DevelopOhio

As the Ohio Supreme Court continues to review claims challenging the creation of JobsOhio, members of the Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission's Finance, Taxation & Economic Development Committee have heard several witnesses testify as to whether "restrictions on transferring public funds to private interests" should be removed from the Ohio Constitution, according to the Gongwer Ohio Report. Ohio State University law professor Dale Oesterle, in justifying the restrictions, told the committee "that the constitution was the only way for policymakers to guard against the political pressure that threatens to bog governments down with debt." The committee also has heard testimony from former Ohio Department of Development director Lisa Patt-McDaniel, however, explaining that the "constitution's restrictions on using taxpayer funding for private enterprise" is "an impediment to job creation efforts." Although a 1965 constitutional amendment "alleviated the outright prohibition somewhat by allowing state and political subdivisions to help finance private projects involving construction, equipment and facilities," Patt-McDaniel testified that the limitations relating to the kinds of economic development activities permitted by the Ohio Constitution should be removed so that the General Assembly can serve as the "gatekeeper to determine appropriate job-creating efforts," the article said.