Group Alarmed About Tax Issue’s Supremacy Clause

WKYC.com

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A nonprofit economic policy research organization says a proposed Ohio Constitutional amendment to limit government spending and its ability to raise taxes includes a supremacy clause allowing it to prevail over everything else.

In a report out today, Policy Matters Ohio says the provision says it trumps all other sections of the Ohio Constitution.

A spokesman for backers of the amendment, Gene Pierce, says the intent of the strong language is to avoid constitutional clashes that could delay implementation.

But Dale Butland, a spokesman for the opposing Coalition for Ohio’s Future, says the supremacy clause would have major consequences, particularly for Ohio schools.

He says it would trump the provision in the Ohio Constitution which says the state has the obligation to provide a thorough and efficient education.

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Flawed by Design: A Review of the Proposed Tax and Expenditure Limitation Amendment