On August 30, 2011, State Senator Michael Skindell (D–Lakewood), State Representative Dennis Murray (D–Sandusky), and ProgressOhio.org
re-filed a lawsuit in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas. The suit challenges the constitutionality of the JobsOhio legislation, House Bill 1 (H.B. 1), enacted earlier this year by the Ohio General Assembly.A
provision in the Act declares the Ohio Supreme Court to be the exclusive court in which to challenge JobsOhio’s constitutional validity. However, on August 19, the Ohio Supreme Court dismissed the case on jurisdictional grounds, finding that the Ohio Constitution expressly limited the Supreme Court’s "original jurisdiction" to seven specific types of cases.A lawsuit seeking declaratory and injunctive relief to invalidate H.B. 1 does not fall under any of these types of cases. And, because an act of the legislature cannot override the Ohio Constitution, the Supreme Court held that it lacked jurisdiction to decide the Petitioners’ lawsuit, thus not addressing the other constitutional challenges that were made by the Petitioners.
ProgressOhio.org, Sen. Skindell, and Rep. Murray initially filed the suit earlier this year challenging eight portions of H.B. 1. In the time since that lawsuit was filed, the legislature, at the behest of Gov. Kasich’s administration, included a provision in H.B. 153, the state budget bill, to address some of the aspects of the first lawsuit, including removing the governor from the JobsOhio Board. However, not all of the Petitioners’ challenges were addressed in the budget bill.
Therefore, the Petitioners re-filed their compliant. They claim that the legislation creating JobsOhio is unconstitutional because it confers corporate powers and allows Ohio to take an equity stake in a private corporation, both of which they argue are explicitly prohibited by Ohio's constitution. Rep. Murray said the ban on investing public money in private corporations was passed 160 years ago, in the Constitution of 1851, to prohibit state dollars from being invested in railroads and canals, and needs to continue to be upheld.
The Petitioners said they also intend to ask Court of Common Pleas Judge Laurel Beatty, who will preside over this matter, to issue a temporary restraining order to keep JobsOhio from operating until the lawsuit is resolved. Sen. Skindell said the lawsuit challenges the organization of JobsOhio and its operation, not its financing plan through the lease of the state’s liquor monopoly.
