
retirement fund shall consist of all moneys received by the state from taxes on cigarettes levied
under authority of this section, and all other moneys credited to the fund
pursuant to law. Such moneys shall be expended, as provided by law, for the
purpose of paying interest, principal, and charges for the issuance and
retirement of bonds and other obligations issued under authority of this
section.
Sufficient amounts of such moneys
in the capital improvements bond retirement fund are hereby appropriated for the
purpose of paying interest, principal, and charges for the issuance and
retirement of bonds or other obligations issued under authority of this section,
without other appropriations but according to law.
Any balance remaining in the
capital improvements bond retirement fund after payment of all interest,
principal, and charges for the issuance and retirement of bonds and other
obligations issued under authority of this section, shall be disposed of as
shall be provided by law.
As long as any of such bonds or
other obligations are outstanding there shall be levied and collected, in
amounts sufficient to pay the principal of and the interest on such bonds or
other obligations, excises and taxes, excluding those above excepted.
The General Assembly shall meet
on the third Monday of January, 1956 for the purpose of enacting laws pursuant
to this section.
(1955)
TOP
Authorizing
bond issue to provide
school classrooms, support
for universities, for recreation
and conservation
and for state buildings.
§2f In addition to the
authorization in Article VIII, Section 2e, the state may borrow not to exceed
two hundred fifty million dollars and issue bonds or other obligations therefor,
for the purpose of acquiring, constructing, reconstructing, and otherwise
improving and equipping buildings and structures, excluding highways; and for
the purpose of acquiring lands and interests in lands for sites for such
buildings and structures; and for the purpose of assisting in the development of
the state, to acquire lands and interests in lands and to develop such lands and
interests or other state lands for water impoundment sites, park and
recreational uses, and conservation of natural resources; and for use in
conjunction with federal grants or loans for any of such purposes. Of said
amount, for the purpose of acquiring, constructing, reconstructing, and
otherwise improving and equipping buildings and structures, excluding highways,
and for the purpose of acquiring lands and interests in lands for sites for such
buildings and structures, one hundred seventy-five million dollars shall be
issued for the state supported or assisted college or universities including
community colleges, municipal universities, and university branches, thirty-five
million dollars shall be issued for providing classroom facilities for the
public schools to be leased or sold by the state to public school districts
unable, within the limitations provided by law, to provide adequate facilities
without assistance from the state, and fifteen million dollars shall be issued
for state functions, activities, offices, institutions, including penal,
correctional, mental, and welfare, and research and development; and for the
purpose of assisting in the development of the state by acquiring lands and
interests in lands and to develop such lands and interests or other state lands
for water impoundment sites, park and recreational uses, and conservation of
natural resources twenty-five million dollars shall be issued. Not more than one
hundred million dollars of such borrowing shall be contracted within any
calendar year. No part of such borrowing shall be contracted after the
thirty-first day of December, 1972. All bonds or other obligations issued
pursuant to this section shall mature at such time or times not exceeding thirty
years from date of issue and in such amounts as shall be fixed by the
commissioners of the sinking fund, and shall bear interest and be sold as shall
be authorized by law. Both the principal of such debt and the interest thereon
shall be exempt from taxation within this state.
The faith and credit of the state are hereby pledged for the
payment of such bonds or other obligations, and the interest thereon. They shall
be payable from all excises and taxes of the state except ad valorem taxes on
real and personal property, income taxes, and fees, excises or license taxes
relating to registration, operation, or use of vehicles on public highways or to
fuels used for propelling such vehicles. The excises and taxes of the state from
which such bonds and other obligations shall be paid shall include an excise tax
on sales of cigarettes at the rate of one-half cent on each ten cigarettes or
fractional part thereof, and an excise tax on the use, consumption, or storage
for consumption of cigarettes by consumers in this state, at the rate of
one-half cent on each ten cigarettes or fractional part thereof, which shall be
levied during the period beginning with January 1, 1965,
and continuing until December 31, 1972, and thereafter as long as any of such
bonds and other obligations are outstanding and moneys in the separate and
distinct bond retirement fund hereinafter created are insufficient to pay all
interest, principal, and charges for the issuance and retirement of such bonds
and other obligations. Such tax on the use, consumption, or storage for
consumption of cigarettes by consumers in this state shall not be levied upon
cigarettes upon which the tax on sales has been paid. The General Assembly of
the state of Ohio shall enact laws providing for the collection of such taxes.
The moneys received into the state treasury from such one-half cent excise tax
on sales of cigarettes and from such one half cent excise tax on the use,
consumption, or storage for consumption of cigarettes by consumers in this state
shall be paid into a separate and distinct bond retirement fund hereby created.
There shall be transferred in each year from said bond retirement fund to the
capital improvements bond retirement fund created by Article VIII, Section 2e of
the Constitution of the State of Ohio, from the proceeds of the levy of such
excise taxes on cigarettes, such amounts as may be necessary for the payment in
such year of the interest, principal, and charges of the bonds or other
obligations issued pursuant to said Article VIII, Section 2e falling due in such
year, to the extent that moneys in said capital improvements bond retirement
fund in such year are insufficient to pay such interest, principal, and charges.
The excise taxes on the sale,
use, consumption or storage of cigarettes authorized to be levied by Article
VIII, Section 2e of the Constitution of the State of Ohio for the payment of
bonds and other obligations issued under authority of that section shall not be
levied during any period that they are not required to be levied by Article
VIII, Section 2e of the Constitution of the State of Ohio.
Sufficient amounts of such moneys
remaining in said separate and distinct bond retirement fund created by this
section, after such transfers, are hereby appropriated for the purpose of paying
interest, principal, and charges for the issuance and retirement of bonds and
other obligations issued under authority of this section, without other
appropriations but according to law. In the event the moneys in the separate and
distinct bond retirement fund created by this section are at any time
insufficient to pay the current interest, principal, and charges for the
issuance and retirement of bonds and other obligations issued under authority of
this section, then such moneys as may be required to pay such current interest,
principal, and charges are hereby appropriated for those purposes, without other
appropriations but according to law, from the proceeds of all excises and taxes
excluding those above excepted. Provision may be made by law for the transfer
and the use of any amount in said separate and distinct bond retirement fund in
excess of that required in any year for payment of interest, principal, and
charges for the issuance and retirement of bonds and other obligations issued
under authority of said Article VIII, Section 2e and this section.
Any balance remaining in the
separate and distinct bond retirement fund created by this section after payment
of all interest, principal, and charges for the issuance and retirement of bonds
or other obligations issued under authority of this section shall be disposed of
for the purposes enumerated in this section as may be provided by law.
As long as any of such bonds or
other obligations are outstanding there shall be levied and collected in amounts
sufficient to pay the principal of and interest on such bonds or other
obligations, excises and taxes, excluding those above excepted.
(1963)
TOP
Authorizing
bond issue or other obligations
for highway
construction.
§2g The state may contract debts not exceeding five hundred
million dollars for the purpose of providing moneys for acquisition of
rights-of-way and for construction and reconstruction of highways on the state
highway system and urban extensions thereof. The principal amount of any part of
such debt at any time contracted shall be paid at such time or times and in such
amounts as shall be fixed by the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund provided that
the entire debt shall be discharged not later than the year 1989. The bonds or
other obligations evidencing the debt authorized by this section shall bear
interest and shall be sold upon such terms as may be prescribed by law. Both the
principal of such debt and the interest thereon shall be exempt from taxation
within this state. Moneys raised under the authority of this section shall be
expended only to provide adequate highways, including engineering and the
acquisition of rights-of-way and including participation therein with the
federal government, municipal corporations,
counties and other legally authorized participants. All construction shall be
done by contract as shall be provided by law. No part of such proceeds shall be
appropriated except to meet the requirements of programs or schedules or
acquisition of rights-of-way, highway construction and reconstruction which the
governor, or other highway authority designated by law, with the concurrence of
the governor, shall submit to the General Assembly before such appropriations
are made. Such appropriations shall be made only for major thoroughfares of the
state highway system and urban extensions thereof. The debt contracted under the
authority of this section shall be evidenced by bonds or other obligations
issued by the state of Ohio as provided by law. The faith and credit of the
state are hereby pledged for the payment thereof and the interest thereon. Such
bonds or other obligations shall be paid from moneys derived from fees, excises,
or license taxes, levied by the state of Ohio, relating to registration,
operation, or use of vehicles on public highways, or to fuels used for
propelling such vehicles, and a sufficient amount thereof, after provision for
the amounts required by Article VIII, Section 2c of the Constitution of the
State of Ohio for obligations issued pursuant to that section, is hereby
appropriated in each year for the purpose of paying the interest on the
outstanding debt and the principal of such debt contracted under authority of
this section becoming due in that year, without other appropriations, but
according to regulations to be established by law. Provision may be made by law
for the transfer and the use of any amount of such moneys in excess of that
required, in any year, for the payment of interest on and the principal of such
debt contracted under authority of this section and said section 2c.
(1964)
TOP
Bond issue
for state development.
§2h The state may, from time to
time, borrow not to exceed two hundred ninety million dollars and issue bonds or
other obligations thereof for any one or more of the following purposes:
acquiring, constructing, reconstructing or otherwise improving and equipping
buildings and structures of the state and state supported and assisted
institutions of higher education, including those for research and development;
acquiring lands and interests in lands for sites for such buildings and
structures; assisting in the development of the state, to acquire and develop
lands and interests in lands and develop other state lands for water impoundment
sites, flood control, parks and recreational uses, or conservation of natural
resources; to develop state parks and recreational facilities including the
construction, reconstruction and improvement of roads and highways therein; to
assist the political subdivisions of the state to finance the cost of
constructing and extending water and sewerage lines and mains, for use in
conjunction with federal grants or loans for any of such purposes; and for use
in conjunction with other governmental entities in acquiring, constructing,
reconstructing, improving, and equipping water pipelines, stream flow
improvements, airports, historical or educational facilities. The aggregate
total amount of such borrowing outstanding under authority of this section shall
not, at any time, exceed such sum as will require, during any calendar year,
more than $20,000,000 to meet the principal and interest requirements of any
such bonds and other obligations, and the charges for the issuance and
retirement of such bonds and other obligations, falling due that year. No part
of such borrowing shall be contracted after the last day of December, 1970. All
bonds or other obligations issued pursuant to this section shall mature within
thirty years from the date of issue.
The faith and credit of the state
are hereby pledged for the payment of such bonds or other obligations or the
interest thereon, and they shall be payable from all excises and taxes of the
state, except ad valorem taxes on real and personal property, income taxes, and
fees, excises or license taxes relating to the registration, operation, or use
of vehicles on the public highways, or to fuels used for propelling such
vehicles, after making provision for payment of amounts pledged from such
excises and taxes for payment of bonds issued under authority of Sections 2e and
2f of this Article.
During the period beginning with the effective date of the first
authorization to issue bonds or other obligations under authority of this
section and continuing during such time as such bonds or other obligations are
outstanding and so long as moneys in the Development Bond Retirement Fund are
insufficient to pay all interest, principal and charges of such bonds or other
obligations issued under authority of this section and becoming due in each
year, a sufficient amount of moneys derived from such excises and taxes of the
state is hereby appropriated in each year for the purpose of paying the
interest, principal and charges for the issuance and retirement of bonds or
other obligations issued under authority of
this section becoming due in that year without other appropriation but according
to law. The moneys derived from such excises and taxes and hereby appropriated
shall be paid into a distinct bond retirement fund designated Development Bond
Retirement Fund," hereby created. Such moneys shall be expended as provided
by law for the purpose of paying interest, principal and charges for the
issuance and retirement of bonds and other obligations issued under authority of
this section.
Sufficient amounts of such moneys
in the Development Bond Retirement Fund are hereby appropriated for the purpose
of paying interest, principal and charges for the issuance and retirement of
bonds or other obligations issued under authority of this section, so long as
any of them are outstanding, without other appropriations but according to law.
Any balance remaining in the
Development Bond Retirement Fund after payment of all interest, principal and
charges for the issuance and retirement of bonds and other obligations issued
under authority of this section, shall be disposed of as shall be provided by
law.
As long as any of such bonds or
other obligations are outstanding there shall be levied and collected, in
amounts sufficient to pay the principal of and the interest on such bonds or
other obligations, excises and taxes, excluding those above excepted.
(1965)
TOP
Capital improvement
bonds.
§2i In addition to the
authorization otherwise contained in Article VIII of the Ohio Constitution, the
General Assembly, in accordance with but subject to the limitations of this
section, may authorize the issuance of obligations, including bonds and notes,
of the state or of state institutions, boards, commissions, authorities, or
other state agencies or instrumentalities for any one or more of the following
public capital improvements: the construction, reconstruction, or other
improvement of highways, including those on the state highway system and urban
extensions thereof, those within or leading to public parks or recreational
areas, and those within or leading to municipal corporations, the acquisition,
construction, reconstruction, or other improvement of, and provision of
equipment for, buildings, structures, or other improvements, and necessary
planning and engineering, for water pollution control and abatement, including
those for sewage collection, treatment, or disposal, water management, including
those for water distribution, collection, supply, storage, or impoundment, and
stream flow control, and flood control, state supported or assisted institutions
of higher education, technical education, vocational education, juvenile
correction, training and rehabilitation, parks and recreation, research and
development with respect to transportation, highways, and highway
transportation, mental hygiene and retardation, police and fire training,
airports, and other state buildings and structures, and the acquisition and
improvement of real estate and interests therein required with respect to the
foregoing, including participation in any such capital improvements with the
federal government, municipal corporations, counties, or other governmental
entities or any one or more of them which participation may be by grants, loans
or contributions to them for any of such capital improvements. It is hereby
determined that such capital improvements will directly or indirectly create
jobs, enhance employment opportunities, and improve the economic welfare of the
people of the state.
The issuance under authority of this section of obligations the
holders or owners of which are given the right to have excises and taxes levied
by the General Assembly for the payment of the principal thereof or interest
thereon, herein called tax supported obligations, shall be subject to the
following limitations. Not more than one hundred million dollars principal
amount may be issued in any calendar year and not more than five hundred million
dollars principal amount may be outstanding any one time for such capital
improvements for highways and research and development with respect to highways
and highway transportation, herein called highway obligations, provided that
fifty per cent of the proceeds of the first five hundred million dollars of such
tax supported highway obligations shall be used for urban extensions of state
highways and highways within or leading to municipal corporations. Not more than
two hundred fifty nine million dollars aggregate principal amount of such tax
supported obligations may be issued for the other capital improvements
aforesaid, provided that from the proceeds thereof one hundred twenty million
dollars shall be used for water pollution control and abatement and water
management, one hundred million dollars shall be used for higher education,
technical and vocational education, and juvenile correction, training and rehabilitation,
twenty million dollars shall be used for parks and recreation, and nineteen
million dollars for airports, and for construction, rehabilitation and equipping
of other state buildings and structures, including those for police and fire
training. If tax supported obligations are issued under authority of this
section to retire tax supposed obligations previously issued under authority of
this section, such new obligations shall not be counted against such limits to
the extent that the principal amount thereof does not exceed the principal
amount of the obligations to be retired thereby.
Each issue of tax supported
obligations issued pursuant to this section shall mature in not more than thirty
years from the date of issuance thereof, or, if issued to retire obligations
issued hereunder, within thirty years from the date such debt was originally
contracted. If such tax supposed obligations are issued as notes in anticipation
of the issuance of bonds, provision shall be made by law for setting aside, so
long as such notes are outstanding, into a special fund or funds such amounts
from the sources authorized for payment of such bonds under this section as
would be sufficient for payment of that amount of principal on such bonds that
would have been payable during such period if such bonds, maturing during a
period of thirty years, had been issued without prior issuance of such notes.
Such fund or funds may be used solely for the payment of principal of such notes
or of bonds in anticipation of which such notes have been issued.
The faith and credit and excises
of taxes of the state, excluding ad valorem taxes on real or personal property
and income taxes, shall be pledged to the payment of the principal of and the
interest on such tax supported obligations, sinking or bond retirement fund
provisions shall be made therefor, and this section shall otherwise be
implemented, all in the manner and to the extent provided by law by the General
Assembly, including provisions for appropriation of pledged excises and taxes,
and covenants to continue their levy, collection and application, to continue so
long as such tax supported obligations are outstanding, without necessity for
further appropriation notwithstanding Section 22 of Article II, Ohio
Constitution; provided that the moneys referred to in Section 5a of Article XII,
Ohio Constitution herein called highway user receipts, shall, after provision
for payment of amounts pledged to obligations heretofore or hereafter issued
under Sections 2c and 2g of this Article, be pledged to the payment of the
principal of and interest on highway obligations authorized by this section but
not to other obligations authorized hereby. If excises and taxes other than
highway user receipts are pledged to the payment of the principal of or interest
on highway obligations authorized by this section, in each year that such
highway user receipts are available for such purpose, the same shall be
appropriated thereto and the required application of such other excises and
taxes shall be reduced in corresponding amount.
The General Assembly also may authorize the issuance of revenue
obligations and other obligations, the owners or holders of which are not given
the right to have excises or taxes levied by the General Assembly for the
payment of principal thereof or interest thereon, for such capital improvements
for mental hygiene and retardation, parks and recreation, state supported and
state assisted institutions of higher education, including those for technical
education, water pollution control and abatement, water management, and housing
of branches and agencies of state government, which obligations shall not be
subject to other provisions of this section and shall not be deemed to be debts
or bonded indebtedness of the state under other provisions of this constitution.
Such obligations may be secured by a pledge under law, without necessity for
further appropriation, of all or such portion as the General Assembly authorizes
of charges for the treatment or care of mental hygiene and retardation patients,
receipts with respect to parks and recreational facilities, receipts of or on
behalf of state supported and state assisted institutions of higher education,
or other revenues or receipts, specified by law for such purpose, of the state
or its officers, departments, divisions, institutions, boards, commissions,
authorities, or other state agencies instrumentalities, and this provision may
be implemented by law to better provide therefor; provided, however, that any
charges for the treatment or care of mental hygiene or retardation patients may
be so pledged only to obligations issued for capital improvements for mental
hygiene and retardation, any receipts with respect to parks and recreation may
be so pledged only to obligations issued for capital improvements for parks and
recreation, any receipts of or on behalf of state supported or state assisted
institutions of higher education may be pledged only to obligations issued for
capital improvements for state supported or state assisted institutions of
higher education, and any other revenues or receipts may be so pledged only to
obligations issued for capital
improvements which are in whole or in part useful to, constructed by, or
financed by the department, board, commission, authority, or other agency or
instrumentality that receives the revenues or receipts so pledged. The authority
provided by this paragraph is in addition to, cumulative with, and not a
limitation upon, the authority of the General Assembly under other provisions of
this constitution; such paragraph does not impair any law heretofore enacted by
the General Assembly, and any obligations issued under any such law consistent
with the provisions of this paragraph shall be deemed to be issued under
authority of this paragraph.
Both the principal of all
obligations authorized under authority of this section and the interest thereon
shall be exempt from taxation within this state.
(1968)
TOP
Vietnam conflict
compensation fund.
§2j The board of commissioners
created by section 8 of Article VIII of the Ohio Constitution shall, forthwith
upon the adoption of this amendment, proceed to issue and sell, from time to
time, bonds or notes of the state in such amounts of face value as are necessary
to provide the funds, or such part thereof, as may be required to pay the
compensation and the expenses of administering this section. The aggregate face
value of bonds or notes so issued shall not exceed three hundred million
dollars. The full faith and credit of the state is hereby pledged for the
payment of such bonds or notes.
All bonds or notes so issued
shall mature in not more than fifteen years commencing not later than two years
after the respective dates thereof. The bonds or notes shall mature according to
schedules set forth by the commissioners but shall not mature more than fifteen
years after the date of issue. No bonds or notes shall be issued or bear dates
later than the first day of April, 1977.
All bonds or notes shall bear
interest at such rates as the commissioners determine and shall be payable
semiannually. Such bonds or notes, and the interest thereon are exempt from all
taxes levied by the state or any taxing district thereof. At the option of the
commissioners, the bonds or notes may be issued subject to call on any interest
payment date at par and accrued interest.
All sales of such bonds or notes
by the commissioners shall be in accordance with such regulations as the
commission adopts and promulgates. Such bonds or notes shall be sold only to the
highest bidder or bidders after notice of sale has been published once each week
for three consecutive weeks on the same day of each week, the first of such
notices being published at least twenty-one full days before the date of sale,
in a newspaper of general circulation in each of the eight most populous
counties in the state. Notices shall state the day, hour and place of the sale,
the total face value of the bonds or notes to be sold, their denominations,
dates, and the dates of their maturities, information relative to the rates of
interest that the bonds or notes will bear, and the dates upon which interest
will be payable. The commissioners may reject any or all bids and re-advertise
and re-offer bonds or notes for sale.
Out of the proceeds of the sale
of all bonds or notes, that amount that represents accrued interest, if any,
shall be paid into the state treasury into a fund to be known as the Vietnam
Conflict Compensation Bond Retirement Fund, and the balance shall be paid into
the state treasury into a fund to be known as the Vietnam Conflict Compensation
Fund. The General Assembly may appropriate and cause to be paid into the Vietnam
Conflict Compensation Bond Retirement Fund or the Vietnam Conflict Compensation
Fund, out of the funds in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, such amount
as is proper for use, upon order of the commissioners for the purposes for which
such funds are created. If the General Assembly appropriates any funds to the
Vietnam Conflict Compensation Fund prior to the time the commissioners have
issued bonds or notes of the aggregate amount of face value authorized in this
section, the aggregate amount of face value of bonds or notes so authorized to
be issued shall be reduced by the amount of the funds so appropriated.
On or before the first day of July in each calendar year, the
commissioners shall certify to the auditor of state the total amount of funds it
determines is necessary to provide, together with all other money that will be
available in the Vietnam Conflict Compensation Bond Retirement Fund, for the
retirement of bonds or notes and the payment of interest in the ensuing calendar
year. The auditor of state shall transfer from the state general revenue fund to
the Vietnam Conflict Compensation Bond Retirement Fund, without appropriation,
an amount equal to the amount so certified. The Vietnam Conflict Compensation
Bond Retirement Fund shall be paid out without
appropriation by the General Assembly, upon the order of the commissioners for
the purpose of the payment, or retirement in other manner, of said bonds or
notes and interest thereon.
The Vietnam Conflict Compensation
Fund shall be paid out upon order of the commissioners, without appropriation by
the General Assembly, in payment of the expenses of administering this section,
and as compensation as follows: every person, except persons ordered to active
duty for training only, who has served on active duty in the armed forces of the
United States at any time between August 5, 1964 and July 1, 1973, or who has
served on active duty in the armed forces of the United States in Vietnam
service, and who, at the time of commencing such service, was and had been a
resident of the state for at least one year immediately preceding the
commencement of such service, and (1) who was separated from such service under
honorable conditions, (2) who is still in such service, or (3) who has been
retired, is entitled to receive compensation of ten dollars for each month
during which such person was in active domestic service during the compensable
period, fifteen dollars for each month during which such person was in active
foreign service, but not Vietnam service, during the compensable period, and
twenty dollars for each month during which such person was in active Vietnam
service. The maximum amount of cash payable to any qualified applicant, unless
such applicant qualifies for a payment based upon missing in action or prisoner
of war status or unless such applicant qualifies for a survivors payment, is
five hundred dollars. No compensation shall be paid under this section to any
person who received from another state a bonus or compensation of a like nature
or to any person who has not served on active duty in the armed forces of the
United States during the compensable period for at least ninety days unless
active duty within such compensable period was terminated as a result of
injuries or illness sustained in Vietnam service. Compensation for a fraction of
a month of service shall be paid on the basis of one-thirtieth of the
appropriate monthly amounts for each day of such service. Persons medically
discharged or medically retired from service due to combat related disabilities
sustained in Vietnam service shall be paid five hundred dollars. Service in the
Merchant Marine of the United States shall not be considered for the purpose of
this section. As used in this section "domestic service" means service
within the territorial limits of the fifty states, excluding sea duty;
"foreign service" means service in all other places, excluding Vietnam
service; and "Vietnam service" means military service within the
Republic of Vietnam during the period between February 28, 1961 through July 1,
1973 or military service in southeast Asia for which hostile fire pay was
awarded pursuant to Title 37, Section 310, United States Code, during the period
February 28, 1961 through July 1, 1973.
No compensation shall be paid
under this section to any person for any periods of time spent under penal
confinement during the period of active duty.
Either the surviving spouse, or
the surviving child or children, or the surviving parents, including persons
standing in loco parentis for one year preceding commencement of service in the
armed forces of the United States, of a deceased person shall be paid the same
amount of compensation that the deceased would have been entitled to receive
under this section, if living. If such deceased persons death is determined
by the Veterans Administration of the United States to have been the result of
injuries or illness sustained in Vietnam service his survivors as herein
designated, are entitled to one thousand dollars, regardless of the amount of
compensation which the deceased would have been entitled to receive under this
section, if living. The amount of compensation payable to such survivors shall
be payable only to one of the three groups of survivors herein designated in the
order in which said groups are named.
Every person designated by the United States Department of
Defense as missing in action as a result of honorable service or as held in
enemy captivity or who is the spouse, or the child, or the parent, including
persons standing in loco parentis for one year preceding commencement of
service, of a person designated by the Department of Defense as missing in
action as a result of honorable service or held in enemy captivity, is entitled
to one thousand dollars in lieu of other cash benefits payable under this
section. The amount of compensation payable to such claimants for such missing
or captive person shall be payable only to one of the groups of claimants herein
designated in the order in which said groups are named. No payment to any
survivor of a person designated as missing in action as a result of honorable
service or held in enemy captivity, while such person is held captive or is
missing in action, shall prevent such missing or captive person from claiming and
receiving a bonus of an equal amount upon his being released or located.
The General Assembly shall
provide by law for an educational assistance bonus which may be taken in lieu of
the cash bonus by any person who served on active duty in the armed forces of
the United States and who qualifies for a cash bonus under this section. The
educational assistance bonus shall offer financial assistance at any educational
institution deemed appropriate by the General Assembly. Such financial
assistance shall be equal to twice the amount of the cash bonus for which such
person qualifies under this section.
No sale or assignment of any
right or claim to compensation under this section shall be valid, no claims of
creditors shall be enforceable against rights or claims to or payments of
compensation under this section, and no fees shall be charged for services in
connection with the prosecution of any right or claim to compensation or the
collection of any compensation under this section.
The commissioners shall have
complete charge of making payments of the compensation provided for in this
section and shall adopt and promulgate regulations governing their procedure in
connection therewith, including determinations as to who are proper
beneficiaries and the amounts to which such beneficiaries are entitled,
determinations as to whether an applicant has the necessary residence
requirements, and such other regulations that are necessary and proper. All
applications for payment of compensation or educational bonuses under this
section shall be made to the commissioners before January 1, 1978.
The commissioners shall select
and appoint such legal counsel and employees as are necessary, fix their
compensation and prescribe their duties, and all such appointees shall serve at
its pleasure. When practical, the commissioners shall employ Vietnam veterans to
fill such positions.
The commissioners shall permit
review of individual records of claims by representatives of recognized veterans
organizations when authorized to do so by the applicant.
There is hereby transferred to
the Vietnam Conflict Compensation Fund, for the purpose of defraying the
immediate cost of administration and compensation, out of the funds known as the
"Korean Conflict Compensation Fund" and the "Korean Conflict
Compensation Bond Retirement Fund" created by Section 2d of Article VIII of
the Ohio Constitution, the balance remaining after provision for payment of all
outstanding bonds or notes, coupons, and charges.
The people of this state declare
it to be their intention to in no manner affect or change any of the existing
provisions of the constitution except as herein set forth. The provisions of
this section shall be self executing.
Upon payment of all valid claims
for cash compensation made within the limitations of time as prescribed herein,
the commissioners may transfer any funds in the Vietnam Conflict Compensation
Fund to the Vietnam Conflict Compensation Bond Retirement Fund.
Upon retirement of all of the
bonds or notes that may be issued hereunder and the payment of all valid claims
for cash compensation made within the limitations of time as prescribed herein,
the commissioners of the sinking fund shall make a final report to the General
Assembly, and any balance remaining in any of the funds herein created and
referred to shall be disposed of as shall be provided by law.
(1973)
TOP
Issuance of bonds for local
government public infrastructure
capital improvements.
§2k (A) In addition to the
authorization otherwise contained in Article VIII of the Ohio Constitution, the
General Assembly may provide by law, in accordance with but subject to the
limitations of this section, for the issuance of bonds and other obligations of
the state for the purpose of financing or assisting in the financing of the cost
of public infrastructure capital improvements of municipal corporations,
counties, townships, and other governmental entities as designated by law. As
used in this section public infrastructure capital improvements shall be limited
to roads and bridges, waste water treatment systems, water supply systems, solid
waste disposal facilities and storm water and sanitary collection, storage, and
treatment facilities, including real property, interests in real property,
facilities, and equipment related or incidental thereto. Capital improvements
shall include without limitation the cost of acquisition, construction,
reconstruction, expansion improvement, planning and equipping.
It is hereby determined that such public infrastructure capital
improvements are necessary to preserve and expand the public capital
infrastructure of such municipal corporations, counties, townships, and other
governmental entities, ensure the public health, safety, and welfare, create and
preserve jobs, enhance employment opportunities, and improve the economic
welfare of the people of this state.
(B)(1) Not more than one hundred
twenty million dollars principal amount of bonds and other obligations
authorized under this section may be issued in any calendar year, provided that
the aggregate total principal amount of bonds and other obligations authorized
and issued under this section may not exceed one billion two hundred million
dollars. Further limitations may be provided by law upon the amount of bonds
that may be issued under this section in any year in order that the total debt
charges of the state shall not exceed a proportion of general revenue fund
expenditures that would adversely affect the credit rating of the state. If
obligations are issued under this section to retire or refund obligations
previously issued under this section, the new obligations shall not be counted
against those calendar year or total issuance limitations to the extent that
their principal amount does not exceed the principal amount of the obligations
to be retired or refunded.
(2) Provision shall be made by
law for the use to the extent practicable of Ohio products, materials, services,
and labor in the making of any project financed, in whole or in part, under this
section.
(C) The state may participate in
any public infrastructure capital improvement under this section with municipal
corporations, counties, townships, or other governmental entities, or any one or
more of them. Such participation may be by grants, loans, or contributions to
them for any of such capital improvements. The entire proceeds of the bonds
shall be used for the public infrastructure capital improvements of municipal
corporations, counties, townships, and other governmental entities, except to
the extent that the General Assembly provides by law that the state may be
reasonably compensated from such moneys for planning, financial management, or
other administrative services performed in relation to the bond issuance.
(D)(1) Each issue of obligations
issued under this section shall mature in not more than thirty years from the
date of issuance, or, if issued to retire or refund other obligations issued
under this section, within thirty years from the date the debt was originally
contracted. If obligations are issued as notes in anticipation of the issuance
of bonds, provision shall be made by law for the establishment and maintenance,
during the period in which the notes are outstanding, of a special fund or funds
in to which shall be paid, from the sources authorized for the payment of such
bonds, the amount that would have been sufficient, if bonds maturing during a
period of thirty years had been issued without such prior issuance of notes, to
pay the principal that would have been payable on such bonds during such period.
Such fund or funds shall be used solely for the payment of principal of such
notes or of bonds in anticipation of which such notes have been issued.
(2) The obligations issued under
this section are general obligations of the state. The full faith and credit,
revenue, and taxing power of the state shall be pledged to the payment of the
principal of and interest on such obligations as they become due hereinafter
called debt service, and bond retirement fund provisions shall be made for
payment of debt service. Provision shall be made by law for the sufficiency and
appropriation, for purposes of paying debt service, of excises, taxes, and
revenues so pledged to debt service, and for covenants to continue the levy,
collection and application of sufficient excises, taxes, and revenues to the
extent needed for such purpose. Notwithstanding Section 22 of Article II, Ohio
Constitution, no further act of appropriation shall be necessary for that
purpose. The obligations and the provision for the payment of debt service and
repayment of any loans hereunder by governmental entities are not subject to
Sections 5, 6, and 11 of Article XII Ohio Constitution.
(3) The moneys referred to in
Section 5a of Article XII, Ohio Constitution, may not be pledged to the payment
of debt service on obligations issued under authority of this section.
(4) The obligations issued under
authority of this section, the transfer thereof, and the interest and other
income therefrom, including any profit made on the sale thereof, shall at all
times be free from taxation within the state.
(E) This section shall otherwise
be implemented in the manner and to the extent provided by law by the General
Assembly.
(1987)
TOP
Parks, recreation, and natural resources
project capital improvements.
§2l (A) In addition to the
authorizations otherwise contained in Article VIII of the Ohio Constitution, the
General Assembly shall provide by law, in accordance with and subject to the
limitations of this section, for the issuance of bonds and other obligations of
the state for the purpose of financing or assisting in the financing of the
costs of capital improvements for state and local parks and land and water
recreation facilities; soil and water restoration and protection, land
management including preservation of natural areas and reforestation; water
management including dam safety, stream and lake management, and flood control
and flood damage reduction, fish and wildlife resource management; and other
projects that enhance the use and enjoyment of natural resources by individuals.
Capital improvements include without limitation the cost of acquisition,
construction, reconstruction, expansion, improvement, planning, and equipping.
It is hereby determined that
these capital improvements and provisions for them are necessary and appropriate
to improve the quality of life of the people of this state, to better ensure the
public health, safety, and welfare, and to create and preserve jobs and enhance
employment opportunities.
(B)(1) Not more than fifty
million dollars principal amount of obligations may be issued under this section
in any fiscal year, and not more than two hundred million dollars principal
amount may be outstanding at any one time. The limitations of this paragraph do
not apply to any obligations authorized to be issued under this section to
retire or refund obligations previously issued under this section, to the extent
that their principal amount does not exceed the principal amount of the
obligations to be retired or refunded.
(2) Each issue of obligations
shall mature in not more than twenty-five years from the date of issuance, or,
if issued to retire or refund other obligations issued under this section,
within twenty-five years from the date the debt was originally contracted. If
obligations are issued as bond anticipation notes, provision shall be made, by
law or in the proceedings for the issuance of those notes, for the establishment
and maintenance while the notes are outstanding of a special fund or funds into
which there shall be paid, from the sources authorized for the payment of the
bonds, the amount that would have been sufficient, if bonds maturing serially in
each year over a period of twenty-five years had been issued without the prior
issuance of the notes, to pay the principal that would have been payable on
those bonds during that period; such fund or funds shall be used solely for the
payment of principal of those notes or of the bonds anticipated.
(C) The state may participate by
grants or contributions in financing capital improvements under this section
made by local government entities. Of the proceeds of the first two hundred
million dollars principal amount in obligations issued under this section for
capital improvements, at least twenty per cent shall be allocated to grants or
contributions to local government entities for such capital improvements.
(D) The obligations issued under
this section are general obligations of the state. The full faith and credit,
revenue, and taxing power of the state shall be pledged to the payment of the
principal of and interest and other accreted amounts on those obligations as
they become due, and bond retirement fund provisions shall be made for payment
of that debt service. Provision shall be made by law for the sufficiency and
appropriation for purposes of paying that debt service, of excises, taxes, and
revenues so pledged to that debt service, and for covenants to continue the
levy, collection, and application of sufficient excises, taxes, and revenues to
the extent needed for that purpose. Notwithstanding Section 22 of Article II,
Ohio Constitution, no further act of appropriation shall be necessary for that
purpose. The moneys referred to in Section 5a of Article XII, Ohio Constitution,
may not be pledged to the payment of that debt service. The obligations and the
provisions for the payment of debt service on them are not subject to Sections
5, 6, and 11 of Article XII Ohio Constitution, and, with respect to the purposes
to which their proceeds are to be applied, are not subject to Sections 4 and 6
of Article VIII, Ohio Constitution.
(E) Obligations issued under
authority of this section, the transfer thereof, and the interest and other
income and accreted amounts therefrom including any profit made on the sale
thereof, shall at all times be free from taxation within the state.
(F) This section shall be
implemented in the manner and to the extent provided by law by the General
Assembly.
(1993)
TOP
Issuance of general
obligations.
§2m (A) In addition to the
authorizations otherwise contained in Article VIII of the Ohio Constitution, the
general assembly may provide by law, in accordance with but subject to the
limitations of this section, for the issuance of bonds and other obligations of
the state for the purpose of financing or assisting in the financing of the cost
of public infrastructure capital improvements of municipal corporations,
counties, townships, and other governmental entities as designated by law, and
the cost of highway capital improvements. As used in this section, public
infrastructure capital improvements shall be limited to roads and bridges, waste
water treatment systems, water supply systems, solid waste disposal facilities,
and storm water and sanitary collection, storage, and treatment facilities,
including real property, interests in real property, facilities, and equipment
related to or incidental thereto, and shall include without limitation the cost
of acquisition, construction, reconstruction, expansion, improvement, planning,
and equipping. As used in this section, highway capital improvements shall be
limited to highways, including those on the state highway system and urban
extensions thereof, those within or leading to public parks or recreation areas,
and those within or leading to municipal corporations, and shall include without
limitation the cost of acquisition, construction, reconstruction, expansion,
improvement, planning, and equipping.
It is hereby determined that such
public infrastructure capital improvements and highway capital improvements are
necessary to preserve and expand the public capital infrastructure of the state
and its municipal corporations, counties, townships, and other governmental
entities, ensure the public health, safety, and welfare, create and preserve
jobs, enhance employment opportunities, and improve the economic welfare of the
people of this state.
(B) Not more than one hundred
twenty million dollars principal amount of the infrastructure obligations
authorized to be issued under this section, plus the principal amount of
infrastructure obligations that in any prior fiscal years could have been but
were not issued within the one-hundred-twenty-million-dollar fiscal year limit,
may be issued in any fiscal year, provided that the aggregate total principal
amount of infrastructure obligations issued under this section for public
infrastructure capital improvements may not exceed one billion two hundred
million dollars; and provided further that no infrastructure obligations shall
be issued pursuant to this section until at least one billion one hundred
ninety-nine million five hundred thousand dollars aggregate principal amount of
obligations have been issued pursuant to section 2k of Article VIII. Not more
than two hundred twenty million dollars principal amount of highway obligations
authorized to be issued under this section, plus the principal amount of highway
obligations that in any prior fiscal years could have been but were not issued
within the two-hundred-twenty-million-dollar fiscal year limit, may be issued in
any fiscal year, and not more than one billion two hundred million dollars
principal amount of highway obligations issued under this section may be
outstanding at any one time. Further limitations may be provided by law upon the
amount of infrastructure obligations and highway obligations, hereinafter
collectively called obligations, that may be issued under this section in any
fiscal year in order that the total debt charges of the state payable from the
general revenue fund shall not exceed a proportion of general revenue fund
expenditures that would adversely affect the credit rating of the state. If
obligations are issued under this section to retire or refund obligations
previously issued under this section, the new obligations shall not be counted
against those fiscal year or total issuance limitations to the extent that their
principal amount does not exceed the principal amount of the obligations to be
retired or refunded.
Provision shall be made by law
for the use to the extent practicable of Ohio products, materials, services, and
labor in the making of any project financed, in whole or in part, under this
section.
(C) The state may participate in any public infrastructure
capital improvement or highway capital improvement under this section with
municipal corporations, counties, townships, or other governmental entities as
designated by law, or any one or more of them. Such participation may be by
grants, loans, or contributions to them for any such capital improvements. The
entire proceeds of the infrastructure obligations shall be used for public
infrastructure capital improvements of municipal corporations, counties,
townships, and other governmental entities, except to the extent that the
general assembly provides by law that the state may reasonably be compensated
from such moneys for planning, financial management, or administrative services
performed in relation to the issuance of infrastructure obligations.
(D) Each issue of obligations
shall mature in not more than thirty years from the date of issuance, or, if
issued to retire or refund other obligations, within thirty years from the date
the debt originally was contracted. If obligations are issued as notes in
anticipation of the issuance of bonds, provision shall be made by law for the
establishment and maintenance, during the period in which the notes are
outstanding, of a special fund or funds into which shall be paid, from the
sources authorized for the payment of such bonds, the amount that would have
been sufficient, if bonds maturing during a period of thirty years had been
issued without such prior issuance of notes, to pay the principal that would
have been payable on such bonds during such period. Such fund or funds shall be
used solely for the payment of principal of such notes or bonds in anticipation
of which such notes have been issued.
The obligations are general
obligations of the state. The full faith and credit, revenue, and taxing power
of the state shall be pledged to the payment of the principal of and premium and
interest and other accreted amounts on outstanding obligations as they become
due, hereinafter called debt service, and bond retirement fund provisions shall
be made for payment of debt service. Provision shall be made by law for the
sufficiency and appropriation, for purposes of paying debt service, of excises,
taxes, and revenues so pledged to debt service, and for covenants to continue
the levy, collection, and application of sufficient excises, taxes, and revenues
to the extent needed for such purpose. Notwithstanding Section 22 of Article II,
Ohio Constitution, no further act of appropriation shall be necessary for that
purpose. The obligations and the provision for the payment of debt service, and
repayment by governmental entities of any loans made under this section are not
subject to Sections 5, 6, and 11 of Article XII, Ohio Constitution.
The moneys referred to in Section
5a of Article XII, Ohio Constitution may be pledged to the payment of debt
service on highway obligations, but may not be pledged to the payment of debt
service on infrastructure obligations. In each year that moneys referred to in
Section 5a of Article XII, Ohio Constitution pledged to the payment of debt
service on highway obligations issued under this section are available for such
purpose, such moneys shall be appropriated thereto and the required application
of any other excises and taxes shall be reduced in corresponding amount.
The obligations issued under
authority of this section, the transfer thereof, and the interest, interest
equivalent, and other income and accreted amounts therefrom, including any
profit made on the sale, exchange, or other disposition thereof, shall at all
times be free from taxation within the state.
(E) This section shall otherwise
be implemented in the manner and to the extent provided by law by the general
assembly, including provision for the procedure for incurring and issuing
obligations, separately or in combination with other state obligations, and
refunding, retiring, and evidencing obligations.
(F) The authorizations in this
section are in addition to authorizations contained in other sections of Article
VIII, Ohio Constitution, are in addition to and not a limitation upon the
authority of the general assembly under other provisions of this constitution,
and do not impair any law previously enacted by the general assembly, except
that after December 31, 1996, no additional highway obligations of the state may
be issued for any highway purposes under Section 2i of Article VIII, Ohio
Constitution, except to refund highway obligations issued under section 2i that
are outstanding on that date.
(1995)
TOP
Facilities
for system of common
schools and facilities
for state-supported
and state-assisted institutions
of higher education.
§2n (A) The General Assembly may
provide by law, subject to the limitations of and in accordance with this
section, for the issuance of bonds and other obligations of the state for the
purpose of paying costs of facilities for a system of common schools throughout
the state and facilities for state-supported and state-assisted institutions of
higher education. As used in this section, "costs" includes, without
limitation, the costs of acquisition, construction, improvement, expansion,
planning, and equipping.
(B) Each obligation issued under this section shall mature no
later than the thirty-first day of December of the twenty-fifth calendar year
after its issuance except that obligations issued to refund other obligations
shall mature not later than the thirty-first day of December of the twenty-fifth
calendar year after the year in which the original obligation to pay was issued
or entered into.
(C) Obligations issued under this
section are general obligations of the state. The full faith and credit,
revenue, and taxing power of the state shall be pledged to the payment of debt
service on those outstanding obligations as it becomes due. For purposes of the
full and timely payment of that debt service, appropriate provisions shall be
made or authorized by law for bond retirement funds, for the sufficiency and
appropriation of excises, taxes, and revenues so pledged to that debt service,
for which purpose, notwithstanding Section 22 of Article II of the Ohio
Constitution, no further act of appropriation shall be necessary, and for
covenants to continue the levy, collection, and application of sufficient
excises, taxes, and revenues to the extent needed for that purpose. Those
obligations and the provisions for the payment of debt service on them are not
subject to Sections 5, 6, and 11 of Article XII of the Ohio Constitution. Moneys
referred to in Section 5a of Article XII of the Ohio Constitution may not be
pledged or used for the payment of the debt service on those obligations. Moneys
consisting of net state lottery proceeds may be pledged or used for payment of
debt service on obligations issued under this section to pay costs of facilities
for a system of common schools, but not on obligations issued under this section
to pay costs of facilities for state-supported and state-assisted institutions
of higher education.
In the case of the issuance of
any of those obligations as bond anticipation notes, provision shall be made by
law or in the bond or note proceedings for the establishment and the
maintenance, during the period the notes are outstanding, of special funds into
which there shall be paid, from the sources authorized for payment of the bonds
anticipated, the amount that would have been sufficient to pay the principal
that would have been payable on those bonds during that period if bonds maturing
serially in each year over the maximum period of maturity referred to in
division (B) of this section had been issued without the prior issuance of the
notes. Those special funds and investment income on them shall be used solely
for the payment of principal of those notes or of the bonds anticipated.
(D) As used in this section,
"debt service" means principal and interest and other accreted amounts
payable on the obligations referred to.
(E) Obligations issued under this
section, their transfer, and the interest, interest equivalent, and other income
or accreted amounts on them, including any profit made on their sale, exchange,
or other disposition, shall at all times be free from taxation within the state.
(F) This section shall be
implemented in the manner and to the extent provided by the General Assembly by
law, including provision for the procedure for incurring, refunding, retiring,
and evidencing obligations issued as referred to in this section. The total
principal amount of obligations issued under this section shall be as determined
by the General Assembly, subject to the limitation provided for in Section 17 of
this article.
(G) The authorizations in this
section are in addition to authorizations contained in other sections of this
article, are in addition to and not a limitation upon the authority of the
General Assembly under other provisions of this Constitution, and do not impair
any law previously enacted by the General Assembly.
(1999)
TOP
Issuance of bonds and other obligations
for environmental
conservation
and revitalization
purposes.
§2o (A) It is determined and
confirmed that the environmental and related conservation, preservation, and
revitalization purposes referred to in divisions (A)(1) and (2) of this section,
and provisions for them, are proper public purposes of the state and local
governmental entities and are necessary and appropriate means to improve the
quality of life and the general and economic well-being of the people of this
state; to better ensure the public health, safety, and welfare; to protect water
and other natural resources; to provide for the conservation and preservation of
natural and open areas and farmlands, including by making urban areas more
desirable or suitable for development and revitalization; to control, prevent,
minimize, clean up, or remediate certain contamination of or pollution from
lands in the state and water contamination or pollution; to provide for safe and
productive urban land use or reuse; to enhance the availability, public use, and
enjoyment of natural areas and resources; and to create and preserve jobs and
enhance employment opportunities. Those purposes are:
(1) Conservation purposes, meaning conservation and preservation
of natural areas, open spaces, and farmlands and other lands devoted to
agriculture, including by acquiring land or interests therein; provision of
state and local park and recreation facilities, and other actions that permit and enhance
the availability, public use, and enjoyment of natural areas and open spaces in
Ohio; and land, forest, water, and other natural resource management projects;
(2) Revitalization purposes,
meaning providing for and enabling the environmentally safe and productive
development and use or reuse of publicly and privately owned lands, including
those within urban areas, by the remediation or clean up, or planning and
assessment for remediation or clean up, of contamination, or addressing, by
clearance, land acquisition or assembly, infrastructure, or otherwise, that or
other property conditions or circumstances that may be deleterious to the public
health and safety and the environment and water and other natural resources, or
that preclude or inhibit environmentally sound or economic use or reuse of the
property.
(B) The General Assembly may
provide by law, subject to the limitations of and in accordance with this
section, for the issuance of bonds and other obligations of the state for the
purpose of paying costs of projects implementing those purposes.
(1) Not more than two hundred
million dollars principal amount of obligations issued under this section for
conservation purposes may be outstanding in accordance with their terms at any
one time. Not more than fifty million dollars principal amount of those
obligations, plus the principal amount of those obligations that in any prior
fiscal year could have been but were not issued within the fifty-million-dollar
fiscal year limit, may be issued in any fiscal year. Those obligations shall be
general obligations of the state and the full faith and credit, revenue, and
taxing power of the state shall be pledged to the payment of debt service on
them as it becomes due, all as provided in this section.
(2) Not more than two hundred
million dollars principal amount of obligations issued under this section for
revitalization purposes may be outstanding in accordance with their terms at any
one time. Not more than fifty million dollars principal amount of those
obligations, plus the principal amount of those obligations that in any prior
fiscal year could have been but were not issued within the fifty-million-dollar
fiscal year limit, may be issued in any fiscal year. Those obligations shall not
be general obligations of the state and the full faith and credit, revenue, and
taxing power of the state shall not be pledged to the payment of debt service on
them. Those obligations shall be secured by a pledge of all or such portion of
designated revenues and receipts of the state as the General Assembly
authorizes, including receipts from designated taxes or excises, other state
revenues from sources other than state taxes or excises, such as from state
enterprise activities, and payments for or related to those revitalization
purposes made by or on behalf of local governmental entities, responsible
parties, or others. The General Assembly shall provide by law for prohibitions
or restrictions on the granting or lending of proceeds of obligations issued
under division (B)(2) of this section to parties to pay costs of cleanup or
remediation of contamination for which they are determined to be responsible.
(C) For purposes of the full and
timely payment of debt service on state obligations authorized by this section,
appropriate provision shall be made or authorized by law for bond retirement
funds, for the sufficiency and appropriation of state excises, taxes, and
revenues pledged to the debt service on the respective obligations, for which
purpose, notwithstanding Section 22 of Article II of the Ohio Constitution, no
further act of appropriation shall be necessary, and for covenants to continue
the levy, collection, and application of sufficient state excises, taxes, and
revenues to the extent needed for those purposes. Moneys referred to in Section
5a of Article XII of the Ohio Constitution may not be pledged or used for the
payment of debt service on those obligations.
As used in this section,
"debt service" means principal and interest and other accreted amounts
payable on the obligations referred to.
(D)(1) Divisions (B) and (C) of
this section shall be implemented in the manner and to the extent provided by
the General Assembly by law, including provision for procedures for incurring,
refunding, retiring, and evidencing state obligations issued pursuant to this
section. Each state obligation issued pursuant to this section shall mature no
later than the thirty-first day of December of the twenty-fifth calendar year
after its issuance, except that obligations issued to refund or retire other
obligations shall mature not later than the thirty-first day of December of the
twenty-fifth calendar year after the year in which the original obligation to
pay was issued or entered into.
(2) In the case of the issuance of state obligations under this
section as bond anticipation notes, provision shall be made by law or in the
bond or note proceedings for the establishment, and the maintenance during the
period the notes are outstanding, of special funds into which there shall be
paid, from the sources authorized for payment of the particular bonds
anticipated, the amount that would have been sufficient to pay the principal
that would have been payable on those bonds during that period if bonds maturing
serially in each year over the maximum period of maturity referred to in
division (D)(1) of this section had been issued without the prior issuance of
the notes. Those special funds and investment income on them shall be used
solely for the payment of principal of those notes or of the bonds anticipated.
(E) In addition to projects
undertaken by the state, the state may participate or assist, by grants, loans,
loan guarantees, or contributions, in the financing of projects for purposes
referred to in this section that are undertaken by local governmental entities
or by others, including, but not limited to, not-for-profit organizations, at
the direction or authorization of local governmental entities. Obligations of
the state issued under this section and the provisions for payment of debt
service on them, including any payments by local governmental entities, are not
subject to Sections 6 and 11 of Article XII of the Ohio Constitution. Those
obligations, and obligations of local governmental entities issued for the
public purposes referred to in this section, and provisions for payment of debt
service on them, and the purposes and uses to which the proceeds of those state
or local obligations, or moneys from other sources, are to be or may be applied,
are not subject to Sections 4 and 6 of Article VIII of the Ohio Constitution.
(F) The powers and authority
granted or confirmed by and under this section, and the determinations and
confirmations in this section, are independent of, in addition to, and not in
derogation of or a limitation on, powers, authority, determinations, or
confirmations under laws, charters, ordinances, or resolutions, or by or under
other provisions of the Ohio Constitution including, without limitation, Section
36 of Article II, Sections 2i, 2l, 2m, and 13 of Article VIII, and Articles X
and XVIII, and do not impair any previously adopted provision of the Ohio
Constitution or any law previously enacted by the General Assembly.
(G) Obligations issued under this
section, their transfer, and the interest, interest equivalent, and other income
or accreted amounts on them, including any profit made on their sale, exchange,
or other disposition, shall at all times be free from taxation within the state.
(2000)
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Issuance of bonds for economic
and educational purposes
and local government projects.
§2p (A) It is determined and
confirmed that the development purposes referred to in this division, and
provisions for them, are proper public purposes of the state and local
governmental entities and are necessary and appropriate means to create and
preserve jobs and enhance employment and educational opportunities; to improve
the quality of life and the general and economic well-being of all the people
and businesses in all areas of this state, including economically disadvantaged
businesses and individuals; and to preserve and expand the public capital
infrastructure; all to better ensure the public health, safety, and welfare.
Those purposes are:
(1) Public infrastructure capital
improvements, which shall be limited to roads and bridges, waste water treatment
systems, water supply systems, solid waste disposal facilities, and storm water
and sanitary collection, storage, and treatment facilities, including real
property, interests in real property, facilities, and equipment related to or
incidental thereto, and shall include, without limitation, the cost of
acquisition, construction, reconstruction, expansion, improvement, planning, and
equipping;
(2) Research and development in
support of Ohio industry, commerce, and business (hereinafter referred to as
"research and development purposes"), which shall include, without
limitation, research and product innovation, development, and commercialization
through efforts by and collaboration among Ohio business and industry, state and
local public entities and agencies, public and private education institutions,
or research organizations and institutions, all as may be further provided for
by state or local law, but excluding purposes provided for in Section 15 of
Article VIII, Ohio Constitution; and
(3) Development of sites and
facilities in Ohio for and in support of industry, commerce, distribution, and
research and development purposes.
(B) The General Assembly may provide by law, in accordance with
but subject to the limitations of this section, for the issuance of general
obligation bonds and other obligations of the state for the purpose of financing
or assisting in the financing of the cost of projects implementing those
purposes.
(1) Not more than one billion
three hundred fifty million dollars principal amount of state general
obligations may be issued under this section for public infrastructure capital
improvements. Not more than one hundred twenty million dollars principal amount
of those obligations may be issued in each of the first five fiscal years of
issuance and not more than one hundred fifty million dollars principal amount of
those obligations may be issued in each of the next five fiscal years of
issuance, plus in each case the principal amount of those obligations that in
any prior fiscal year could have been but were not issued within those fiscal
year limits. No infrastructure obligations may be issued pursuant to this
division and division (C) of this section until at least one billion one hundred
ninety-nine million five hundred thousand dollars aggregate principal amount of
state infrastructure obligations have been issued pursuant to Section 2m of
Article VIII, Ohio Constitution.
(2) Not more than five hundred
million dollars principal amount of state general obligations may be issued
under this section for research and development purposes. Not more than one
hundred million dollars principal amount of those obligations may be issued in
each of the first three-fiscal years of issuance, and not more than fifty
million dollars principal amount of those obligations may be issued in any other
fiscal year, plus in each case the principal amount of those obligations that in
any prior fiscal year could have been but were not issued.
(3) Not more than one hundred
fifty million dollars principal amount of state general obligations may be
issued under this section for development of sites and facilities for industry,
commerce, distribution, and research and development purposes. Not more than
thirty million dollars principal amount of those obligations may be issued in
each of the first three fiscal years of issuance, and not more than fifteen
million dollars principal amount of those obligations may be issued in any other
fiscal year, plus in each case the principal amount of those obligations that in
any prior fiscal year could have been but were not issued.
(C) Each issue of state general
obligations for public infrastructure capital improvements or development of
sites and facilities shall mature in not more than thirty years from the date of
issuance, and each issue of state general obligations for research and
development purposes shall mature in not more than twenty years from the date of
issuance; or, if issued to retire or refund other obligations, within that
number of years from the date the debt being retired or refunded was originally
issued. If state general obligations are issued as notes in anticipation of the
issuance of bonds, provision shall be made by law for the establishment and
maintenance, during the period in which the notes are outstanding, of a special
fund or funds into which shall be paid, from the sources authorized for the
payment of such bonds, the amount that would have been sufficient, if bonds
maturing during the permitted period of years had been issued without such prior
issuance of notes, to pay the principal that would have been payable on such
bonds during such period. Such fund or funds shall be used solely for the
payment of principal of such notes or bonds in anticipation of which such notes
have been issued. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in Section 2k or 2m
of Article VIII, obligations issued under this section or Section 2k or 2m to
retire or refund obligations previously issued under this section or Section 2k
or 2m shall not be counted against the fiscal year or total issuance limitations
provided in this section or Section 2k or 2m, as applicable.
The obligations issued under this division and division (B) of
this section are general obligations of the state. The full faith and credit,
revenue, and taxing power of the state shall be pledged to the payment of the
principal of and premium and interest and other accreted amounts on outstanding
obligations as they become due (hereinafter called debt service), and bond
retirement fund provisions shall be made for payment of that debt service.
Provision shall be made by law for the sufficiency and appropriation, for
purposes of paying debt service, of excises, taxes, and revenues so pledged or
committed to debt service, and for covenants to continue the levy, collection,
and application of sufficient excises, taxes, and revenues to the extent needed
for that purpose. Notwithstanding Section 22 of Article II, Ohio Constitution,
no further act of appropriation shall be necessary for that purpose. The
obligations and the provision for the payment of debt service, and repayment by
governmental entities of any loans made under this section, are not subject to
Sections 5, 6, and 11 of Article XII, Ohio Constitution. Moneys referred to in
Section 5a of Article XII, Ohio Constitution may not be pledged or used for the
payment of that debt service. Debt service on obligations issued for research
and development purposes and for development of sites and facilities shall not
be included in the calculation of total debt service for purposes of division
(A) of Section 17 of Article VIII, Ohio Constitution.
(D) (1) The state may participate
in any public infrastructure capital improvement under this section with
municipal corporations, counties, townships, or other governmental entities as
designated by law, or any one or more of them. Such participation may be by
grants, loans, or contributions to them for any such capital improvements. The
entire proceeds of the infrastructure obligations shall be used for public
infrastructure capital improvements of municipal corporations, counties,
townships, and other governmental entities, except to the extent that the
General Assembly provides by law that the state may reasonably be compensated
from such moneys for planning, financial management, or administrative services
performed in relation to the issuance of infrastructure obligations.
(2) Implementation of the
research and development purposes includes supporting any and all related
matters and activities, including: attracting researchers and research teams by
endowing research chairs or otherwise; activities to develop and commercialize
products and processes; intellectual property matters such as copyrights and
patents; property interests, including time sharing arrangements; and financial
rights and matters such as royalties, licensing, and other financial gain or
sharing resulting from research and development purposes. State and local public
moneys, including the proceeds of bonds, notes, and other obligations, may be
used to pay costs of or in support of or related to these research and
development purposes, including, without limitation, capital formation, direct
operating costs, costs of research and facilities, including interests in real
property therefor, and support for public and private institutions of higher
education, research organizations or institutions, and private sector entities.
The exercise of these powers by the state and state agencies, including
state-supported and state-assisted institutions of higher education, and local
public entities and agencies, may be jointly or in coordination with each other,
with researchers or research organizations and institutions, with private
institutions of higher education, with individuals, or with private sector
entities. State and local public participation may be in such manner as the
entity or agency determines, including by any one or a combination of grants,
loans including loans to lenders or the purchase of loans, subsidies,
contributions, advances, or guarantees, or by direct investments of or payment
or reimbursement from available moneys, or by providing staffing or other
support, including computer or other technology capacity, or equipment or
facilities, including interests in real property therefor, and either alone or
jointly, in collaborative or cooperative ventures, with other public agencies
and private sector entities including not for profit entities. In addition to
other state-level monetary participation as referred to in this section or
otherwise, state-supported and state-assisted institutions of higher education
may, as authorized from time to time by the General Assembly, issue obligations
to pay costs of participating in and implementing research and development
purposes. In addition to the other obligations authorized in or pursuant to this
section, the General Assembly also may authorize the state and state agencies
and local public entities and agencies, and corporations not for profit
designated by any of them as such agencies or instrumentalities, to issue
obligations to borrow and loan or otherwise provide moneys for research and
development purposes, including, but not limited to, obligations for which
moneys raised by taxation shall not be obligated or pledged for the payment of
debt service and which are therefore not subject to Sections 5, 6, and 11 of
Article XII, Ohio Constitution.
(3) Development of sites and facilities for and in support of
industry, commerce, distribution, and research and development purposes includes
acquisition of real estate and interests in real estate, site preparation
including any necessary remediation and cleanup, constructing and improving
facilities, and providing public infrastructure capital improvements and other
transportation and communications infrastructure improvements for and in support
of the use of those sites and facilities for those purposes. State and local
public moneys, including the proceeds of bonds, notes, and other obligations,
may be used to pay costs of those purposes. The exercise of these powers by the
state and state agencies and local public entities and agencies, may be jointly
or in coordination with each other, and with individuals or private sector
business entities. State and local public participation may be in such manner as
the entity or agency determines, including by any one or a
combination of grants, loans including loans to lenders or the purchase of
loans, subsidies, contributions, advances, or guarantees, or by direct
investments of or payment or reimbursement from available moneys. In addition to
other state-level monetary participation as referred to in this section or
otherwise, state-supported and state-assisted institutions of higher education,
and local public entities and agencies may, as authorized from time to time by
the General Assembly, issue obligations to pay costs of participating in and
implementing the development of sites and facilities.
(E) Obligations issued under
authority of this section for research and development purposes and site and
facility development purposes, provisions for the payment of debt service on
them, the purposes and uses to which and the manner in which the proceeds of
those obligations or moneys from other sources are to or may be applied, and
other implementation of those development purposes as referred to in this
section, are not subject to Sections 4 and 6 of Article VIII, Ohio Constitution.
Obligations issued under authority of this section, the transfer thereof, and
the interest, interest equivalent, and other income and accreted amounts
therefrom, including any profit made on the sale, exchange, or other disposition
thereof, shall at all times be free from taxation within the state.
(F) This section shall otherwise
be implemented in the manner and to the extent provided by law by the General
Assembly, including provision for the procedure for incurring and issuing
obligations, separately or in combination with other obligations, and refunding,
retiring, and evidencing obligations; provision for ensuring the accountability
of all state funding provided for the development purposes referred to in
division (A) of this section; provision for restricting or limiting the taking
of private property under Section 19 of Article I for disposition to private
sector entities for the purposes identified in divisions (A)(2) and (3) of this
section or restricting the disposition of that property to private sector
entities or individuals; and provision for the implementation of the development
purposes referred to in division (A) of this section to benefit people and
businesses otherwise qualified for receipt of funding for the development
purposes referred to in division (A) of this section, including economically
disadvantaged businesses and individuals in all areas of this state, including
by the use to the extent practicable of Ohio products, materials, services, and
labor.
(G) The powers and authority
granted or confirmed by and under, and the determinations in, this section are
independent of, in addition to, and not in derogation of or a limitation on,
powers, authority, determinations, or confirmations under laws or under other
provisions of the Ohio Constitution including, without limitation, Section 7 of
Article 1, Section 5 of Article VI, Sections 2i, 2n, 2o, 13, and 15 of Article
VIII, Article X, and Section 3 of Article XVIII, and do not impair any
previously adopted provisions of the Ohio Constitution or any law previously
enacted by the General Assembly or by a local public agency.
(2005)
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Issuance of Bonds for Continuation
of Environmental Revitalization
and Conservation.
§2q. (A) It is determined and confirmed that the
environmental and related conservation, preservation, and revitalization
purposes referred to in divisions (A)(1) and (2) of this section, and provisions
for them, are proper public purposes of the state and local governmental
entities and are necessary and appropriate means to improve the quality of life
and the general and economic well-being of the people of this state; to better
ensure the public health, safety, and welfare; to protect water and other
natural resources; to provide for the conservation and preservation of natural
and open areas and farmlands, including by making urban areas more desirable or
suitable for development and revitalization; to control, prevent, minimize,
clean up, or remediate certain contamination of or pollution from lands in the
state and water contamination or pollution; to provide for safe and productive
urban land use or reuse; to enhance the availability, public use, and enjoyment
of natural areas and resources; and to create and preserve jobs and enhance
employment opportunities. Those purposes are:
(1) Conservation purposes, meaning conservation and preservation
of natural areas, open spaces, and farmlands and other lands devoted to
agriculture, including by acquiring land or interests therein; provision of
state and local park and recreation facilities, and other actions that permit
and enhance the availability, public use, and enjoyment of natural areas and
open spaces in Ohio; and land, forest, water, and other natural resource
management projects;
(2) Revitalization purposes, meaning providing
for and enabling the environmentally safe and productive development and use or
reuse of publicly and privately owned lands, including those within urban areas,
by the remediation or clean up, or planning and assessment for remediation or
clean up, of contamination, or addressing, by clearance, land acquisition or
assembly, infrastructure, or otherwise, that or other property conditions or
circumstances that may be deleterious to the public health and safety and the
environment and water and other natural resources, or that preclude or inhibit
environmentally sound or economic use or reuse of the property.
(B) The General Assembly may provide by law,
subject to the limitations of and in accordance with this section, for the
issuance of bonds and other obligations of the state for the purpose of paying
costs of projects implementing those purposes.
(1) Not more than two hundred million dollars
principal amount of obligations issued under this section for conservation
purposes may be outstanding in accordance with their terms at any one time. Not
more than fifty million dollars principal amount of those obligations, plus the
principal amount of those obligations that in any prior fiscal year could have
been but were not issued within the fifty-million-dollar fiscal year limit, may
be issued in any fiscal year. Those obligations shall be general obligations of
the state and the full faith and credit, revenue, and taxing power of the state
shall be pledged to the payment of debt service on them as it becomes due, all
as provided in this section.
(2) Not more than two hundred million dollars
principal amount of obligations issued under this section for revitalization
purposes may be outstanding in accordance with their terms at any one time. Not
more than fifty million dollars principal amount of those obligations, plus the
principal amount of those obligations that in any prior fiscal year could have
been but were not issued within the fifty-million-dollar fiscal year limit, may
be issued in any fiscal year. Those obligations shall not be general obligations
of the state and the full faith and credit, revenue, and taxing power of the
state shall not be pledged to the payment of debt service on them. Those
obligations shall be secured by a pledge of all or such portion of designated
revenues and receipts of the state as the General Assembly authorizes, including
receipts from designated taxes or excises, other state revenues from sources
other than state taxes or excises, such as from state enterprise activities, and
payments for or related to those revitalization purposes made by or on behalf of
local governmental entities, responsible parties, or others. The general
assembly shall provide by law for prohibitions or restrictions on the granting
or lending of proceeds of obligations issued under division (B)(2) of this
section to parties to pay costs of cleanup or remediation of contamination for
which they are determined to be responsible.
(C) For purposes of the full and timely payment
of debt service on state obligations authorized by this section, appropriate
provision shall be made or authorized by law for bond retirement funds, for the
sufficiency and appropriation of state excises, taxes, and revenues pledged to
the debt service on the respective obligations, for which purpose,
notwithstanding Section 22 of Article II of the Ohio Constitution, no further
act of appropriation shall be necessary, and for covenants to continue the levy,
collection, and application of sufficient state excises, taxes, and revenues to
the extent needed for those purposes. Moneys referred to in Section 5a of
Article XII of the Ohio Constitution may not be pledged or used for the payment
of debt service on those obligations.
As used in this section, "debt service"
means principal and interest and other accreted amounts payable on the
obligations referred to.
(D)(1) Divisions (B) and (C) of this section
shall be implemented in the manner and to the extent provided by the General
Assembly by law, including provision for procedures for incurring, refunding,
retiring, and evidencing state obligations issued pursuant to this section. Each
state obligation issued pursuant to this section shall mature no later than the
thirty-first day of December of the twenty-fifth calendar year after its
issuance, except that obligations issued to refund or retire other obligations
shall mature not later than the thirty-first day of December of the twenty-fifth
calendar year after the year in which the original obligation to pay was issued
or entered into.
(2) In the case of the issuance of state obligations under this
section as bond anticipation notes, provision shall be made by law or in the bond or
note proceedings for the establishment, and the maintenance during the period
the notes are outstanding, of special funds into which there shall be paid, from
the sources authorized for payment of the particular bonds anticipated, the
amount that would have been sufficient to pay the principal that would have been
payable on those bonds during that period if bonds maturing serially in each
year over the maximum period of maturity referred to in division (D)(1) of this
section had been issued without the prior issuance of the notes. Those special
funds and investment income on them shall be used solely for the payment of
principal of those notes or of the bonds anticipated.
(E) In addition to projects undertaken by the
state, the state may participate or assist, by grants, loans, loan guarantees,
or contributions, in the financing of projects for purposes referred to in this
section that are undertaken by local governmental entities or by others,
including, but not limited to, not-for-profit organizations, at the direction or
authorization of local governmental entities. Obligations of the state issued
under this section and the provisions for payment of debt service on them,
including any payments by local governmental entities, are not subject to
Sections 6 and 11 of Article XII of the Ohio Constitution. Those obligations,
and obligations of local governmental entities issued for the public purposes
referred to in this section, and provisions for payment of debt service on them,
and the purposes and uses to which the proceeds of those state or local
obligations, or moneys from other sources, are to be or may be applied, are not
subject to Sections 4 and 6 of Article VIII of the Ohio Constitution.
(F) The powers and authority granted or confirmed
by and under this section, and the determinations and confirmations in this
section, are independent of, in addition to, and not in derogation of or a
limitation on, powers, authority, determinations, or confirmations under laws,
charters, ordinances, or resolutions, or by or under other provisions of the
Ohio Constitution including, without limitation, Section 36 of Article II,
Sections 2i, 2l, 2m, 2o, and 13 of Article VIII, and Articles X and XVIII, and
do not impair any previously adopted provision of the Ohio Constitution or any
law previously enacted by the General Assembly.
(G) Obligations issued under this section, their
transfer, and the interest, interest equivalent, and other income or accreted
amounts on them, including any profit made on their sale, exchange, or other
disposition, shall at all times be free from taxation within the state.
(2008)
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Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq Conflicts Compensation
Fund
§2r. (A) Upon the request of the department of
veterans services, the Ohio public facilities commission shall proceed to issue
and sell, from time to time, bonds or other obligations of the state in such
amounts as are necessary to provide all or part of the funds as may be required
to pay the compensation established by, and the expenses of administering, this
section. The original principal amount of obligations so issued shall not exceed
two hundred million dollars, provided that obligations issued under this section
to retire or refund obligations previously issued under this section shall not
be counted against that issuance limitation. The full faith and credit, revenue,
and taxing power of the state is hereby pledged for payment of debt service on
such obligations issued under this section, and the state covenants to continue
the levy, collection, and application of sufficient state excises, taxes, and
revenues to the extent needed for those purposes; provided that moneys referred
to in Section 5a of Article XII of the Constitution of the State of Ohio may not
be pledged or used for the payment of debt service. As used in this section,
"debt service" means principal and interest and other accreted amounts
payable on the obligations authorized by this section.
Each obligation so issued shall mature not later
than the thirty-first day of December of the fifteenth calendar year after its
issuance, except that obligations issued to refund obligations under this
section shall mature not later than the thirty-first day of December of the
fifteenth calendar year after the year in which the original obligation was
issued. Except for obligations issued under this section to retire or refund
obligations previously issued under this section, no obligations shall be issued
under this section later than December 31, 2013.
In the case of the issuance of any obligations under this section
as bond anticipation notes, provision shall be made in the bond or note proceedings for
the establishment, and the maintenance during the period the notes are
outstanding, of special funds into which there shall be paid, from the sources
authorized for payment of the bonds anticipated, the amount that would have been
sufficient to pay the principal that would have been payable on those bonds
during that period if bonds maturing serially in each year over the maximum
period of maturity referred to in this section had been issued without the prior
issuance of the notes. Those special funds and investment income on them shall
be used solely for the payment of debt service on those notes or the bonds
anticipated.
The obligations issued under this section, their
transfer, and the interest, interest equivalent, and other income thereon,
including any profit made on their sale, exchange, or other disposition, shall
at all times be free from taxation within the state.
Such obligations may be sold at public or private
sale as determined by the Ohio public facilities commission.
(B) Out of the proceeds of the sale of all
obligations, except those issued to refund or retire obligations previously
issued under this section, the amount that represents accrued interest, if any,
shall be paid into the state treasury into the Persian gulf, Afghanistan, and
Iraq conflicts compensation bond retirement fund, which is hereby created. As
determined at the time of sale, the amount that represents premium shall be paid
into either the Persian gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq conflicts compensation bond
retirement fund or the Persian gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq conflicts
compensation fund, which is hereby created in the state treasury. The balance of
the proceeds shall be paid into the Persian gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq
conflicts compensation fund. All proceeds of the sale of any obligations issued
under this section to refund or retire obligations previously issued under this
section shall be paid into the Persian gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq conflicts
compensation bond retirement fund and used to pay debt service on those
outstanding obligations so refunded. The general assembly may appropriate and
cause to be paid into the Persian gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq conflicts
compensation bond retirement fund or the Persian gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq
conflicts compensation fund, out of money in the treasury not otherwise
appropriated, such amount as is proper for use for the purposes for which such
funds are created. Except for amounts advanced by the general assembly to the
Persian gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq conflicts compensation fund with the express
expectation of reimbursement from the proceeds of obligations paid into that
fund, and except for amounts transferred under division (E) of this section for
the purpose of defraying the immediate cost of administration and compensation,
if the general assembly appropriates any funds to the Persian gulf, Afghanistan,
and Iraq conflicts compensation fund prior to the time obligations have been
issued in the original principal amount authorized in this section, that
original principal amount authorized in this section shall be reduced by the
amount of funds appropriated.
(C) On or before the fifteenth day of July of
each fiscal year, the Ohio public facilities commission shall certify, or cause
to be certified, to the director of budget and management the total amount of
money required during the current fiscal year, together with all other money
that will be available in the Persian gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq conflicts
compensation bond retirement fund, to meet in full all debt service and related
financing costs on the obligations issued under this section. The director shall
transfer from the general revenue fund to the Persian gulf, Afghanistan, and
Iraq conflicts compensation bond retirement fund, without necessity of
appropriation by the general assembly, an amount equal to the amount so
certified, and those funds shall be used for the payment of the debt service.
(D)(1) The Persian gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq
conflicts compensation fund shall be paid out upon the order of the department
of veterans services, without necessity of appropriation by the general
assembly, in payment of the expenses of administering this section and as
compensation as follows to each person who meets all of the following
requirements:
(a) The person has served in active duty in the United States
armed forces, except active duty for training only, at any time between August
2, 1990, and March 3, 1991, at any time between October 7, 2001, and the date
determined by the president of the United States as the end of involvement of
the United States armed forces in Afghanistan, or at any time between March 19, 2003, and the date determined
by the president of the United States as the end of the involvement of the
United States armed forces in Iraq.
(b) The person was an Ohio resident at the start
of active duty service and is currently an Ohio resident.
(c) The person was separated from the United
States armed forces under honorable conditions, is still serving in active duty
service, or remains in any reserve component of the United States armed forces
or in the Ohio national guard after serving on active duty.
A person who meets the requirements of divisions
(D)(1)(a), (b), and (c) of this section is entitled to, and may apply to
receive, compensation of fifty dollars for each month of active domestic or
foreign service and one hundred dollars for each month of Persian gulf,
Afghanistan, or Iraq service during the compensable periods. A person who is
medically discharged or medically retired from service due to combat-related
disabilities sustained during Persian gulf, Afghanistan, or Iraq service is
entitled to, and may apply to receive, compensation of one thousand dollars. The
maximum amount of cash payable to any person in active domestic or foreign
service is five hundred dollars and the maximum amount of cash payable to any
person in Persian gulf, Afghanistan, or Iraq service is one thousand dollars,
unless the person qualifies for a survivors payment or a payment based on
missing in action or prisoner of war status under division (D)(2) or (D)(3) of
this section. Compensation for a fraction of a month of service shall be paid on
the basis of one-thirtieth of the appropriate monthly amount for each day of
service.
(2) The surviving spouse, surviving child or
children, or surviving parent or parents, including a person or persons standing
in loco parentis for at least one year preceding commencement of service in the
United States armed forces, is entitled to, and may apply to receive, the same
amount of compensation that the person who served in the armed forces would have
received under division (D)(1) of this section. If the United States department
of veterans affairs determines that the persons death was the result of
injuries or illness sustained in Persian gulf, Afghanistan, or Iraq service, the
persons survivors are entitled to, and may apply for, a survivors payment
of five thousand dollars, regardless of the amount of compensation that the
deceased would have been entitled to receive under this section, if living. The
survivors payment shall be made to the surviving spouse. If there is no
surviving spouse, the payment shall go to the surviving child or children. If
there are no surviving children, the payment shall go to the surviving parent or
parents or person or persons standing in loco parentis for at least one year
preceding commencement of service in the United States armed forces.
(3) A person designated by the United States
department of defense as missing in action as a result of honorable service or
held in enemy captivity, or the spouse, child, or parent, including a person
standing in loco parentis for at least one year preceding commencement of
service in the United States armed forces, of a person designated as missing in
action or held in enemy captivity, is entitled to, and may apply for, a payment
of five thousand dollars. This payment replaces any other cash benefit payable
under this section. While the person is missing or held captive, the payment
shall be made to the persons spouse. If there is no spouse to claim the
payment, payment shall be made to the persons child or children. If the
person does not have children, payment shall be made to the persons parent or
parents or person or persons standing in loco parentis for at least one year
preceding commencement of service in the United States armed forces.
No payment to a spouse, child, parent, or person
in loco parentis of a person designated as missing in action as a result of
honorable service or held in enemy captivity, while the person is missing in
action or held captive, shall prevent the missing or captive person from
claiming and receiving a bonus of an equal amount on the persons release or
location.
(4) Compensation shall not be paid under this
section as follows:
(a) To any person who received from another state
a bonus or compensation of a similar nature;
(b) To any person who served less than ninety days in the United
States armed forces, unless active duty was terminated as a result of injuries
or illness sustained during Persian gulf, Afghanistan, or
Iraq service during the compensable period;
(c) To any person for any time period spent under
penal confinement during the compensable period.
(5) No sale or assignment of any right or claim
to compensation under this section shall be valid. No claims of creditors shall
be enforceable against rights or claims to or payments of compensation under
this section. No fees shall be charged for services in connection with the
prosecution of any right or claim to compensation or the collection of any
compensation under this section.
(6) All applications for payment of compensation
under this section shall be made to the department of veterans services
according to the following schedule:
(a) For Persian gulf service, not later than
December 31, 2013;
(b) For Afghanistan service, not later than three
years after the date determined by the president of the United States as the end
of involvement of the United States armed forces in Afghanistan;
(c) For Iraq service, not later than three years
after the date determined by the president of the United States as the end of
involvement of the United States armed forces in Iraq.
(7) As used in this section:
"Afghanistan service" means military
service within Afghanistan during the period between October 7, 2001, and the
date determined by the president of the United States as the end of the
involvement of the United States armed forces in Afghanistan.
"Domestic service" means service within
the territorial limits of the fifty states.
"Foreign service" means service in
locations other than the territorial limits of the fifty states, excluding
Persian gulf, Afghanistan, or Iraq service.
"Iraq service" means military service
within Iraq during the period between March 19, 2003, and the date determined by
the president of the United States as the end of the involvement of the United
States armed forces in Iraq.
"Persian gulf service" means military
service within the Persian gulf theater of operations during the period between
August 2, 1990, and March 3, 1991.
"United States armed forces" includes
the army, air force, navy, marine corps, and coast guard; any active reserve
component of such forces; and members of the Ohio national guard serving on
active duty.
(E) The department of veterans services
(hereinafter referred to as the "department") shall have complete
charge of making payment of compensation under division (D) of this section and
shall adopt rules, including rules regarding the amounts to which beneficiaries
are entitled, residency requirements for purposes of division (D)(1)(b) of this
section, and any other rules necessary to implement this section. These rules
shall be adopted in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.
The department shall select and appoint legal
counsel and employees as are necessary and fix their compensation and prescribe
their duties. All appointees shall serve at the pleasure of the director of
veterans services. When practical, the department shall employ Persian gulf,
Afghanistan, and Iraq conflict veterans to fill such positions. The general
assembly shall transfer necessary funds to the Persian gulf, Afghanistan, and
Iraq conflicts compensation fund and to the departments operating budget, for
the purpose of defraying the immediate cost of administration and compensation.
Any funds so transferred shall not reduce the original principal amount of
obligations that may be issued under this section.
On payment of all valid claims for cash
compensation made within the time limitations under this section, the department
may transfer any funds remaining in the Persian gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq
conflicts compensation fund to the Persian gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq conflicts
compensation bond retirement fund.
On retirement of all of the obligations issued under this section
and payment of all valid claims for cash compensation made within the time
limitations under this section, the department shall make a final report to the
general assembly. Any balance remaining in the Persian gulf, Afghanistan, and
Iraq conflicts compensation fund or the Persian gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq conflicts compensation bond retirement
fund shall be transferred or disposed of as provided by law.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this
section to the contrary, valid claims for cash compensation made within the time
limitations under this section shall be paid only if adequate funds remain in
the Persian gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq conflicts compensation fund.
(F) The people of this state declare it to be
their intention that this amendment in no manner affects or changes any of the
existing provisions of the Constitution except as set forth in this section. The
provisions of this section shall be self-executing.
(G) Debt service on obligations issued pursuant
to this section shall not be included in the calculation of total debt service
for purposes of division (A) of Section 17 of Article VIII of the Constitution
of the State of Ohio.
(H) As provided in divisions (C) and (D)(1) of
this section, no further act of appropriation is necessary, notwithstanding
Section 22 of Article II of the Constitution of the State of Ohio.
(I) Any reference in this section to a public
office, officer, or body shall include any successor thereto.
(2009)
TOP
The state to create
no other debt; exceptions.
§3 Except the debts above
specified in sections one and two of this article, no debt whatever shall
hereafter be created by or on behalf of the state.
(1851)
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Credit
of state; the state shall not become
joint owner or stockholder.
§4 The credit of the state shall
not, in any manner, be given or loaned to, or in aid of, any individual
association or corporation whatever; nor shall the state ever hereafter become a
joint owner, or stockholder, in any company or association in this state, or
elsewhere, formed for any purpose whatever.
(1851)
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No assumption
of debts by the state.
§5 The state shall never assume
the debts of any county, city, town, or township, or of any corporation
whatever, unless such debt shall have been created to repel invasion, suppress
insurrection, or defend the state in war.
(1851)
TOP
Counties, cities, towns, or
townships, not authorized
to become stockholders, etc.; insurance, etc.
§6 No laws shall be passed
authorizing any county, city, town or township, by vote of its citizens, or
otherwise, to become a stockholder in any joint stock company, corporation, or
association whatever; or to raise money for, or to loan its credit to, or in aid
of, any such company, corporation, or association: provided, that nothing in
this section shall prevent the insuring of public buildings or property in
mutual insurance associations or companies. Laws may be passed providing for the
regulation of all rates charged or to be charged by any insurance company,
corporation or association organized under the laws of this state, or doing any
insurance business in this state for profit.
(1851, am. 1912)
TOP
Sinking fund.
§7 The faith of the state being
pledged for the payment of its public debt, in order to provide therefor, there
shall be created a sinking fund, which shall be sufficient to pay the accruing
interest on such debt, and, annually, to reduce the principal thereof, by a sum
not less than one hundred thousand dollars, increased yearly, and each and every
year, by compounding, at the rate of six per cent per annum. The said sinking
fund shall consist, of the net annual income of the public works and stocks
owned by the state, of any other funds or resources that are, or may be,
provided by law, and of such further sum, to be raised by taxation, as may be
required for the purposes aforesaid.
(1851)
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The commissioners
of the sinking fund.
§8 The governor, treasurer of
state, auditor of state, secretary of state, and attorney general, are hereby
created a board of commissioners, to be styled, "The Commissioners of the
Sinking Fund."
(1851, am. 1947)
TOP
Biennial report
of sinking
fund commissioners.
§9 The commissioners of the
sinking fund shall, immediately preceding each regular session of the General
Assembly, make an estimate of the probable amount of the fund, provided for in
the seventh section of this article, from all sources except from taxation, and
report the same, together with all their proceedings relative to said fund and
the public debt, to the governor, who shall transmit the same with his regular
message, to the General Assembly; and the General Assembly shall make all
necessary provision for raising and disbursing said sinking fund, in pursuance
of the provisions of this article.
(1851)
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Application
of sinking
fund.
§10 It shall be the duty of the
said commissioners faithfully to apply said fund, together with all moneys that
may be, by the General Assembly, appropriated to that object, to the payment of
the interest, as it becomes due, and the redemption of the principal of the
public debt of the state, excepting only, the school and trust funds held by the
state.
(1851)
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Semiannual report
of sinking
fund commissioners.
§11 The said commissioners
shall, semiannually, make a full and detailed report of their proceedings to the
governor, who shall, immediately, cause the same to be published, and shall also
communicate the same to the General Assembly, forthwith, if it be in session,
and if not, then at its first session after such report shall be made.
(1851)
TOP
Repealed. Provided
for a superintendent
of public works.
§12
(1851, am. 1912, rep. 1974)
TOP
Economic
development.
§13 To create or preserve jobs
and employment opportunities, to improve the economic welfare of the people of
the state, to control air, water, and thermal pollution, or to dispose of solid
waste, it is hereby determined to be in the public interest and a proper public
purpose for the state or its political subdivisions, taxing districts, or public
authorities, its or their agencies or instrumentalities, or corporations not for
profit designated by any of them as such agencies or instrumentalities, to
acquire, construct, enlarge, improve, or equip, and to sell, lease, exchange, or
otherwise dispose of property, structures, equipment, and facilities within the
state of Ohio for industry, commerce, distribution, and research, to make or
guarantee loans and to borrow money and issue bonds or other obligations to
provide moneys for the acquisition, construction, enlargement, improvement, or
equipment, of such property, structures, equipment and facilities. Laws may be
passed to carry into effect such purposes and to authorize for such purposes the
borrowing of money by, and the issuance of bonds or other obligations of, the
state, or its political subdivisions, taxing districts, or public authorities,
its or their agencies or instrumentalities, or corporations not for profit
designated by any of them as such agencies or instrumentalities, and to
authorize the guarantees and loans and the lending of aid and credit, which
laws, bonds, obligations, loans and guarantees, and lending of aid and credit
shall not be subject to the requirements, limitations or prohibitions of any
other section of Article VIII, or of Article XII, Sections 6 and 11, of the
Constitution, provided that moneys raised by taxation shall not be obligated or
pledged for the payment of bonds or other obligations issued or guarantees made
pursuant to laws enacted under this section.
Except for facilities for
pollution control or solid waste disposal, as determined by law, no guarantees
or loans and no lending of aid or credit shall be made under the laws enacted
pursuant to this section of the constitution for facilities to be constructed
for the purpose of providing electric or gas utility service to the public.
The powers herein granted shall
be in addition to and not in derogation of existing powers of the state or its
political subdivisions, taxing districts, or public authorities, or their
agencies or instrumentalities or corporations not for profit designated by any
of them as such agencies or instrumentalities.
Any corporation organized under
the laws of Ohio is hereby authorized to lend or contribute moneys to the state
or its political subdivisions or agencies or instrumentalities thereof on such
terms as may be agreed upon in furtherance of laws enacted pursuant to this
section.
(1965, am. 1974)
TOP
Financing
for housing program.
§14 To create or preserve
opportunities for safe and sanitary housing and to improve the economic welfare
of the people of the state, it is hereby determined to be in the public interest
and a proper public purpose for the state to borrow money and issue bonds and
other obligations to make available financing, at reasonable interest rates to
consumers substantially reflecting savings in the cost of money to lenders
resulting from the implementation of this section, for the acquisition,
construction, rehabilitation, remodeling, and improvement of privately owned
multiple-unit dwellings used and occupied exclusively by persons sixty-two years
of age and older, and privately owned, owner occupied single family housing by
providing loans to, or through the agency of, or originated by, or purchasing
loans from, persons regularly engaged in the business of making or brokering
residential mortgage loans, all as determined by or pursuant to law. Laws may be
passed to carry into effect such purpose and to authorize for such purpose the
borrowing of money by, and the issuance of bonds or other obligations of the
state and to authorize the making of such loans, which laws, bonds, obligations,
and loans shall not be subject to the requirements, limitations, or prohibitions
of any other section of Article VIII, or Sections 6 and 11 of Article XII, Ohio
Constitution, provided that moneys raised by taxation shall not be obligated or
pledged for the payment of bonds or other obligations issued pursuant to laws
enacted under this section.
The powers granted in this
section shall be in addition to and not in derogation of existing powers of the
state.
Any corporation organized under
the laws of this state may lend or contribute moneys to the state on such terms
as may be agreed upon in furtherance of laws enacted pursuant to this section.
(1982)
TOP
State assistance
to development of coal technology.
§15 Laws may be passed
authorizing the state to borrow money and to issue bonds and other obligations
for the purpose of making grants and making or guaranteeing loans for research
and development of coal technology that will encourage the use of Ohio coal, to
any individual, association, or corporation doing business in this state, or to
any educational or scientific institution located in this state, notwithstanding
the requirements, limitation, or prohibitions of any other section of Article
VIII or of section 6 and 11 of Article XII of the constitution. The aggregate
principal amount of the money borrowed and bonds and other obligations issued by
the state pursuant to laws passed under this section shall not exceed one
hundred million dollars outstanding at any time. The full faith and credit of
the state may be pledged for the payment of bonds or other obligations issued or
guarantees made pursuant to laws passed under this section
Laws passed pursuant to this
section also may provide for the state to share in any royalties, profits, or
other financial gain resulting from the research and development.
(1985)
TOP
State and political
subdivisions
to provide
housing for individuals.
§16 To enhance the availability of adequate housing in the state
and to improve the economic and general well-being of the people of the state,
it is determined to be in the public interest and a proper public purpose for
the state or its political subdivisions, directly or through a public authority,
agency, or instrumentality, to provide, or assist in providing, by grants,
loans, subsidies to loans, loans to lenders, purchases of loans, guarantees of
loans, or otherwise as determined by the General Assembly, housing, including
shelters to provide temporary housing in the state for individuals and families
by the acquisition, financing, construction, leasing, rehabilitation,
remodeling, improvement, or equipping of publicly or privately owned housing,
including the acquisition of real property and interests in real property. Laws,
including charters, ordinances, and resolutions, may be passed to carry into
effect those purposes, including but not limited to the authorization of the
making of grants, loans, subsidies to loans, loans to lenders, purchase of
loans, and guarantees of loans by the state or its political subdivisions,
directly or through a public authority, agency, or instrumentality, which laws,
charters, ordinances, resolutions, grants, loans subsidies to loans, loans to
lenders, purchase of loans, guarantees of loans, and any other actions
authorized by the General Assembly shall not be subject to the requirements,
limitations, or prohibitions of any other section of Article VIII, or sections 6
and 11 of Article XII, Ohio Constitution.
The General Assembly also may
authorize the issuance by the state, directly or through its public authorities,
agencies, or instrumentalities, of obligations to provide moneys for the
provision of or assistance in the provision of housing, including shelters to
provide temporary housing, in the state for individuals and families, which
obligations are not supported by the full faith and credit of the state, and
shall not be deemed to be debts or bonded indebtedness of the state under other
provisions of this Constitution. Such obligations may be secured by a pledge
under law, without necessity for further appropriation, of all or such portion
as the General Assembly authorizes of revenues or receipts of the state or its
public authorities, agencies, or instrumentalities, and this provision may be
implemented by law to better provide therefor.
The powers granted under this
section are independent of, in addition to, and not in derogation of other
powers under laws, charters, ordinances, resolutions, or this Constitution
including the powers granted under section 14 of Article VIII and Articles X and
XVIII, and the provision of any capital improvements under section 2i of Article
VIII, Ohio Constitution. The powers granted under this section do not impair any
law, charter, ordinance, or resolution enacted prior to the effective date of
this section or any obligations issued under such law charter, ordinance, or
resolution. The powers granted under this section are subject to the power of
the General Assembly to regulate taxation and debt of political subdivisions,
including the regulation of municipal taxation and debt pursuant to section 6 of
Article XIII and section 13 Article XVIII, Ohio Constitution.
The powers granted to political
subdivisions under this section shall be operative on and after September 1,
1991, or on an earlier date that an act of the General Assembly declares such
powers shall be operative.
(1990)
TOP
Limitations
on obligations
state may issue.
§17 (A) Direct obligations of
the state may not be issued under this article if the amount required to be
applied or set aside in any future fiscal year for payment of debt service on
direct obligations of the state to be outstanding in accordance with their terms
during such future fiscal year would exceed five per cent of the total estimated
revenues of the state for the General Revenue Fund and from net state lottery
proceeds during the fiscal year in which the particular obligations are to be
issued. As used in this division, "debt service" includes the debt
service on the bonds to be issued under this article that are direct obligations
of the state plus, if the obligations to be issued are bond anticipation notes,
the debt service on the bonds anticipated, plus the debt service on all other
outstanding bonds that are direct obligations of the state, to the extent that
debt service on all those bonds and bonds anticipated is to be paid from the
General Revenue Fund or net state lottery proceeds.
(B) The limitations of division
(A) of this section shall not apply to a particular issue or amount of
obligations if the limitations are waived as to that particular issue or amount
by the affirmative vote of at least three-fifths of the members of each house of
the General Assembly, or to obligations issued to retire bond anticipation notes
that were issued when the requirements of division (A) of this section were
originally met as estimated for the bonds anticipated.
(C) For purposes of division (A)
of this section, debt contracted by the state pursuant to Section 2 of Article
VIII of the Ohio Constitution to repel invasion, suppress insurrection, or to
defend the state in war, shall not be included in the calculation of total debt
service.
(D) For purposes of division (A) of this section, the General
Assembly shall provide by law for computing the amounts required for payment of
debt service, and may provide for estimating payments of debt service on bonds
anticipated by notes, for including payments of debt service on obligations
issued to refund or retire prior obligations in lieu of such payments on the
prior refunded or retired obligations, and for the method of computing payments
of debt service on any obligations required to be retired or for which sinking
fund deposits are required prior to stated maturity. The Governor or the
Governors designee for such purpose shall determine and certify the fiscal
year amounts required to be applied or set aside for payment of debt service,
the obligations to which that debt service relates, the total estimated revenues
of the state for the state General Revenue Fund and from net state lottery
proceeds during the particular fiscal year, other financial data necessary for
the purposes of computations under division (A) of this section, and the
permitted latest maturity of obligations. That certification shall be conclusive
for the purposes of the validity of any obligations issued under this
article.
(E) As used in this section:
(1) "Fiscal year" means
the state fiscal year.
(2) "Debt service"
means principal and interest and other accreted amounts payable on the
obligations referred to.
(3) "Direct obligations of
the state" means obligations issued by the state on which the state of Ohio
is the primary or only direct obligor.
(1999)
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Article IX: Militia
Who shall perform
military duty.
§1 All citizens, residents of
this state, being seventeen years of age, and under the age of sixty-seven
years, shall be subject to enrollment in the militia and the performance of
military duty, in such manner, not incompatible with the Constitution and laws
of the United States, as may be prescribed by law.
(1851, am. 1953, 1961)
TOP
Repealed. Provided
for the election
of certain
officers.
§2
(1851, rep. 1953)
TOP
Appointment
of militia officers.
§3 The governor shall appoint
the adjutant general, and such other officers and warrant officers, as may be
provided for by law.
(1851, am. 1961)
TOP
Power of
govern or to
call forth militia.
§4 The governor shall have power
to call forth the militia, to execute the laws of the state, to suppress
insurrection, to repel invasion, and to act in the event of a disaster within
the state.
(1851, am. 1961)
TOP
Public arms; arsenals.
§5 The General Assembly shall
provide, by law, for the protection and safe keeping of the public arms.
(1851)
Article X: County
and Township Organizations
Organization
and government of counties; county home rule; submission.
§1 The General Assembly shall
provide by general law for the organization and government of counties, and may
provide by general law alternative forms of county government. No alternative
form shall become operative in any county until submitted to the electors
thereof and approved by a majority of those voting thereon under regulations
provided by law. Municipalities and townships shall have authority, with the
consent of the county, to transfer to the county any of their powers or to
revoke the transfer of any such power, under regulations provided by general
law, but the rights of initiative and referendum shall be secured to the people
of such municipalities or townships in respect of every measure making or
revoking such transfer and to the people of such county in respect of every
measure giving or withdrawing such consent.
(1933)
TOP
Township
officers; election; power.
§2 The General Assembly shall
provide by general law for the election of such township officers as may be
necessary. The trustees of townships shall have such powers of local taxation as
may be prescribed by law. No money shall be drawn from any township treasury
except by authority of law.
(1933)
TOP
County
charters; approval
by voters.
§3 The people of any county may frame and adopt or amend a
charter as provided in this article but the right of the initiative and
referendum is reserved to the people of each county on all matters which such
county may now or hereafter be authorized to control by legislative action.
Every such charter shall provide the form of government of the county and shall
determine which of its officers shall be elected and the manner of their
election. It shall provide for the exercise of all powers vested in, and the
performance of all duties imposed upon counties and county officers by law. Any
such charter may provide for the concurrent or exclusive exercise by the county,
in all or in part of its area, of all or of any designated powers vested by the constitution or laws of Ohio in
municipalities; it may provide for the organization of the county as a municipal
corporation; and in any such case it may provide for the succession by the
county to the rights, properties, and obligations of municipalities and
townships therein incident to the municipal power so vested in the county, and
for the division of the county into districts for purposes of administration or
of taxation or of both. Any charter or amendment which alters the form and
offices of county government or which provides for the exercise by the county of
power vested in municipalities by the constitution or laws of Ohio, or both,
shall become effective if approved by a majority of the electors voting thereon.
In case of conflict between the exercise of powers granted by such charter and
the exercise of powers by municipalities or townships, granted by the
constitution or general law, whether or not such powers are being exercised at
the time of the adoption of the charter, the exercise of power by the
municipality or township shall prevail. A charter or amendment providing for the
exclusive exercise of municipal powers by the county or providing for the
succession by the county to any property or obligation of any municipality or
township without the consent of the legislative authority of such municipality
or township shall become effective only when it shall have been approved by a
majority of those voting thereon (1) in the county, (2) in the largest
municipality, (3) in the county outside of such municipality, and (4) in
counties having a population, based upon the latest preceding federal decennial
census of 500,000 or less, in each of a majority of the combined total of
municipalities and townships in the county (not included within any township any
part of its area lying within a municipality.
(1933, am. 1957)
TOP
County charter
commission; election, etc.
§4 The legislative authority
(which includes the Board of County Commissioners) of any county may by a
two-thirds vote of its members, or upon petition of eight per cent of the
electors of the county as certified by the election authorities of the county
shall forthwith, by resolution submit to the electors of the county the
question, Shall a county charter commission be chosen?" The question
shall be voted upon at the next general election, occurring not sooner than
ninety-five days after certification of the resolution to the election
authorities. The ballot containing the question shall bear no party designation.
Provision shall be made thereon for the election to such commission from the
county at large of fifteen electors if a majority of the electors voting on the
question have voted in the affirmative.
Candidates for such commission
shall be nominated by petition of one per cent of the electors of the county.
The petition shall be filed with
the election authorities no less than seventy-five days prior to such election.
Candidates shall be declared elected in the order of the number of votes
received, beginning with the candidate receiving the largest number; but not
more than seven candidates residing in the same city or village may be elected.
The holding of a public office does not preclude any person from seeking or
holding membership on a county charter commission nor does membership on a
county charter commission preclude any such member from seeking or holding other
public office, but not more than four officeholders may be elected to a county
charter commission at the same time. The legislative authority shall appropriate
sufficient sums to enable the charter commission to perform its duties and to
pay all reasonable expenses thereof.
The commission shall frame a charter for the county or amendments
to the existing charter, and shall, by vote of a majority of the authorized
number of members of the commission, submit the same to the electors of the
county, to be voted upon at the next general election next following the
election of the commission. The commission shall certify the proposed charter or
amendments to the election authorities not later than seventy-five days prior to
such election. Amendments to a county charter or the question of the repeal
thereof may also be submitted to the electors of the county in the manner
provided in this section for the submission of the question whether a charter
commission shall be chosen, to be voted upon at the first general election
occurring not sooner than sixty days after their submission. The legislative
authority or charter commission submitting any charter or amendment shall, not
later than thirty days prior to the election on such charter or amendment, mail
or otherwise distribute a copy thereof to each of the electors of the county as
far as may be reasonably possible, except that, as provided by law, notice of
proposed amendments may be given by newspaper advertising. Except as provided in
Section 3 of this Article, every charter or amendment shall become effective if it
has been approved by the majority of the electors voting thereon. It shall take
effect on the thirtieth day after such approval unless another date be fixed
therein. When more than one amendment, which shall relate to only one subject
but may affect or include more than one section or part of a charter, is
submitted at the same time, they shall be so submitted as to enable the electors
to vote on each separately. In case more than one charter is submitted at the
same time or in case of conflict between the provisions of two or more
amendments submitted at the same time, that charter or provision shall prevail
which received the highest affirmative vote, not less than a majority. If a
charter or amendment submitted by a charter commission is not approved by the
electors of the county, the charter commission may resubmit the same one time,
in its original form or as revised by the charter commission, to the electors of
the county at the next succeeding general election or at any other election held
throughout the county prior thereto, in the manner provided for the original
submission thereof.
The legislative authority of any
county, upon petition of ten per cent of the electors of the county, shall
forthwith, by resolution, submit to the electors of the county, in the manner
provided in this section for the submission of the question whether a charter
commission shall be chosen, the question of the adoption of a charter in the
form attached to such petition.
Laws may be passed to provide for
the organization and procedures of county charter commissions, including the
filling of any vacancy which may occur, and otherwise to facilitate the
operation of this section. The basis upon which the required number of
petitioners in any case provided for in this section shall be determined, shall
be the total number of votes cast in the county for the office of governor at
the last preceding general election therefor.
The foregoing provisions of this
section shall be self-executing except as herein otherwise provided.
(1933, am. 1978)
TOP
Repealed. County and township
treasuries.
§5
(1851, rep. 1933)
TOP
Repealed. What officers
may be removed.
§6
(1851, rep. 1933)
TOP
Repealed. Local taxation.
§7
(1851, rep. 1933)
Article XI: Apportionment
Persons responsible
for apportionment
of state for members
of General Assembly.
§1 The governor, auditor of
state, secretary of state, one person chosen by the speaker of the House of
Representatives and the leader in the Senate of the political party of which the
speaker is a member, and one person chosen by the legislative leaders in the two
houses of the major political party of which the speaker is not a member shall
be the persons responsible for the apportionment of this state for members of
the general assembly.
Such persons, or a majority of
their number, shall meet and establish in the manner prescribed in this Article
the boundaries for each of ninety-nine House of Representative districts and
thirty-three Senate districts. Such meeting shall convene on a date designated
by the governor between August 1 and October 1 in the year one thousand nine
hundred seventy-one and every tenth year thereafter. The governor shall give
such persons two weeks advance notice of the date, time, and place of such
meeting.
The governor shall cause the
apportionment to be published no later than October 5 of the year in which it is
made, in such manner as provided by law.
(1967)
TOP
Ratio
of representation in house and senate.
§2 The apportionment of this state for members of the General
Assembly shall be made in the following manner: The whole population of the
state, as determined by the federal decennial census or, if such is unavailable,
such other basis as the General Assembly may direct, shall be divided by the
number "ninety-nine" and the quotient shall be the ratio of
representation in the House of Representatives for ten years next succeeding
such apportionment. The whole population of the state as determined
by the federal decennial census or, if such is unavailable, such other basis as
the General Assembly may direct, shall be divided by the number
"thirty-three" and the quotient shall be the ratio of representation
in the Senate for ten years next succeeding such apportionment.
(1967)
TOP
Population
of each House of Representatives district.
§3 The population of each House
of Representatives district shall be substantially equal to the ratio of
representation in the House of Representatives, as provided in section 2 of this
Article, and in no event shall any House of Representatives district contain a
population of less than ninety-five per cent nor more than one hundred five per
cent of the ratio of representation in the House of Representatives, except in
those instances where reasonable effort is made to avoid dividing a county in
accordance with section 9 of this Article.
(1967)
TOP
Population in each Senate
district.
§4 The population of each Senate
district shall be substantially equal to the ratio of representation in the
Senate, as provided in section 2 of this Article, and in no event shall any
Senate district contain a population of less than ninety-five per cent nor more
than one hundred five per cent of the ratio of representation in the senate as
determined pursuant to this Article.
(1967)
TOP
Representation
for each house and
senate district.
§5 Each House of Representatives
district shall be entitled to a single representative in each General Assembly.
Every Senate district shall be entitled to a single senator in each General
Assembly.
(1967)
TOP
Creation
of district boundaries; change at end of decennial
period.
§6 District boundaries
established pursuant to this Article shall not be changed until the ensuing
federal decennial census and the ensuing apportionment or as provided in section
13 of this Article, notwithstanding the fact that boundaries of political
subdivisions or city wards within the district may be changed during that time.
District boundaries shall be created by using the boundaries of political
subdivisions and city wards as they exist at the time of the federal decennial
census on which the apportionment is based, or such other basis as the General
Assembly has directed.
(1967)
TOP
Repealed. Provided
additional
senators for districts
with a ratio
of representation
greater than
one.
§6a
(1956, rep. 1967)
TOP
Boundary
lines of House
of Representatives districts.
§7 (A) Every House of
Representatives district shall be compact and composed of contiguous territory,
and the boundary of each district shall be a single non-intersecting continuous
line. To the extent consistent with the requirements of section 3 of this
Article, the boundary lines of districts shall be so drawn as to delineate an
area containing one or more whole
counties.
(B) Where the requirements of
section 3 of this Article cannot feasibly be attained by forming a district from
a whole county or counties, such district shall be formed by combining the areas
of governmental units giving preference in the order named to counties,
townships, municipalities, and city wards.
(C) Where the requirements of
section 3 of this Article cannot feasibly be attained by combining the areas of
governmental units as prescribed in division (B) of this section, only one such
unit may be divided between two districts, giving preference in the selection of
a unit for division to a township, a city ward, a city, and a village in the
order named.
(D) In making a new
apportionment, district boundaries established by the preceding apportionment
shall be adopted to the extent reasonably consistent with the requirements of
section 3 of this Article.
(1967)
TOP
Determination
of number of House
of Representatives
districts
within
each county.
§8 A county having at least one House of Representatives ratio
of representation shall have as many House of Representatives districts wholly
within the boundaries of the county as it has whole ratios of representation. Any fraction of the
population in excess of a whole ratio shall be a part of only one adjoining
House of Representatives district.
The number of whole ratios of
representation for a county shall be determined by dividing the population of
the county by the ratio of representation for the House of Representatives
determined under section 2 of this Article.
(1967)
TOP
When population
of county is fraction
of ratio
of representation.
§9 In those instances where the
population of a county is not less than ninety percent nor more than one hundred
ten percent of the ratio of representation in the House of Representatives,
reasonable effort shall be made to create a House of Representatives district
consisting of the whole county.
(1967)
TOP
Division
of state into house districts; standards.
§10 The standards prescribed in
sections 3, 7, 8, and 9 of this Article shall govern the establishment of House
of Representatives districts, which shall be created and numbered in the
following order to the extent that such order is consistent with the foregoing
standards:
(A) Each county containing
population substantially equal to one ratio of representation in the House of
Representatives, as provided in section 2 of this Article, but in no event less
than ninety-five per cent of the ratio nor more than one hundred five per cent
of the ratio shall be designated a representative district.
(B) Each county containing
population between ninety and ninety-five percent of the ratio or between one
hundred five and one hundred ten per cent of the ratio may be designated a
representative district.
(C) Proceeding in succession from
the largest to the smallest, each remaining county containing more than one
whole ratio of representation shall be divided into House of Representatives
districts. Any remaining territory within such county containing a fraction of
one whole ratio of representation shall be included in one representative
district by combining it with adjoining territory outside the county.
(D) The remaining territory of
the state shall be combined into representative districts.
(1967)
TOP
Senate
districts; formation.
§11 Senate districts shall be
composed of three contiguous House of Representatives districts. A county having
at least one whole Senate ratio of representation shall have as many Senate
districts wholly within the boundaries of the county as it has whole Senate
ratios of representation. Any fraction of the population in excess of a whole
ratio shall be a part of only one adjoining Senate district. Counties having
less than one Senate ratio of representation, but at least one House of
Representatives ratio of representation shall be part of only one Senate
district.
The number of whole ratios of
representation for a county shall be determined by dividing the population of
the county by the ratio of representation in the Senate determined under section
2 of this Article.
Senate districts shall be
numbered from one through thirty-three and as provided in section 12 of this Article.
(1967)
TOP
Term
of senators on change
of district
boundaries of senate.
§12 At any time the boundaries
of Senate districts are changed in any plan of apportionment made pursuant to
any provision of this Article, a senator whose term will not expire within two
years of the time the plan of apportionment is made shall represent, for the
remainder of the term for which he was elected, the Senate district which
contains the largest portion of the population of the district from which he was
elected, and the district shall be given the number of the district from which
the senator was elected. If more than one senator whose term will not so expire
would represent the same district by following the provisions of this section,
the persons responsible for apportionment, by a majority of their number, shall
designate which senator shall represent the district and shall designate which
district the other senator or senators shall represent for the balance of their
term or terms.
(1967)
TOP
Jurisdiction
of Supreme Court, effect of determination
of unconstitutionality; apportionment.
§13 The Supreme Court of Ohio shall have exclusive, original
jurisdiction in all cases arising under this Article. In the event that any
section of this constitution relating to apportionment or any
plan of apportionment made by the persons responsible for apportionment, by a
majority of their number, is determined to be invalid by either the Supreme
Court of Ohio, or the Supreme Court of the United States, then notwithstanding
any other provisions of this constitution, the persons responsible for
apportionment by a majority of their number shall ascertain and determine a plan
of apportionment in conformity with such provisions of this constitution as are
then valid, including establishing terms of office and election of members of
the General Assembly from districts designated in the plan, to be used until the
next regular apportionment in conformity with such provisions of this
constitution as are then valid.
Notwithstanding any provision of
this constitution or any law regarding the residence of senators and
representatives, a plan of apportionment made pursuant to this section shall
allow thirty days for persons to change residence in order to be eligible for
election.
The governor shall give the
persons responsible for apportionment two weeks advance written notice of the
date, time, and place of any meeting held pursuant to this section.
(1967)
TOP
Continuation
of present district boundaries.
§14 The boundaries of House of
Representatives districts and Senate districts from which representatives and
senators were elected to the 107th General Assembly shall be the boundaries of
House of Representatives and Senate districts until January 1, 1973, and
representatives and senators elected in the general election in 1966 shall hold
office for the terms to which they were elected. In the event all or any part of
this apportionment plan is held invalid prior to the general election in the
year 1970, the persons responsible for apportionment by a majority of their
number shall ascertain and determine a plan of apportionment to be effective
until January 1, 1973, in accordance with section 13 of this Article.
(1967)
TOP
Severability
provision.
§15 The various provisions of
this Article XI are intended to be severable, and the invalidity of one or more
of such provisions shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions.
(1967)
TOP
Article XII: Finance
and Taxation
Poll taxes
prohibited.
§1 No poll tax shall ever be
levied in this state, or service required, which may be commuted in money or
other thing of value.
(1851, am. 1912)
TOP
Limitation
on tax rate; exemption.
§2 No property, taxed according to value, shall be so taxed in
excess of one per cent of its true value in money for all state and local
purposes, but laws may be passed authorizing additional taxes to be levied
outside of such limitation, either when approved by at least a majority of the
electors of the taxing district voting on such proposition, or when provided for
by the charter of a municipal corporation. Land and improvements thereon shall
be taxed by uniform rule according to value, except that laws may be passed to
reduce taxes by providing for a reduction in value of the homestead of
permanently and totally disabled residents, residents sixty-five years of age
and older, and residents sixty years of age or older who are surviving spouses
of deceased residents who were sixty-five years of age or older or permanently
and totally disabled and receiving a reduction in the value of their homestead
at the time of death, provided the surviving spouse continues to reside in a
qualifying homestead, and providing for income and other qualifications to
obtain such reduction. Without limiting the general power, subject to the
provisions of Article I of this constitution, to determine the subjects and
methods of taxation or exemptions therefrom, general laws may be passed to
exempt burying grounds, public school houses, houses used exclusively for public
worship, institutions used exclusively for charitable purposes, and public
property used exclusively for any public purpose, but all such laws shall be
subject to alteration or repeal; and the value of all property so exempted shall, from time to time, be
ascertained and published as may be directed by law.
(1851, am. 1906, 1912, 1918,
1929, 1933, 1970, 1974, 1990)
TOP
Authority
to classify real
estate for taxation; procedures.
§2a (A) Except as expressly
authorized in this section, land and improvements thereon shall, in all other
respects, be taxed as provided in Section 36, of Article II and Section 2 of
this article
(B) This section does not apply
to any of the following:
(1) Taxes levied at whatever rate
is required to produce a specified amount of tax money or an amount to pay debt
charges;
(2) Taxes levied within the one
per cent limitation imposed by Section 2 of this article;
(3) Taxes provided for by the
charter of a municipal corporation.
(C) Notwithstanding Section 2 of
this article, laws may be passed that provide all of the following:
(1) Land and improvements thereon
in each taxing district shall be placed into one of two classes solely for the
purpose of separately reducing the taxes charged against all land and
improvements in each of the two classes as provided in division (C)(2) of this
section. The classes shall be:
(a) Residential and agricultural land and
improvements;
(b) All other land and
improvements.
(2) With respect to each voted
tax authorized to be levied by each taxing district, the amount of taxes imposed
by such tax against all land and improvements thereon in each class shall be
reduced in order that the amount charged for collection against all land and
improvements in that class in the current year, exclusive of land and
improvements not taxed by the district in both the preceding year and in the
current year and those not taxed in that class in the preceding year, equals the
amount charged for collection against such land and improvements in the
preceding year.
(D) Laws may be passed to provide
that the reductions made under this section in the amounts of taxes charged for
the current expenses of cities, townships, school districts, counties, or other
taxing districts are subject to the limitation that the sum of the amounts of
all taxes charged for current expenses against the land and improvements thereon
in each of the two classes of property subject to taxation in cities, townships,
school districts, counties, or other types of taxing districts, shall not be
less than a uniform per cent of the taxable value of the property in the
districts to which the limitation applies. Different but uniform percentage
limitations may be established for cities, townships, school districts,
counties, and other types of taxing districts.
(1980)
TOP
Imposition
of taxes.
§3 Laws may be passed providing
for:
(A) The taxation of decedents
estates or of the right to receive or succeed to such estates, and the rates of
such taxation may be uniform or may be graduated based on the value of the
estate, inheritance, or succession. Such tax may also be levied at different
rates upon collateral and direct inheritances, and a portion of each estate may
be exempt from such taxation as provided by law.
(B) The taxation of incomes, and
the rates of such taxation may be either uniform or graduated, and may be
applied to such incomes and with such exemptions as may be provided by law.
(C) Excise and franchise taxes
and for the imposition of taxes upon the production of coal, oil, gas, and other
minerals; except that no excise tax shall be levied or collected upon the sale
or purchase of food for human consumption off the premises where sold.
(1976)
TOP
Revenue to pay expenses and retire
debts.
§4 The General Assembly shall
provide for raising revenue, sufficient to defray the expenses of the state, for
each year, and also a sufficient sum to pay principal and interest as they
become due on the state debt.
(1851, am. 1976)
TOP
Levying
of taxes.
§5 No tax shall be levied,
except in pursuance of law; and every law imposing a tax shall state,
distinctly, the object of the same, to which only, it shall be applied.
(1851)
TOP
Use of motor vehicle
license and fuel taxes restricted.
§5a No moneys derived from fees,
excises, or license taxes relating to registration, operation, or use of
vehicles on public highways, or to fuels used for propelling such vehicles,
shall be expended for other than costs of administering such laws, statutory
refunds and adjustments provided therein, payment of highway obligations, costs
for construction, reconstruction, maintenance and repair of public highways and
bridges and other statutory highway purposes, expense of state enforcement of
traffic laws, and expenditures authorized for hospitalization of indigent
persons injured in motor vehicle accidents on the public highways.
(1947)
TOP
No debt for internal
improvement.
§6 Except as otherwise provided
in this constitution the state shall never contract any debt for purposes of
internal improvement.
(1851, am. 1912)
TOP
Repealed. Referred
to taxation of inheritances.
§7
(1912, rep. 1976)
TOP
Repealed. Referred
to taxation of incomes.
§8
(1912, am. 1973, rep. 1976)
TOP
Apportionment
of income, estate, and inheritance taxes.
§9 Not less than fifty per cent
of the income, estate, and inheritance taxes that may be collected by the state
shall be returned to the county, school district, city, village, or township in
which said income, estate, or inheritance tax originates, or to any of the same,
as may be provided by law.
(1912, am. 1930, 1976)
TOP
Repealed. Referred
to taxation of franchises
and production
of minerals.
§10
(1912, rep. 1976)
TOP
Sinking fund.
§11 No bonded indebtedness of
the state, or any political subdivisions thereof, shall be incurred or renewed
unless, in the legislation under which such indebtedness is incurred or renewed,
provision is made for levying and collecting annually by taxation an amount
sufficient to pay the interest on said bonds, and to provide a sinking fund for
their final redemption at maturity.
(1912)
TOP
Repealed. Specified
that no excise tax
would be levied upon
the sale or purchase
of food for human
consumption off the premises
where sold.
§12
(1936, rep. 1976)
TOP
Wholesale taxes on
foods.
§13 No sales or other excise
taxes shall be levied or collected (1) upon any wholesale sale or wholesale
purchase of food for human consumption, its ingredients or its packaging, (2)
upon any sale or purchase of such items sold to or purchased by a manufacturer,
processor, packager, distributor or reseller of food for human consumption, or
its ingredients, for use in its trade or business; or (3) in any retail
transaction, on any packaging that contains food for human consumption on or off
the premises where sold. For purposes of this section, food for human
consumption shall include nonalcoholic beverages. This section shall not affect
the extent to which the levy or collection of sales or other excise taxes on the
retail sale or retail purchase of food for human consumption is permitted or
prohibited by Section 3(C) of this Article.
(1994)
TOP
Article XIII: Corporations
Special
acts conferring corporate powers; prohibited.
§1 The General Assembly shall
pass no special act conferring corporate powers.
(1851)
TOP
Corporations, how formed.
§2 Corporations may be formed under general laws; but all such
laws may, from time to time, be altered or repealed. Corporations may be
classified and there may be conferred upon proper boards, commissions or
officers, such supervisory and regulatory powers over their organization,
business and issue and sale of stocks and securities and over the business and
sale of the stocks and securities of foreign corporations and joint stock
companies in this state, as may be prescribed by law. Laws may be passed
regulating the sale and conveyance of other personal property, whether owned by
a corporation, joint stock company or individual.
(1851, am. 1912)
TOP
Liability
of stockholders for unpaid subscriptions; dues from
corporations; how secured; inspection
of private banks.
§3 Dues from private
corporations shall be secured by such means as may be prescribed by law, but in
no case shall any stockholder be individually liable otherwise than for the
unpaid stock owned by him or her. No corporation not organized under the laws of
this state, or of the United States, or person, partnership or association shall
use the word bank," "banker" or "banking," or words
of similar meaning in any foreign language, as a designation or name under which
business may be conducted in this state unless such corporation, person,
partnership or association shall submit to inspection, examination and
regulation as may hereafter be provided by the laws of this state.
(1851, am. 1903, 1912, 1937)
TOP
Corporate
property
subject to taxation.
§4 The property of corporations,
now existing or hereafter created, shall forever be subject to taxation, the
same as the property of individuals.
(1851)
TOP
Corporate
power of eminent
domain to obtain rights of way; procedure; jury
trial.
§5 No right of way shall be
appropriated to the use of any corporation, until full compensation therefor be
first made in money or first secured by a deposit of money, to the owner,
irrespective of any benefit from any improvement proposed by such corporation,
which compensation shall be ascertained by a jury of twelve men, in a court of
record, as shall be prescribed by law.
(1851)
TOP
Organization
of cities, etc.
§6 The General Assembly shall
provide for the organization of cities, and incorporated villages, by general
laws, and restrict their power of taxation, assessment, borrowing money,
contracting debts and loaning their credit, so as to prevent the abuse of such
power.
(1851)
TOP
Acts authorizing
associations
with banking powers; referendum.
§7 No act of the General
Assembly, authorizing associations with banking powers, shall take effect until
it shall be submitted to the people, at the general election next succeeding the
passage thereof, and be approved by a majority of all the electors, voting at
such election.
(1851)
TOP
Article XIV: Ohio Livestock
Care Standards Board
§1 (A) There is hereby created the Ohio
Livestock Care Standards Board for the purpose of establishing standards
governing the care and well-being of livestock and poultry in this state. In
carrying out its purpose, the Board shall endeavor to maintain food safety,
encourage locally grown and raised food, and protect Ohio farms and families.
The Board shall be comprised of the following thirteen members:
(1) The director of the state department that
regulates agriculture who shall be the chairperson of the Board;
(2) Ten members appointed by the Governor with
the advice and consent of the Senate. The ten members appointed by the Governor
shall be residents of this state and shall include the following:
(a) One member representing family farms;
(b) One member who is knowledgeable about food
safety in this state;
(c) Two members representing statewide
organizations that represent farmers;
(d) One member who is a veterinarian who is licensed in this
state;
(e) The State Veterinarian in the state
department that regulates agriculture;
(f) The dean of the agriculture department of a
college or university located in this state;
(g) Two members of the public representing Ohio
consumers;
(h) One member representing a county humane
society that is organized under state law.
(3) One member appointed by the Speaker of the
House of Representatives who shall be a family farmer;
(4) One member appointed by the President of the
Senate who shall be a family farmer.
Not more than seven members appointed to the
Board at any given time shall be of the same political party.
(B) The Board shall have authority to establish
standards governing the care and well-being of livestock and poultry in this
state, subject to the authority of the General Assembly. In establishing those
standards, the Board shall consider factors that include, but are not limited
to, agricultural best management practices for such care and well-being,
biosecurity, disease prevention, animal morbidity and mortality data, food
safety practices, and the protection of local, affordable food supplies for
consumers.
(C) The state department that regulates
agriculture shall have the authority to administer and enforce the standards
established by the Board.
(D) The General Assembly may enact laws that it
deems necessary to carry out the purposes of this section, to facilitate the
execution of the duties of the Board and the state department that regulates
agriculture under this section, and to set the terms of office of the Board
members and conditions for the Board members service on the Board.
(E) If any part of this section is held invalid,
the remainder of this section shall not be affected by that holding and shall
continue in full force and effect.
(2009)
TOP
Prior
Article XIV: Jurisprudence,
§1-3, Repealed. Provided
for the Appointment
of Three Commissioners
by the General Assembly to Revise
the Practice, Pleadings, Forms
and Proceedings
of the Courts
of Record
of the State and to Provide
a Uniform Mode of Proceeding
(1851, rep. 1953)
TOP
Article XV: Miscellaneous
Seat of
government.
§1 Columbus shall be the seat of
government, until otherwise directed by law.
(1851)
TOP
Repealed. Referred
to printing
of laws, journals, bills, legislative
documents and papers
for each branch
of the General Assembly.
§2
(1851, am. 1912, rep. 1976)
TOP
Receipts
and expenditures; publication
of state financial
statements.
§3 An accurate and detailed
statement of the receipts and expenditures of the public money, the several
amounts paid, to whom, and on what account, shall, from time to time, be
published, as shall be prescribed by law.
(1851)
TOP
Officers
to be qualified electors.
§4 No person shall be elected or
appointed to any office in this state unless possessed of the qualifications of
an elector.
(1851, am. 1913, 1953)
TOP
Repealed. Referred
to the ineligibility
of dualists to hold
office.
§5
(1851, rep. 1976)
TOP
Lotteries, Charitable Bingo, Casino Gaming.
§6 Except as otherwise provided in this section, lotteries, and
the sale of lottery tickets, for any purpose whatever, shall forever be
prohibited in this state.
(A) The General Assembly may
authorize an agency of the state to conduct lotteries, to sell rights to
participate therein, and to award prizes by chance to participants, provided
that the entire net proceeds of any such lottery are paid into a fund of the
state treasury that shall consist solely of such proceeds and shall be used
solely for the support of elementary, secondary, vocational, and special
education programs as determined in appropriations made by the General Assembly.
(B) The General Assembly may
authorize and regulate the operation of bingo to be conducted by charitable
organizations for charitable purposes.
(C)(1) Casino gaming shall be authorized at four
casino facilities (a single casino at a designated location within each of the
cities of Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo) to create new funding for
cities, counties, public school districts, law enforcement, the horse racing
industry and job training for Ohios workforce.
(2) A thirty-three percent tax shall be levied
and collected by the state on all gross casino revenue received by each casino
operator of these four casino facilities. In addition, casino operators, their
operations, their owners, and their property shall be subject to all customary
non-discriminatory fees, taxes, and other charges that are applied to, levied
against, or otherwise imposed generally upon other Ohio businesses, their gross
or net revenues, their operations, their owners, and their property. Except as
otherwise provided in section 6(C), no other casino gaming-related state or
local fees, taxes, or other charges (however measured, calculated, or otherwise
derived) may be, directly or indirectly, applied to, levied against, or
otherwise imposed upon gross casino revenue, casino operators, their operations,
their owners, or their property.
(3) The proceeds of the tax on gross casino
revenue collected by the state shall be distributed as follows:
(a) Fifty-one percent of the tax on gross casino
revenue shall be distributed among all eighty-eight counties in proportion to
such counties respective populations at the time of such distribution. If a
countys most populated city, as of the 2000 United States census bureau
census, had a population greater than 80,000, then fifty percent of that countys
distribution will go to said city.
(b) Thirty-four percent of the tax on gross
casino revenue shall be distributed among all eighty-eight counties in
proportion to such counties respective public school district student
populations at the time of such distribution. Each such distribution received by
a county shall be distributed among all public school districts located (in
whole or in part) within such county in proportion to each school districts
respective student population who are residents of such county at the time of
such distribution to the school districts. Each public school district shall
determine how its distributions are appropriated, but all distributions shall
only be used to support primary and secondary education.
(c) Five percent of the tax on gross casino
revenue shall be distributed to the host city where the casino facility that
generated such gross casino revenue is located.
(d) Three percent of the tax on gross casino
revenue shall be distributed to fund the Ohio casino control commission.
(e) Three percent of the tax on gross casino
revenue shall be distributed to an Ohio state racing commission fund to support
purses, breeding programs, and operations at all existing commercial horse
racetracks permitted as of January 1, 2009. However, no funding under this
division shall be distributed to operations of an Ohio commercial horse
racetrack if an owner or operator of the racetrack holds a majority interest in
an Ohio casino facility or in an Ohio casino license.
(f) Two percent of the tax on gross casino
revenue shall be distributed to a state law enforcement training fund to enhance
public safety by providing additional training opportunities to the law
enforcement community.
(g) Two percent of the tax on gross casino
revenue shall be distributed to a state problem gambling and addictions fund
which shall be used for the treatment of problem gambling and substance abuse,
and related research.
Tax collection, and distributions to public school districts and
local governments, under sections 6(C)The Constitution of the State of Ohio72
Article XV: Miscellaneous
(2) and (3), are intended to supplement, not
supplant, any funding obligations of the state. Accordingly, all such
distributions shall be disregarded for purposes of determining whether funding
obligations imposed by other sections of this Constitution are met.
(4) There is hereby created the Ohio casino
control commission which shall license and regulate casino operators, management
companies retained by such casino operators, key employees of such casino
operators and such management companies, gaming-related vendors, and all gaming
authorized by section 6(C), to ensure the integrity of casino gaming.
Said commission shall determine all voting issues
by majority vote and shall consist of seven members appointed by the governor
with the advice and consent of the senate. Each member of the commission must be
a resident of Ohio. At least one member of the commission must be experienced in
law enforcement and criminal investigation. At least one member of the
commission must be a certified public accountant experienced in accounting and
auditing. At least one member of the commission must be an attorney admitted to
the practice of law in Ohio. At least one member of the commission must be a
resident of a county where one of the casino facilities is located. Not more
than four members may be affiliated with the same political party. No commission
member may have any affiliation with an Ohio casino operator or facility.
Said commission shall require each initial
licensed casino operator of each of the four casino facilities to pay an upfront
license fee of fifty million dollars ($50,000,000) per casino facility for the
benefit of the state, for a total of two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000).
The upfront license fee shall be used to fund state economic development
programs which support regional job training efforts to equip Ohios workforce
with additional skills to grow the economy.
To carry out the tax provisions of section 6(C),
and in addition to any other enforcement powers provided under Ohio law, the tax
commissioner of the State and the Ohio casino control commission, or any person
employed by the tax commissioner or said commission for that purpose, upon
demand, may inspect books, accounts, records, and memoranda of any person
subject to such provisions, and may examine under oath any officer, agent, or
employee of that person.
(5) Each initial licensed casino operator of each
of the four casino facilities shall make an initial investment of at least two
hundred fifty million dollars ($250,000,000) for the development of each casino
facility for a total minimum investment of one billion dollars ($1,000,000,000)
statewide. A casino operator: (a) may not hold a majority interest in more than
two of the four licenses allocated to the casino facilities at any one time; and
(b) may not hold a majority interest in more than two of the four casino
facilities at any one time.
(6) Casino gaming authorized in section 6(C)
shall be conducted only by licensed casino operators of the four casino
facilities or by licensed management companies retained by such casino
operators. At the discretion of each licensed casino operator of a casino
facility: (a) casino gaming may be conducted twenty-four hours each day; and (b)
a maximum of five thousand slot machines may be operated at such casino
facility.
(7) Each of the four casino facilities shall be
subject to all applicable state laws and local ordinances related to health and
building codes, or any related requirements and provisions. Notwithstanding the
foregoing, no local zoning, land use laws, subdivision regulations or similar
provisions shall prohibit the development or operation of the four casino
facilities set forth herein, provided that no casino facility shall be located
in a district zoned exclusively residential as of January 1, 2009.
(8) Notwithstanding any provision of the
Constitution, statutes of Ohio, or a local charter and ordinance, only one
casino facility shall be operated in each of the cities of Cleveland, Columbus,
Cincinnati and Toledo.
(9) For purposes of this section 6(C), the
following definitions shall be applied:
"Casino facility" means all or any part of any one or
more of the following properties (together with all improvements situated
thereon) in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus and Toledo:
(a) Cleveland:
Being an approximate 61 acre area in Cuyahoga
County, Ohio, as identified by the Cuyahoga County Auditor, as of 02/27/09, as
tax parcel numbers 004-28-001, 004-29-004A, 004-29-005, 004-29-008, 004-29-009,
004-29-010, 004-29-012, 004-29-013, 004-29-014, 004-29-020, 004-29-018,
004-29-017, 004-29-016, 004-29-021, 004-29-025, 004-29-027, 004-29-026,
004-28-008, 004-28-004, 004-28-003, 004-28-002, 004-28-010, 004-29-001,
004-29-007 and 004-04-017 and all lands and air rights lying within and/or above
the public rights of way adjacent to such parcels.
Being an approximate 8.66 acre area in Cuyahoga
County, Ohio, being that parcel identified by the Cuyahoga County Auditor, as of
02/27/09, as tax parcel number 101-21-002 and all lands and air rights lying
within and/or above the public rights of way adjacent to such parcel.
Being an approximate 2.56 acre area in Cuyahoga
County, Ohio, being that parcel identified by the Cuyahoga County Auditor, as of
02/27/09, as tax parcel number 101-21-002 and all lands and air rights lying
within and/or above the public rights of way adjacent to such parcel.
Being an approximate 7.91 acre area in Cuyahoga
County, Ohio, being that parcel identified by the Cuyahoga County Auditor, as of
02/27/09, as tax parcel number 101-23-050A and all lands and air rights lying
within and/or above the public rights of way adjacent to such parcel.
All air rights above the parcel located in
Cuyahoga County, Ohio identified by the Cuyahoga County Auditor, as of 02/27/09,
as tax parcel number 101-22-003.
Being an approximate 1.55 acre area in Cuyahoga
County, Ohio, as identified by the Cuyahoga County Auditor, as of 02/27/09, as
tax parcel numbers 122-18-010, 122-18-011 and 122-18-012 and all lands and air
rights lying within and/or above the public rights of way adjacent to such
parcels.
Being an approximate 1.83 acre area in Cuyahoga
County, Ohio, as identified by the Cuyahoga County Auditor, as of 02/27/09, as
tax parcel numbers 101-30-002 and 101-30-003 and all lands and air rights lying
within and/or above the public rights of way adjacent to such parcels.
Consisting of floors one through four, mezzanine,
basement, sub-basement, Parcel No. 36-2, Item III, Parcels First and Second,
Item V, Parcel A, and Item VI, Parcel One of the Higbee Building in Cuyahoga
County, Ohio, as identified by the Cuyahoga County Auditor, as of 2/29/09, as
tax parcel numbers 101-23-002 and 101-23- 050F and all lands and air rights
lying within and/or above the public rights of way adjacent to such parcels.
(b) Columbus:
Being an approximate 18.312 acre area in the City
of Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio, as identified by the Franklin County
Auditor, as of 03/05/09, as tax parcel numbers 010-005518-80, 010-005518-90,
010-020215-80, 010-020215-90, 010-008443-80 and 010-008443-90.
(c) Cincinnati:
Being an approximate 20.4 acre area in Hamilton
County, Ohio, being identified by the Hamilton County Auditor, as of 02/27/09,
as tax parcel numbers 074-0002-0009-00, 074-0001-0001-00, 074-0001-0002-00,
074-0001-0003-00, 074-0001-0004-00, 074-0001-0006-00, 074-0001-0008-00,
074-0001-0014-00, 074-0001-0016-00, 074-0001-0031-00, 074-0001-0039-00,
074-0001-0041-00, 074-0001-0042-00, 074-0001-0043-00, 074-0002-0001-00,
074-0004-0001-00, 074-0004-0002-00, 074-0004-0003-00 and 074-0005-0003-00.
(d) Toledo:
Being an approximate 44.24 acre area in the City
of Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio, as identified by the Lucas County Auditor, as of
03/05/09, as tax parcel numbers 18-76138 and 18-76515.
"Casino gaming" means any type of slot machine or table
game wagering, using money, casino credit, or any representative of value,
authorized in any of the states of Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania and West
Virginia as of January 1, 2009, and shall include slot machine and table game
wagering subsequently authorized by, but shall not be limited by subsequent
restrictions placed on such wagering in, such states. Notwithstanding the
aforementioned
definition, "casino gaming" does not
include bingo, as authorized in article XV, section 6 of the Ohio Constitution
and conducted as of January 1, 2009, or horse racing where the pari-mutuel
system of wagering is conducted, as authorized under the laws of Ohio as of
January 1, 2009.
"Casino operator" means any person,
trust, corporation, partnership, limited partnership, association, limited
liability company or other business enterprise that directly holds an ownership
or leasehold interest in a casino facility. "Casino operator" does not
include an agency of the state, any political subdivision of the state, or any
person, trust, corporation, partnership, limited partnership, association,
limited liability company or other business enterprise that may have an interest
in a casino facility, but who is legally or contractually restricted from
conducting casino gaming.
"Gross casino revenue" means the total
amount of money exchanged for the purchase of chips, tokens, tickets, electronic
cards, or similar objects by casino patrons, less winnings paid to wagerers.
"Majority interest" in a license or in
a casino facility (as the case may be) means beneficial ownership of more than
fifty percent (50%) of the total fair market value of such license or casino
facility (as the case may be). For purposes of the foregoing, whether a majority
interest is held in a license or in a casino facility (as the case may be) shall
be determined in accordance with the rules for constructive ownership of stock
provided in Treas. Reg. § 1.409A-3(i)(5)(iii) as in effect on January 1, 2009.
"Slot machines" shall include any
mechanical, electrical, or other device or machine which, upon insertion of a
coin, token, ticket, or similar object, or upon payment of any consideration, is
available to play or operate, the play or operation of which, whether by reason
of the skill of the operator or application of the element of chance, or both,
makes individual prize determinations for individual participants in cash,
premiums, merchandise, tokens, or any thing of value, whether the payoff is made
automatically from the machine or in any other manner.
"Table game" means any game played with
cards, dice, or any mechanical, electromechanical, or electronic device or
machine for money, casino credit, or any representative of value.
(10) The General Assembly shall pass laws within
six months of the effective date of section 6(C) to facilitate the operation of
section 6(C).
(11) Each provision of section 6(C) is intended
to be independent and severable, and if any provision of section 6(C) is held to
be invalid, either on its face or as applied to any person or circumstance, the
remaining provisions of section 6(C), and the application thereof to any person
or circumstance other than those to which it is held invalid, shall not be
affected thereby. In any case of a conflict between any provision of section
6(C) and any other provision contained in this Constitution, the provisions of
section 6(C) shall control.
(12) Notwithstanding the provisions of section
6(C)(11), nothing in this section 6(C) (including, without limitation, the
provisions of sections 6(C)(6) and 6(C)(8)) shall restrict or in any way limit
lotteries authorized under section 6(A) of this article or bingo authorized
under section 6(B) of this article. The provisions of this section 6(C) shall
have no effect upon activities authorized under sections 6(A) and / or (6)(B) of
this article.
(1851, am. 1973, 1975, 1987, 2009)
TOP
Oath of
officers.
§7 Every person chosen or
appointed to any office under this state, before entering upon the discharge of
its duties, shall take an oath or affirmation, to support the Constitution of
the United States, and of this state, and also an oath of office.
(1851)
TOP
Repealed. Established
a bureau of statistics in the secretary
of states office.
§8
(1851, rep. 1976)
TOP
Repealed. Referred
to the sale and manufacturing
of intoxicating
liquors.
§9
(1918, rep. 1933)
TOP
Repealed. Referred
to the passing of laws
prohibiting
the sale of intoxicating
liquors.
§9a
(1914, rep. 1918)
TOP
Civil service.
§10 Appointments and promotions
in the civil service of the state, the several counties, and cities, shall be
made according to merit and fitness, to be ascertained, as is practicable, by
competitive examinations. Laws shall be passed providing for the enforcement of
this provision.
(1912)
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Marriage.
§11 Only a union between one man
and one woman may be a marriage valid in or recognized by this state and its
political subdivisions. This state and its political subdivisions shall not
create or recognize a legal status for relationships of unmarried individuals
that intends to approximate the design, qualities, significance or effect of
marriage.
(2004)
TOP
Article XVI: Amendments
Constitutional
amendment proposed by
joint resolution
of General Assembly; procedure.
§1 Either branch of the General
Assembly may propose amendments to this constitution, and, if the same shall be
agreed to by three-fifths of the members elected to each house, such proposed
amendments shall be entered on the journals, with the yeas and nays, and shall
be filed with the secretary of state at least ninety days before the date of the
election at which they are to be submitted to the electors, for their approval
or rejection. They shall be submitted on a separate ballot without party
designation of any kind, at either a special or a general election as the
General Assembly may prescribe.
The ballot language for such
proposed amendments shall be prescribed by a majority of the Ohio ballot board,
consisting of the secretary of state and four other members, who shall be
designated in a manner prescribed by law and not more than two of whom shall be
members of the same political party. The ballot language shall properly identify
the substance of the proposal to be voted upon. The ballot need not contain the
full text nor a condensed text of the proposal. The board shall also prepare an
explanation of the proposal, which may include its purpose and effects, and
shall certify the ballot language and the explanation to the secretary of state
not later than seventy-five days before the election. The ballot language and
the explanation shall be available for public inspection in the office of the
secretary of state.
The Supreme Court shall have
exclusive, original jurisdiction in all cases challenging the adoption or
submission of a proposed constitutional amendment to the electors. No such case
challenging the ballot language, the explanation, or the actions or procedures
of the General Assembly in adopting and submitting a constitutional amendment
shall be filed later than sixty-four days before the election. The ballot
language shall not be held invalid unless it is such as to mislead, deceive, or
defraud the voters.
Unless the General Assembly
otherwise provides by law for the preparation of arguments for and, if any,
against a proposed amendment, the board may prepare such arguments.
Such proposed amendments, the
ballot language, the explanation, and the arguments, if any, shall be published
once a week for three consecutive weeks preceding such election, in at least one
newspaper of general circulation in each county of the state, where a newspaper
is published. The General Assembly shall provide by law for other dissemination
of information in order to inform the electors concerning proposed amendments.
An election on a proposed constitutional amendment submitted by the General
Assembly shall not be enjoined nor invalidated because the explanation,
arguments, or other information is faulty in any way. If the majority of the
electors voting on the same shall adopt such amendments the same shall become a
part of the constitution. When more than one amendment shall be submitted at the
same time, they shall be so submitted as to enable the electors to vote on each
amendment, separately.
(1851, am. 1912, 1974)
TOP
Constitutional
amendment proposed by
convention; procedure.
§2 Whenever two-thirds of the members elected to each branch of
the General Assembly shall think it necessary to call a convention to revise,
amend, or change this constitution, they shall recommend to the electors to vote on a separate ballot
without party designation of any kind at the next election for members to the
General Assembly, for or against a convention; and if a majority of all the
electors, voting for and against the calling of a convention, shall have voted
for a convention, the General Assembly shall, at their next session, provide, by
law, for calling the same. Candidates for members of the constitutional
convention shall be nominated by nominating petitions only and shall be voted
for upon one independent and separate ballot without any emblem or party
designation whatever. The convention shall consist of as many members as the
House of Representatives, who shall be chosen as provided by law, and shall meet
within three months after their election, for the purpose, aforesaid.
(1851, am. 1912)
TOP
Question
of constitutional
convention to be submitted
periodically.
§3 At the general election to be
held in the year one thousand nine hundred and thirty-two, and in each twentieth
year thereafter, the question: "Shall there be a convention to revise,
alter, or amend the constitution[,]" shall be submitted to the electors of
the state; and in case a majority of the electors, voting for and against the
calling of a convention, shall decide in favor of a convention, the General
Assembly, at its next session, shall provide, by law, for the election of
delegates, and the assembling of such convention, as is provided in the
preceding section; but no amendment of this constitution, agreed upon by any
convention assembled in pursuance of this article, shall take effect, until the
same shall have been submitted to the electors of the state, and adopted by a
majority of those voting thereon.
(1851, am. 1912)
TOP
Article XVII: Elections
Time for holding
elections; terms
of office.
§1 Elections for state and
county officers shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in
November in even numbered years; and all elections for all other elective
officers shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November
in the odd numbered years.
The term of office of all
elective county, township, municipal, and school officers shall be such even
number of years not exceeding four as may be prescribed by law or such even
number of years as may be provided in municipal or county charters.
The term of office of all judges
shall be as provided in Article IV of this constitution or, if not so provided,
an even number of years not exceeding six as provided by law.
The General Assembly may extend
existing terms of office as to effect the purpose of this section.
(1905, am. 1954, 1976)
TOP
Filling
vacancies in
certain
elective offices.
§2 Any vacancy which may occur
in any elective state office created by Article II or III or created by or
pursuant to Article IV of this constitution shall be filled only if and as
provided in such articles. Any vacancy which may occur in any elective state
office not so created, shall be filled by appointment by the governor until the
disability is removed, or a successor elected and qualified. Such successor
shall be elected for the unexpired term of the vacant office at the first
general election in an even numbered year that occurs more than forty days after
the vacancy has occurred; provided, that when the unexpired term ends within one
year immediately following the date of such general election, an election to
fill such unexpired term shall not be held and the appointment shall be for such
unexpired term. All vacancies in other elective offices shall be filled for the
unexpired term in such manner as may be prescribed by this constitution or by
law.
(1905, am. 1947, 1954, 1970, 1976)
TOP
Repealed. Referred
to present incumbents.
§3
(1905, rep. 1953)
TOP
Article XVIII: Municipal
Corporations
Classification
of cities
and villages.
§1 Municipal corporations are
hereby classified into cities and villages. All such corporations having a
population of five thousand or over shall be cities; all others shall be
villages. The method of transition from one class to the other shall be
regulated by law.
(1912)
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General
laws for incorporation
and government of municipalities; additional
laws; referendum.
§2 General laws shall be passed
to provide for the incorporation and government of cities and villages; and
additional laws may also be passed for the government of municipalities adopting
the same; but no such additional law shall become operative in any municipality
until it shall have been submitted to the electors thereof, and affirmed by a
majority of those voting thereon, under regulations to be established by law.
(1912)
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Municipal
powers of local self-government.
§3 Municipalities shall have
authority to exercise all powers of local self-government and to adopt and
enforce within their limits such local police, sanitary and other similar
regulations, as are not in conflict with general laws.
(1912)
TOP
Acquisition
of public utility; contract
for service; condemnation.
§4 Any municipality may acquire,
construct, own, lease and operate within or without its corporate limits, any
public utility the product or service of which is or is to be supplied to the
municipality or its inhabitants, and may contract with others for any such
product or service. The acquisition of any such public utility may be by
condemnation or otherwise, and a municipality may acquire thereby the use of, or
full title to, the property and franchise of any company or person supplying to
the municipality or its inhabitants the service or product of any such utility.
(1912)
TOP
Referendum
on acquiring
or operating
municipal utility.
§5 Any municipality proceeding
to acquire, construct, own, lease or operate a public utility, or to contract
with any person or company therefor, shall act by ordinance and no such
ordinance shall take effect until thirty days from its passage. If within said
thirty days a petition signed by ten per centum of the electors of the
municipality shall be filed with the executive authority thereof demanding a
referendum on such ordinance it shall not take effect until submitted to the
electors and approved by a majority of those voting thereon. The submission of
any such question shall be governed by all the provisions of section 8 of this
article as to the submission of the question of
choosing a charter commission.
(1912)
TOP
Sale of surplus
product of municipal utility.
§6 Any municipality, owning or
operating a public utility for the purpose of supplying the service or product
thereof to the municipality or its inhabitants, may also sell and deliver to
others any transportation service of such utility and the surplus product of any
other utility in an amount not exceeding in either case fifty per cent of the
total service or product supplied by such utility within the municipality,
provided that such fifty per cent limitation shall not apply to the sale of
water or sewage services.
(1912, am. 1959)
TOP
Home rule; municipal
charter.
§7 Any municipality may frame
and adopt or amend a charter for its government and may, subject to the
provisions of section 3 of this article, exercise there under all powers of local
self-government.
(1912)
TOP
Submission
and adoption of proposed charter; referendum
§8 The legislative authority of any city or village may by a
two-thirds vote of its members, and upon petition of ten per centum of the
electors shall forthwith, provide by ordinance for the submission to the
electors, of the question, Shall a commission be chosen to frame a
charter." The ordinance providing for the submission of such question shall
require that it be submitted to the electors at the next regular municipal
election if one shall occur not less than sixty nor more than one hundred and
twenty days after its passage; otherwise it shall provide for the submission of
the question at a special election to be called and held within the time
aforesaid. The ballot containing such question shall bear no party designation,
and provision shall be made thereon for the election from the municipality at
large of fifteen electors who shall constitute a commission to frame a charter;
provided that a majority of the electors voting on such question shall have
voted in the affirmative. Any charter so framed shall be submitted to the
electors of the municipality at an election to be held at a time fixed by the
charter commission and within one year from the date of its election, provision
for which shall be made by the legislative authority of the municipality in so far as not
prescribed by general law. Not less than thirty days prior to such election the
clerk of the municipality shall mail a copy of the proposed charter to each
elector whose name appears upon the poll or registration books of the last
regular or general election held therein. If such proposed charter is approved
by a majority of the electors voting thereon it shall become the charter of such
municipality at the time fixed therein.
(1912)
TOP
Amendments to
charter; referendum.
§9 Amendments to any charter
framed and adopted as herein provided may be submitted to the electors of a
municipality by a two-thirds vote of the legislative authority thereof, and,
upon petitions signed by ten per centum of the electors of the municipality
setting forth any such proposed amendment, shall be submitted by such
legislative authority. The submission of proposed amendments to the electors
shall be governed by the requirements of section 8 as to the submission of the
question of choosing a charter commission; and copies of proposed amendments may
be mailed to the electors as hereinbefore provided for copies of a proposed
charter, or pursuant to laws passed by the General Assembly, notice of proposed
amendments may be given by newspaper advertising. If any such amendment is
approved by a majority of the electors voting thereon, it shall become a part of
the charter of the municipality. A copy of said charter or any amendment thereto
shall be certified to the secretary of state, within thirty days after adoption
by a referendum vote.
(1912, am. 1970)
TOP
Appropriation in excess of public
use.
§10 A municipality appropriating
or otherwise acquiring property for public use may in furtherance of such public
use appropriate or acquire an excess over that actually to be occupied by the
improvement, and may sell such excess with such restrictions as shall be
appropriate to preserve the improvement made.
Bonds may be issued to supply the
funds in whole or in part to pay for the excess property so appropriated or
otherwise acquired, but said bonds shall be a lien only against the property so
acquired for the improvement and excess, and they shall not be a liability of
the municipality nor be included in any limitation of the bonded indebtedness of such
municipality prescribed by law.
(1912)
TOP
Assessments for cost
of appropriating property.
§11 Any municipality
appropriating private property for a public improvement may provide money
therefor in part by assessments upon benefited property not in excess of the
special benefits conferred upon such property by the improvements. Said
assessments, however, upon all the abutting, adjacent, and other property in the
district benefited, shall in no case be levied for more than fifty per centum of
the cost of such appropriation.
(1912)
TOP
Bonds for public
utilities.
§12 Any municipality which
acquires, constructs or extends any public utility and desires to raise money
for such purposes may issue mortgage bonds therefor beyond the general limit of
bonded indebtedness prescribed by law; provided that such mortgage bonds issued
beyond the general limit of bonded indebtedness prescribed by law shall not
impose any liability upon such municipality but shall be secured only upon the
property and revenues of such public utility, including a franchise stating the
terms upon which, in case of foreclosure, the purchaser may operate the same,
which franchise shall in no case extend for a longer period than twenty years
from the date of the sale of such utility and franchise on foreclosure.
(1912)
TOP
Taxation, debts, reports
and accounts.
§13 Laws may be passed to limit
the power of municipalities to levy taxes and incur debts for local purposes,
and may require reports from municipalities as to their financial condition and
transactions, in such form as may be provided by law, and may provide for the
examination of the vouchers, books and accounts of all municipal authorities, or
of public undertakings conducted by such authorities.
(1912)
TOP
Municipal
Elections.
§14 All elections and
submissions of questions provided for in this article shall be conducted by the
election authorities prescribed by general law. The percentage of electors
required to sign any petition provided for herein shall be based upon the total
vote cast at the last preceding general municipal election.
(1912)
TOP
SCHEDULES
1851 CONSTITUTION
Schedules attached to amendments
do not become part of the Constitution proper, but nevertheless have important
substantive effects.
Of prior laws.
All laws of this state, in force
on the first day of September one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, not
inconsistent with this constitution, shall continue in force, until amended, or
repealed.
The first
election of members
of General Assembly.
The first election for members of
the General Assembly, under this constitution, shall be held on the second
Tuesday of October, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one.
For state
officers.
The first election for governor,
lieutenant governor, auditor, treasurer and secretary of state and attorney
general, shall be held on the second Tuesday of October, one thousand eight
hundred and fifty-one. The persons, holding said offices on the first day of
September, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, shall continue therein,
until the second Monday of January, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-two.
For judges, clerks, etc.
The first election for judges of
the Supreme Court, courts of common pleas, and probate courts, and clerks of the
courts of common pleas, shall be held on the second Tuesday of October, one
thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, and the official term of said judges and
clerks, so elected, shall commence on the second Monday of February, one
thousand eight hundred and fifty two. Judges and clerks of the courts of common
pleas and Supreme Court, in office on the first day of September, one thousand
eight hundred and fifty-one, shall continue in office with their present powers
and duties, until the second Monday of February, one thousand eight hundred and
fifty-two. No suit or proceeding, pending in any of the courts of this state,
shall be affected by the adoption of this constitution.
Officers
to continue in
office until
the expiration
of the irterm.
The register and receiver of the
land office, directors of the penitentiary, directors of the benevolent
institutions of the state, the state librarian, and all other officers, not
otherwise provided for in this constitution, in office on the first day of
September, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, shall continue in office,
until their terms expire, respectively, unless the General Assembly shall
otherwise provide.
Certain
courts.
The superior and commercial
courts of Cincinnati, and the superior court of Cleveland, shall remain until
otherwise provided by law, with their present powers and jurisdiction; and the
judges and clerks of said courts, in office on the first day of September, one
thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, shall continue in office, until the
expiration of their terms of office, respectively, or, until otherwise provided
by law; but neither of said courts shall continue after the second Monday of
February, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-three; and no suits shall be
commenced in said two first mentioned courts, after the second Monday of
February, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, nor in said last mentioned
court, after the second Monday in August, one thousand eight hundred and
fifty-two; and all business in either of said courts, not disposed of within the
time limited for their continuance as aforesaid, shall be transferred to the
court of common pleas.
County and township
officers.
All county and township officers
and justices of the peace, in office on the first day of September, one thousand
eight hundred and fifty-one, shall continue in office until their terms expire,
respectively.
Vacancies.
Vacancies in office, occurring after the first day of September,
one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, shall be filled, as is now
prescribed by law, and until officers are elected or appointed, and qualified,
under this constitution.
When constitution
shall take effect.
This constitution shall take
effect, on the first day of September, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one.
Term
of office.
All officers shall continue in
office, until their successors shall be chosen and qualified.
Transfer of
suits, Supreme Court.
Suits pending in the Supreme
Court in bank, shall be transferred to the Supreme Court provided for in this
constitution, and be proceeded in according to law.
Transfer of
suits, district
courts.
The district courts shall, in
their respective counties, be the successors of the present Supreme Court; and
all suits, prosecutions, judgments, records, and proceedings, pending and
remaining in said Supreme Court, in the several counties of any district, shall
be transferred to the respective district courts of such counties, and be
proceeded in, as though no change had been made in said Supreme Court.
Transfer of
suits, courts
of common pleas.
The said courts of common pleas,
shall be the successors of the present courts of common pleas in the several
counties, except as to probate jurisdiction; and all suits, prosecutions,
proceedings, records and judgments, pending or being in said last mentioned
courts, except as aforesaid, shall be transferred to the courts of common pleas
created by this constitution, and proceeded in, as though the same had been
therein instituted.
Transfer of
suits, probate
courts.
The probate courts provided for
in this constitution, as to all matters within the jurisdiction conferred upon
said courts, shall be the successors, in the several counties, of the present
courts of common pleas; and the records, files and papers, business and
proceedings, appertaining to said jurisdiction, shall be transferred to said
courts of probate, and be there proceeded in, according to law.
Judges and clerks, how elected, etc.
Until otherwise provided by law,
elections for judges and clerks shall be held, and the poll books returned, as
is provided for governor, and the abstract there from, certified to the secretary
of state, shall be by him opened, in the presence of the governor, who shall
declare the results, and issue commissions to the persons elected.
Election returns, where
sent.
Where two or more counties are
joined in a senatorial, representative, or judicial district, the returns of
elections shall be sent to the county, having the largest population.
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