Constitution of Ohio

The Ohio Constitution is the basic governing document of the State of Ohio, which in 1803 became the 17th state to join the United States of America. Ohio has had three constitutions since statehood was granted.

Ohio was created from the easternmost portion of the Northwest Territory. In 1787, the Congress of the Confederation of the United States passed the Northwest Ordinance, establishing a territorial government and providing that "[t]here shall be formed in the said territory, not less than three nor more than five states." The Ordinance prohibited slavery and provided for freedom of worship, the right of habeas corpus and trial by jury, and the right to make bail except for capital offenses. Ohio courts have noted that the Northwest Ordinance "was ever considered as the fundamental law of the territory." Ludlow's Heirs v. Johnston (1828), 3 Ohio 553, 555; State v. Bob Manashian Painting (2002), 121 Ohio Misc.2d 99, 103.

1802 Constitution

The Ohio territory's population grew steadily in the 1790s and early 19th century. Congress passed an enabling bill to establish a new state, which President Thomas Jefferson signed into law on April 30, 1802. A state constitutional convention was held in November 1802 in Chillicothe, Ohio, and it adopted what became known as the 1802 Constitution. See Ohio Constitutional Convention (1802). Largely due to the perception that territorial governor Arthur St. Clair had ruled heavy-handedly, the constitution provided for a "weak" governor and judiciary, and vested virtually all power in a bicameral legislature, known as the General Assembly. Congress simply recognized the existence of the "state of Ohio" rather than passing a separate resolution declaring Ohio a state as it had done and would do with other new states. On February 19, 1803, President Jefferson signed the bill into law. It provided that Ohio "had become one of the United States of America," and that Federal law "shall have the same force and effect within the said State of Ohio, as elsewhere within the United States."

Many tax protesters use this as an argument that Ohio was not a state until 1953. But see Bowman v. United States, 920 F. Supp. 623 n.1 (E.D. Pa. 1995) (discussing the 1953 joint Congressional resolution that confirmed Ohio’s status as a state retroactive to 1803).

The first General Assembly first met in Chillicothe, the new state capital, on March 1, 1803. This has come to be considered the date of Ohio statehood.

1851 Constitution

By law, Ohio voters are asked every twenty years whether a new constitutional convention should be called. In the early decades of statehood, it became clear that the General Assembly was disproportionately powerful as compared to the executive and judicial branches. Much of state business was conducted through private bills, and partisan squabbling greatly reduced the ability of state government to do its work. The legislature widely came to be perceived as corrupt, subsidizing private companies and granting special privileges in corporate charters. State debt also exploded between 1825 and 1840. A new constitution, greatly redressing the checks and balances of power, was drafted by a convention in 1850-51, as directed by the voters, and subsequently adopted in a statewide referendum on June 17, 1851, taking effect on September 1 of that year. This is the same constitution under which the state of Ohio operates. The later "constitutions" were viewed as such, but in reality were large scale revisions.

A constitutional convention in 1873, chaired by future Chief Justice of the United States Morrison R. Waite, proposed a new constitution that would have provided for annual sessions of the legislature, a veto for the governor which could be overridden by a three-fifths vote of each house, establishment of state circuit courts, eligibility of women for election to school boards, and restrictions on municipal debt. It was soundly defeated by the voters in August 1873.

1912 Constitution

In the Progressive Era, pent-up demand for reform led to the convening of another constitutional convention in 1912. The delegates were generally progressive in their outlook, and noted Ohio historian George W. Knepper wrote, "It was perhaps the ablest group ever assembled in Ohio to consider state affairs." Several national leaders addressed the convention, including President William Howard Taft, an Ohioan; former president (and Bull Moose Party candidate) Theodore Roosevelt; three-time presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan; California's progressive governor Hiram Johnson; and Ohio's own reform-minded Gov. Judson Harmon.

Recalling how the 1873 convention's work had all been for naught, the 1912 convention drafted and submitted to the voters a series of amendments to the 1851 Constitution. The amendments expanded the state's bill of rights, provided for voter-led initiative and referendum, established civil service protections, and granted the governor a line-item veto in appropriation bills. Other amendments empowered the legislature to fix the hours of labor, establish a minimum wage and a workers compensation system, and address a number of other progressive measures. A home rule amendment was proposed for Ohio cities with populations over 5,000.

On September 3, 1912, despite strong conservative opposition, voters adopted 33 of the 41 proposed amendments. It was so sweeping a change to the 1851 Constitution that most legal scholars consider it to have become a new "1912 Constitution." Among the eight losing proposed amendments were female suffrage, the use of voting machines, the regulation of outdoor advertising and abolition of the death penalty. Voters also rejected a proposal to strike the word "white" from the 1851 Constitution's definition of voter eligibility. Although blacks could vote in all State and Federal elections in Ohio due to the Fifteenth Amendment, the text of the State Constitution was not changed until 1923.

Current constitution

With numerous later amendments, the 1851/1912 Constitution remains the basic law of the state to this day.

The current state constitution contains the following articles:

• Preamble - One of the shortest preambles of any state constitution:

"We, the people of the State of Ohio, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, to secure its blessings and promote our general welfare, do establish this Constitution."

• Article I: Bill of Rights

The "Ohio Constitution Bill of Rights" consists of 23 sections. The Ohio Constitution's Bill of Rights is substantially similar to its federal counterpart but also includes the right to alter, reform or abolish government; rights of conscience and education; rights for victims of crime; a prohibition of imprisonment for debt; and the right to payment of damages for wrongful death.

• Article II - Legislative
• Article III - Executive
• Article IV - Judicial
• Article V - Elective Franchise
• Article VI - Education
• Article VII - Public Institutions
• Article VIII - Public Debt and Public Works
• Article IX - Militia
• Article X - County and Township Organizations
• Article XI - Apportionment
• Article XII - Finance and Taxation
• Article XIII - Corporations
• Article XIV - Jurisprudence (repealed)
• Article XV - Miscellaneous
• Article XVI - Amendments
• Article XVII - Elections
• Article XVIII - Municipal Corporations
• Schedule

In 1995 Article 5, Section 8 was struck down as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States in U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton. (It had imposed term limits on federal representatives and senators.)

See also

• Law of Ohio

External links

• Ohio's Secretary of State is the custodian of amendments to the Ohio constitution (see Art. XVI, § 1 and O.R.C. § 3501.05 and § 111.08), and maintains an online here.
• The original constitution documents are held by the Ohio Historical Society, as mandated by Ohio's General Assembly (O.R.C. § 111.08). The OHS has online copies of the originals' text.
• Ohio's legislature also maintains an online copy of the constitution.
• Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Professor Steven Steinglass and Law Librarian Sue Altmeyer maintain The Ohio Constitution Law and History Web Site. The site has links to historical versions of the Constitution and Constitutional Conventions; a Table of Proposed Amendments and Votes, with ballot or amendment language, where available; current Ohio Supreme Court decisions and upcoming cases pertaining to the Ohio Constitution and a bibliography of relevant books and articles.