Will Ohio Be The Next Right to Work State?
Republican Gov. John Kasich and Republican legislative leaders weren’t saying this week whether they will use strong Statehouse majorities next year to champion some statewide ballot issue before Ohio voters.
In a year-end review session on Wednesday with Senate President Tom Niehaus and House Speaker William Batchelder, Kasich answered “next question†when asked by a reporter whether the 60-vote margin in the Ohio House might be invoked to advance a ballot measure. The GOP will have both the House and Senate votes to do so without Democratic help, beginning in January.
Kasich also declined to say what position he might take on a right-to-work amendment limiting Ohio labor unions, if one were advanced by an outside group. Besides right-to-work, which prohibits mandatory union dues collection, other prospective ballot issues could deal with overhauling Ohio’s redistricting process or countering burgeoning ballot initiatives pushing gay marriage or legalized medical marijuana.