COLUMBUS - Most attention has gone to fights over a proposed casino in southwest Ohio and payday lenders, but voters face three more ballot issues on Nov. 4.
Three proposed changes to the Ohio Constitution would lock in private property water rights, allow the state to issue bonds for environmental cleanup and green-space preservation, and advance petition deadlines for future citizen-driven ballot issues.
All three were placed on the ballot by the General Assembly.• Issue 3: Private property water rights
For nearly two years, an unprecedented multi-state agreement to control diversion of water out of the Great Lakes watershed was held up in the Ohio General Assembly in a dispute over whether it would undermine the water rights of private property owners.
The compromise that broke the logjam resulted in Issue 3, which would write into the state constitution what some argue is already the status of Ohio law, common law, and court rulings. The measure has drawn no organized opposition.
The ballot issue would clarify that private property owners have a right to the "reasonable use" of water on, under, and flowing through their property but makes it clear this right does not trump the public welfare. It does not affect the public's use of Lake Erie or other navigable waters of the state.• Issue 2: Clean Ohio bond issue
Representing more than one quarter of a $1.57 billion economic-stimulus package approved by Gov. Ted Strickland and the Republican-controlled General Assembly, Issue 2 would authorize the state to borrow $400 million to replenish the Clean Ohio Fund established by voters in 2000.
Half would be used to clean up abandoned polluted industrial sites for reuse and the other half would go to preserving farmland and open space and expanding park and recreational options. Since its inception, the program has been credited with helping to clean up 173 industrial sites, creating nearly 15,000 jobs, and protecting 26,000 acres of natural areas, 20,000 acres of farmland, and 216 miles of recreational trails.
Critics of the proposal have argued that the additional state borrowing could ultimately cause the cash-strapped state to raise taxes. Its backers say the bonds would be repaid along with existing debt service through existing revenue streams.• Issue 1: Ballot issue deadlines
Some voters filled in the boxes on Issue 5, the payday lending question, nearly a month ago, so it might be surprising that the issue wasn't officially certified for the ballot until last week. That's how long it took for a referendum petition process that began months ago to run its course with county boards of election examining the validity of hundreds of thousands of signatures submitted.
Lawmakers have proposed amending the constitution to move up the deadlines for such petitions to give counties more time to scrutinize signatures for error and fraud. Issue 1 would require future proposed constitutional amendments or initiated statutes to be filed at least 125 days before the next regular election, up from the current 90 days.
In the case of a voter referendum on a law recently passed by lawmakers, such as the current Issue 5 payday lending question, supporters of the repeal still would have 90 days to file petitions after the law is signed by the governor. But if that time period has not run its course 125 days before the election, the referendum would wait until the following year's election. The law being challenged would be placed on hold in the meantime.
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