Vorys on Labor : Labor Relations Lawyer & Attorney: Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease Law Firm: National Labor Relations

The referendum that will determine the fate of Senate Bill 5 has taken its official form.  Last Thursday, Secretary of State John Husted (R) announced that it will be Issue 2 in the general election this November.  The ballot language approved by Husted and the Ohio Ballot Board describes Senate Bill 5 as "a new law relative to government union contracts and other government employment contracts and policies."

The decision also resolves another question that had arisen regarding the significance of a "yes" or a "no" vote.  According to newspaper reports, one group supporting Senate Bill 5 was attempting to obtain the "no" spot on the ballot, such that a "no" vote would mean that the law would be allowed to take effect.  The ballot language approved last Thursday, however, clearly states that a "yes" vote means the voter approves the law -- allowing it to take effect -- and a "no" vote means the voter rejects the law.

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Opponents of Senate Bill 5 have satisfied the next hurdle in their effort to repeal the legislative effort to reform Ohio's public sector collective bargaining system.  Ohio's Secretary of State John Husted (R) certified yesterday that SB 5 opponents gathered 915,456 valid signatures.  A total of 1,298,301 signatures were originally submitted.

The next step of the process is for the Ohio Ballot Board to determine the actual language that will appear on the ballot.  That meeting is expected in August.

As noted in our prior post, the significance of this development for the labor professional relates to the effective date.  State law provides that SB 5 does not go into effect unless voters approve it in the November election.

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On June 29, 2011, opponents of Ohio Senate Bill 5 filed signed petitions with the Ohio Secretary of State.  The signed petitions seek a spot on the November 2011 ballot for a referendum that would prevent SB 5 from going into effect.  The petitions reportedly contain the signatures of 1,298,301 voters.  A total of 3,852,453 Ohioans voted in the November 2010 election for governor. 

Ohio law required signatures equal to at least 6% of the total votes cast in the 2010 election for governor.  The petitions represent 33.7% of that total.  Thus, even if only a portion of the signatures on the petition are verified, a process that must be completed by July 26, 2011, it is still likely that opponents have submitted the required number of signatures to have the question placed on the Fall ballot.

For the labor professional, the most significant part of this development is its impact on the effective date of SB 5.  Assuming that a sufficient number of signatures are verified, the effective date of the legislation will be delayed until after the general election in November.

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