What do Ohioans want to sell?

What do Ohioans want to sell?

The question to each Ohio- an: Do you want our governor and legislators to sell, lease or privatize, in any way, Ohio assets? Ohio voters were successful in repealing Senate Bill 5 which was Issue 2 on the November ballot. Our legislators decided to hedge by putting selling, leasing, privatizing or partnering many of our assets (i.e. the Ohio Turnpike, prisons, lottery, liquor) in House Bill 153, the 2012-2013 Budget. We cannot allow them to do this. We spoke, but they didn’t hear so we need to speak again.

In the Constitution of the State of Ohio Article VIII: Public Debt and Public Works Section 4 Credit of State: The State shall not become joint owner or stockholder. “The credit of the state shall not, in any manner, be given or loaned to or in aid of, any individual association or corporation whatever; nor shall the state ever hereafter become a joint owner, or stockholder, in any company or association in this state or elsewhere, formed for any purpose whatever.”

The people of Ohio approved this wording in order to repeal the 1837 Ohio Loan Law which became commonly known as the “Plunder Law.” Under the Ohio Loan Law, the state racked up an estimated $20 million in bad debt. The legislators plundered Ohio assets. I don’t even want to think about how much money that would be when converted to today. Let’s learn from history, let’s not repeat this history, and let’s not ignore our Ohio Constitution. It’s a needed protection. Do not allow our government to plunder our most valued assets.

Our constitution states under Article XV: Miscellaneous Lotteries, Charitable Bingo, Casino Gaming Section 6 (A): “The General Assembly may authorize an agency of the state to conduct lotteries, to sell rights to participate therein, and to award prizes by chance to participants, provided the entire net proceeds of any such lottery are paid into a fund of the state treasury that shall consist solely of such proceeds and shall be used solely for the support of elementary, secondary, vocational, and special education programs as determined in appropriations made by the General Assembly.” Why give any of “such proceeds” to a private entity? We must tell them that we do not want them to divest and/or dilute Ohio assets and that any and all wording that would do so must be removed from H.B. 153 as well as be removed from any other laws, bills or budgets with such provisions now and “ever hereafter.”

Mark J. Cleland Sr., Austintown