Eight years ago,
Ohio businesses were faced with a critical ballot issue. The year was
1997, and the topic was workers’ compensation reform. A business
coalition called Keep Ohio Working was leading the fight against organized
labor and claimants’ attorneys to pass Issue 2. A “no”
vote meant the package of workers’ compensation reforms passed by
the Ohio General Assembly earlier in the year would be repealed.
We all remember the outcome: Ohio voters, confused by an emotional and
misleading campaign, rejected the reforms by a 57 percent – 43 percent
margin. As a result, the Ohio Chamber of Commerce and the legislature
are still trying to enact reforms to a system that places an unfair and
expensive burden on employers.
This November could be, as former major league baseball player Yogi Berra
once famously said, “déjà vu all over again.”
This time, it’s Issue 3, a constitutional amendment that would change
Ohio’s campaign finance system. It was drafted and is being supported
by a coalition of labor unions and Democrat-leaning organizations –
the Ohio AFL-CIO, the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association, the Ohio
Education Association, the Ohio Federation of Teachers, the Ohio Public
Interest Research Group, Common Cause, etc. And an emotional and misleading
campaign seeking its passage is virtually assured.
Though Issue 3 isn’t a pocketbook matter that will directly affect
a company’s bottom line the way Issue 2 did in 1997, the negative
ramifications will be significant, if it passes. If Issue 3 passes, businesses’
First Amendment right to free speech will be squelched. Virtually all
voices in the political process will be drowned out by big labor.
The Ohio Chamber urges a “NO” vote on Issue 3.
The issue for employers in 1997 was changing a workers’ compensation
system that was unresponsive, adversarial and had ceased to be a fair
and equitable balance between injured workers and their employers.
The issue in 2005 involves proposed changes to Ohio’s campaign finance
system that would establish a system guaranteed not to be a fair and equitable
balance between organized labor and employers.
If it passes, labor unions would be able to contribute 10 times as much
money to a candidate running for office in Ohio as would political action
committees sponsored by corporations. Businesses – already disadvantaged
in the political arena under current law – would be forced to participate
on a playing field that is anything but level.
Issue 3 is just one of five constitutional amendments Ohioans will vote
on this fall.
“Jobs for Ohio”
will appear on the ballot as Issue 1 and was put on the ballot by an act
of the General Assembly. The other four issues were proposed by a group
called Reform Ohio Now, or RON. These four constitutional amendments seek
to reform the way elections are conducted in Ohio and include:
|
•
|
Issue
2 – Early Voting. This amendment permits qualified electors to
vote in person at their county board of elections, or by mail, anytime
during the 35 days prior to the actual election. Also called “no-fault”
absentee balloting. |
|
•
|
Issue
3 – Campaign Finance. This amendment reduces campaign contribution
limits, bans corporate contributions and requires full disclosure of
all contributions. |
|
•
|
Issue
4 – Redistricting & Reapportionment. This amend-ment creates
an Independent Redistricting Commission to approve the shape, size and
composition of Ohio’s congressional and General Assembly districts. |
|
•
|
Issue
5 – Independent Election Administration. This amend-ment creates
an Independent State Board of Elections charged with administering state
elections. |
Given the makeup
of RON, it’s not too surprising that these four amendments would
stand to advantage Democrats more than Republicans. The group’s claim
that it is a non-partisan group comprised of a diverse group of people
and organi-zations is disingenuous.
Opposition to these amendments is coming largely from Republican partisans,
both in Ohio and at the national level. They have formed a group called
Ohio First to coordinate the effort to defeat the RON reforms.
Issues 2, 4 and 5 have no direct impact on Ohio employers. Issue 3, however,
most certainly does.
As the campaign unfolds in the coming weeks, you’ll hear supporters
of Issue 3 make all sorts of claims about how it would take “big
money” out of state campaigns. Unfortunately, most of them will be
half-truths or myths.
You’ll hear claims that the amendment would ban corporate contributions.
Guess what? Corporate contributions are already banned in Ohio and have
been since 1908.
Under current law, “no corporation…shall pay or use…the
corporation’s money…for or in aid of or opposition to…a
candidate for election or nomination to public office.” Exceptions
to this ban on corporate contributions permit the use of corporate money
in the political process to pay for the costs of administering a political
action committee and for electioneering communications.
Electioneering communications are the vehicle through which businesses
can exercise their First Amendment right to speak out through radio and
TV ads on important issues. It’s the tool the business community
has used to educate Ohioans in recent years about the role and importance
of the Ohio Supreme Court and the qualities that make a good judge. Even
under current law, electioneering communications are prohibited within
30 days of an election.
But you won’t hear how the RON amendment further strips Ohio businesses
of their free speech rights by banning the use of corporate dollars for
any communication to the public mentioning a candidate within 60 days
of an election.
You’ll hear claims that the current system is flooded with special
interest money and the average Ohioan is squeezed out. The reality is
that, under existing law, the maximum contribution individuals and PACs
sponsored by corporations or labor unions can make is the same.
If Issue 3 passes, labor union PACs will be permitted to give a candidate
10 times more than any other PAC or an individual! This amendment squeezes
everyone out of the process…except big labor.
You’ll also hear claims that this amendment opens the process up
for public scrutiny by requiring full disclosure. Sounds good. The problem
is that there are no substantial changes regarding disclosure in the RON
amendment. None.
In fact, the single biggest disclosure loophole that exists right now
is preserved in Issue 3! Current law provides that labor unions can transfer
money from their general treasuries directly into their political entities
in lump sum format – without disclosing even the names of the individuals
from whom the union received the money. (Keep in mind where most of the
money in a union’s general treasury comes from in the first place
– from the dues paid by its rank-and-file members.)
The current system has problems. There’s no doubt about that. But
the solution isn’t to replace it with organized labor’s wishlist.
The Ohio Chamber strongly urges you to vote “no” on Issue 3
and to spread the word about its negative consequences for Ohio businesses.
For more information about Issue 3, please contact Keith Lake, director
of political and candidate education, at (614) 228-4201 or by e-mail to
klake@ohiochamber.com.
