Ohio Ballot Board certifies proposed “Ohio Drug Price Relief Act” initiated statute as single issue

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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted announced the Ohio Ballot Board has certified a proposed initiated statute concerning the price paid for prescription medications by state agencies.

Petitioners must now collect 91,677 signatures, a number equal to three percent of the total vote cast for governor in the most recent gubernatorial election, 2014, in order to bring the issue before the General Assembly for consideration. Petitioners must file the required number of valid signatures with the Secretary of State’s Office not less than 10 days prior to the start of any legislative session, which begin on the first Monday of each calendar year.

Should the petitioners meet the signature threshold, the General Assembly will be granted four months to act on the proposed law. If lawmakers do not pass the law, pass it in an amended form or take no action after four months, petitioners may collect additional signatures in order to place the issue on the ballot.

The number of supplemental signatures required is 91,677, again equal to three percent of the total vote cast for governor in the most recent gubernatorial election. The supplemental signatures must be presented to the Secretary of State within 90 days after any action by the General Assembly or at the conclusion of the four month period and no later than 125 days before the General Election at which the petitioners wish for the initiative to be placed on the ballot.

As part of the total number of signatures needed for both the initial and supplemental signatures filed, petitioners must also collect signatures from at least 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties, and within each of those counties, collect enough signatures equal to one and one-half percent of the total vote cast for governor in the most recent gubernatorial election, 2014, in that county.

Secretary Husted serves as the chairman of the Ballot Board in his official capacity as the Ohio Secretary of State. Other members include Ohio Senate President Keith Faber, State Representative Kathleen Clyde, former State Senator Nina Turner and Mr. William Morgan.

Staff report

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