Ohio lawmakers face deadline in getting key goals on May 4 ballot

Third Frontier, a casino location and redistricting may be heading to ballot

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By William Hershey, Staff Writer Updated 10:19 PM Sunday, January 10, 2010

COLUMBUS — Ohio legislators will need a quick jolt of bipartisan cooperation when they return this week if they want to meet key goals, including putting a renewal of the Third Frontier economic development program before voters.

The deadline for putting proposed constitutional amendments on the May 4 ballot is Feb. 3, just 23 days after legislators get back to work on Tuesday, Jan. 12.

Renewal of the Third Frontier, the high-tech program credited with creating or retaining 48,000 jobs at an average salary of $67,087, is one of three proposals backers want to put on the May ballot.

The other two:

• Legislative redistricting reform to replace Ohio’s partisan system of drawing districts with a more bipartisan approach.

• A site change for the voter-approved proposed gambling casino in Columbus.

Putting a constitutional amendment on the ballot requires supermajorities – 60 votes in the 99-member House and 20 votes in the 33-member Senate. Gov. Ted Strickland’s approval is not needed.

House Minority Leader William Batchelder, R-Medina, said he knows of no time when a Legislature has agreed on three proposed constitutional amendments in less than a month.

Batchelder is optimistic about the Third Frontier, a $1.35 billion program that provides state money to businesses and universities for high-tech research and job creation. The casino site switch also seems to have broad support.

Redistricting reform, however, remains a work in progress. The Republican-controlled-Senate has approved a plan, but the Democratic-controlled House hasn’t acted.

Will it? “We have a lot of work to do between now and then (Feb. 3),” said Keary McCarthy, spokesman for Speaker Armond Budish, D-Beachwood.

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