Lawmakers tie Householder to debate over constitution
COLUMBUS — Backers of a plan to raise the threshold for amending Ohio’s constitution have used several arguments to further their case.
The latest selling point: Former House Speaker Larry Householder once tried to use the process to his advantage.
Rep. Brian Stewart, R-Ashville, invoked Householder Wednesday as he made the case for his proposal to require 60% of voters to enact constitutional amendments, instead of a simple majority. The resolution itself is an amendment, meaning a simple majority of voters would need to approve it before it could take effect.
The committee hearing came nearly two weeks after a federal jury found Householder and former Ohio Republican Party chair Matt Borges guilty of racketeering in the state’s largest public corruption scandal. Householder spearheaded a scheme to trade nearly $61 million from Akron-based FirstEnergy and its allies for a $1.3 billion nuclear bailout, known as House Bill 6.
Speaking before a packed hearing room, Stewart discussed Householder’s failed attempt to enact changes to term limits and extend his grip on power. The former speaker wanted to put an amendment on the 2020 ballot that reset the termlimit clock for incumbents and set the lifetime limit at 16 years.
FirstEnergy funneled $2 million to groups pushing that effort, which derailed when COVID-19 hit and made signature gathering exceedingly difficult.
“We were very close to having a constitutional amendment on the ballot that (Householder) preferred to make him speaker for life,” Stewart said. “It really showed us, unfortunately, how susceptible the constitution is right now to corporate spending to advance the sort of corruption that he was just convicted of.”
Stewart helped spearhead the effort to expel Householder from the Ohio House.
Critics of Stewart’s proposal scoffed at the comparison to Householder. Instead, they say the effort is driven by GOP concerns over ballot initiatives to expand abortion access and change the redistricting process.
A genuine response to Householder’s conviction would involve looking at the use of dark money in Ohio politics, said Catherine Turcer, executive director for Common Cause Ohio.
“It’s ludicrous that (Stewart) says Larry Householder - let’s face it, a very powerful guy - decided he was going to misuse the citizen initiative process, and his takeaway is that he wants to change the citizen initiative process because of special interests,” Turcer said. “1) Larry Householder was not a special interest. 2) The problem is we need greater transparency in the state of Ohio and greater accountability from our legislators.”
Democrats spent Wednesday grilling Stewart about his resolution, contending it would hinder the ability of voters to make their voices heard. Proponents say it would keep special interest groups from spending millions of dollars to put their preferred policies in the state constitution.
The hearing was the first of several to be held before the resolution can be considered by the House. Stewart said he’s “getting close” to enough support for passage, but it’s unclear if or when House Speaker Jason Stephens, R-Kitts Hill, will bring it up for a vote.
Separately, Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima, said his caucus is mulling whether to put the question before voters in a statewide August special election. Huffman said Senate Republicans are eyeing this path in part to beat the abortion initiative, which will likely be on the November ballot.
Stewart said he hasn’t talked to Huffman about his resolution since January.
“We’ve had no discussions on timeline,” Stewart said. “I’m not the speaker and I’m not the Senate president, so those sorts of issues are going to be determined by folks other than me.”