The campaign seeking to repeal the recently passed higher education bill – known as Ohio Senate Bill 1 – can begin collecting voter signatures from around the state in its effort to put the issue on the November ballot.
On Monday, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost ruled that the petition the group submitted late last month fairly and accurately summarizes what the measure would do if voters are asked to vote on it.
Also, Secretary of State Frank LaRose said the campaign turned in at least 1,000 valid voter signatures, which allows it to move forward with a statewide campaign to collect more signatures. The campaign had turned in more than 3,700 voter signatures on April 21 to start the process.
Under Ohio’s rules for repealing new laws, the campaign needed petition language approved and 1,000 valid voter signatures. But ultimately repealing the law is not easy. The campaign must now collect 248,092 more valid voter signatures, including a minimum from half of Ohio’s 88 counties, before a deadline in late June.
The campaign is led by a union representing professors at Youngstown State University. The union and others have been critical of the bill, saying it will stifle academic freedom and hamper the state’s universities. They also say the bill, which will restrict strikes by professors, is an attack on labor rights. So far, larger labor groups have not formally organized around the bill. In the past, they have rallied against bills they saw as attacks on collective bargaining rights.
Supporters of SB1 say the bill is necessary to combat what they view as liberal bias at the state’s colleges and universities.
It’s unclear whether the campaign to repeal the bill will have the resources to do so. Hiring firms that specialize in collecting signatures for political petitions charge in the millions of dollars for their work. The campaign has said it has formed a political action committee called the Labor Education and Diversity Ohio PAC, which will clear it to begin official fundraising.
If the group is successful, there will be a vote in November on whether to repeal the bill.
What’s in Senate Bill 1 again?
Some of the changes in SB1 include requiring the end of diversity, equity and inclusion (or DEI) programming at college campuses, requiring an American civics course for graduation, and axing faculty members’ right to strike. The bill also requires faculty to publicly post their syllabi online.
You can read more about the bill below.
