(COLUMBUS, Ohio) –  The Ohio Attorney General's Office released decisions today on the summary language in two proposed statewide ballot issues.

Attorney General Richard Cordray approved the summary language submitted in a Sept. 23, 2009 petition for an initiated statute to prohibit dog auctions. In a letter to the Coalition to Ban Ohio Dog Auctions, Cordray concludes that "the summary is a fair and truthful statement of the measure to be proposed." 

The next step in the process is for the Ohio Ballot Board to evaluate the petition to ensure that it contains only one proposed law.  If approved by the Ballot Board, the petitioners must then collect signatures from registered voters equal to three percent (3%) of the total vote cast for the office of governor at the last gubernatorial election.  The petition must be filed with the Secretary of State no later than ten (10) days prior to the commencement of any session of the Ohio General Assembly. The Ohio General Assembly has four (4) months to act on the proposed law.  If the General Assembly fails to pass the proposed law, passes it in amended form, or takes no action at all within four (4) month from the date it was received by the General Assembly, supplemental petitions may be circulated by the petitioners demanding that the proposed law be submitted to Ohio voters at the next general election.

The Attorney General rejected the summary language received Sept. 22, 2009, in an initiative petition for a proposed amendment to the Ohio Constitution titled Ohio Sovereignty Amendment.  In a letter to the petitioners, the Attorney General writes the "the summary language is so general in nature that it does not present a fair and truthful account of the specific provisions described in the proposed amendment." 

It is not unusual for the Attorney General's Office to reject summary language as initially proposed.  Since 2004, the Office has considered 49 submissions for initiatives and referendums and has rejected the submission 19 times.  In many of those cases the language was revised, resubmitted and ultimately certified.

The full text of today's letters can be found below:
Letter to the Coalition to Ban Ohio Dog Auctions
Letter to People's Constitution Coalition of Ohio

Media Contacts

Ted Hart: (614) 728-4127
Cell: (614) 743-2286

Holly Hollingsworth: (614) 644-0508
Cell: (614) 353-7576