Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Proposed Constitutional Amendment To Raise Minimum Wage Advances In Process To Get To Ballot

Audrey Popov, Shutterstock.com

Ohioans are one step closer to voting on a proposed constitutional amendment that would raise the state’s minimum wage. The petition to start the process of taking that issue to voters has been given the green light by Ohio’s Attorney General.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost certified the “Raise the Wage Ohio Amendment” because it had the necessary signatures and its summary language was deemed to fair and truthful. That means the group that wants to raise the wage can take it to the Ohio Ballot Board for approval.

If and when that happens, the group can begin collecting petition signatures. Backers of the amendment would need 442,958 valid petition signatures. That's equal to 10% of the total votes cast in the 2018 Gubernatorial Election. Those signatures would need to be obtained from at least 44 of Ohio's 88 counties. And in each of those 44 counties, there must be signatures equal to at least five percent of the total vote cast for governor in that county in 2018.

The proposed amendment seeks to increase the minimum wage to $9.60 an hour. It would increase every year so by 2025 it would be up to $13 per hour. After that point, the rate would automatically adjust for inflation every year.

Copyright 2020 The Statehouse News Bureau

Jo Ingles is a professional journalist who covers politics and Ohio government for the Ohio Public Radio and Television for the Ohio Public Radio and Television Statehouse News Bureau. She reports on issues of importance to Ohioans including education, legislation, politics, and life and death issues such as capital punishment.