Redistricting Amendment Ballot Language Goes to Court
As promised, backers of a proposed constitutional amendment to change the way Ohio draws its state legislative and congressional district lines have taken the Ohio Ballot Board to court over summary ballot language that was approved last Friday.
Citizens Not Politicians filed suit in the Ohio Supreme Court this week, arguing that the ballot language for Issue 1 on this November’s ballot is biased, inaccurate and unconstitutional.
Last week, the Ohio Ballot Board adopted a three-page summary written by Secretary of State Frank LaRose by a vote of 3-2, with one word change, as the language that voters will see summarizing Ohio Issue 1 for the general election. Citizens Not Politicians and former Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor criticized LaRose’s summary and said it violates the state’s constitutional prohibition on “misleading” ballot language. LaRose said he invited input from both sides of the issue and based his summary on the language of a complicated amendment.
Citizens Not Politicians is asking the court to order the Ballot Board back to the table to adopt new language that “accurately reflects the amendment’s purpose and content.” The high court has not yet set a schedule for the case though the dispute will need to be resolved in less than a month as military and overseas voting begins Sept. 20.
AG Reaches Settlement With Cities Over Background Checks
Attorney General Dave Yost reached a settlement with the cities of Columbus and Dayton this week over the state’s criminal background check system.
The cities sued the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation (BCI, a division of the AG’s office) back in 2020, claiming that the state’s background check system was broken and deficient and that the bureau was failing to fulfill a statutory obligation to collect and report criminal conviction information to the state and federal gun background check databases. Yost, in turn, claimed the cities’ local agencies were themselves guilty of underreporting criminal histories to BCI.
The agreement reached on Monday focuses on a mutual effort to shore up Ohio’s background check system. Some provisions include agreements to seek funding for technological improvements at the state and local levels, regular progress reports from the state and increased efforts to resolve errors or omissions in existing records.
The parties also agreed that further action will fall to the legislature and they called upon lawmakers to pass laws that would improve Ohio’s system by enforcing mandatory reporting requirements, conducting regular audits and funding fingerprint equipment and reporting technology.
Governor DeWine has also previously called on the legislature to shore up and expand Ohio’s background check system after a 2019 night club shooting in Dayton where nine Ohioans were killed and 27 were injured. He renewed those calls last year after a shooting in a Beavercreek Walmart left four shoppers injured and the gunman dead. DeWine’s proposals for the legislature include mandates for local law enforcement agencies aimed at improving accuracy in background checks. So far, lawmakers have not taken up the proposals.
Split Supreme Court Considers Conflicting Tax Laws
The Ohio Supreme Court this week settled a dispute over conflicting state tax statutes. The 4-3 court ruled that a county can’t appeal a settlement reached by the state tax commissioner and Nexus Gas regarding the valuation of a gas pipeline.
The case stems from a dispute in Lorain County. When the tax commissioner and Nexus reached a settlement over the value of a natural gas pipeline, the Lorain County Auditor appealed. However, the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) dismissed the case, concluding that there was no issue to resolve since the valuation was the result of a settlement.
The Supreme Court’s majority agreed this week after analyzing two statutes. The first, R.C. 5703.05, gives the tax commissioner authority to compromise and settle a tax claim. R.C. 5717.02(A), on the other hand, gives a county auditor the right to appeal a final determination of the tax commissioner to the BTA.
Writing for the majority, Justice Pat DeWine held that the scope of a county auditor’s right to appeal a tax commissioner’s settlement is limited: The auditor can’t appeal the substance of the settlement, but can challenge how it was reached (i.e. under fraud or duress) or if the final determination did not accurately reflect the terms of the settlement.
Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy and Justices Patrick Fischer and Melody Stewart dissented, holding that Lorain County had the right to appeal and that right is an important check on the tax commissioner’s authority.
You can read the opinions here.
Also This Week ...
The Democratic National Convention has wrapped. On Thursday, Vice President Kamala Harris officially accepted her party’s nomination for the presidential ticket. The race is underway in earnest.
Back in Ohio, Gov. DeWine announced that he has tested positive for Covid and will be working from home while he recovers. Meanwhile, Amy Acton, his former Director of Health who became a fixture for quarantined Ohioans through her regular updates with the governor at the height of the pandemic, is reportedly considering a 2026 run for governor as a Democrat.
Week Ahead
As we await the return of legislators after the November general election, we’ve got some upcoming CLE programs in September and October to bring you up to speed on the changes they passed before they left. On Sept. 20, join Legislative Counsel and Policy Director Scott Lundregan, General Counsel Desiree Blankenship and the new President and CEO of the Ohio Bar Liability Insurance Company John Tribble as they discuss recent law changes in HB179 to clarify the operation of statutes of repose, including for legal claims. They will also go over new reporting and education requirements for lawyers surrounding professional liability insurance, as well as provide a general overview of the current liability insurance climate. Register here.
Next week, we’re diving into more tax case law, this time at the federal level. Join us for our Quick Webcast on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Moore v. United States. And, the Ohio Bar Wellness Advisory Committee’s virtual book club is meeting to discuss their book choices on topics related to work-life balance, parenting and self-care. Register here to be a part of the discussion.
