Sunday, December 12, 1999
Constitution key in debate over abortion, finance bills
CAPITOL INSIDER
BY MICHAEL HAWTHORNE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Instead of debating the merits of two pieces of legislation last week, state lawmakers spent a lot of time talking about the Constitution.
Action on the two measures provided another lesson in how the legislative process really works: If you've got the votes, a bill is constitutional, at least in the eyes of the General Assembly.
Opponents of a House bill intended to ban a late-term abortion procedure noted that federal courts have struck down similar laws in other states, including a previous version enacted four years ago in Ohio.
Why go through the exercise again, opponents said, when those same federal courts are likely to come to the same conclusion?
“I've never knowingly supported a bill that I believed was unconstitutional,” said sponsoring Rep. Jerome Luebbers, D-Delhi Township. “We think we've written this bill in a way that will pass constitutional muster.”
Abortion opponents easily won the debate with a 75-15 vote.
Over in the Senate, the flip side of the constitutional argument was in play as Sen. Mark Mallory, D-Cincinnati, tried to win support for an amendment that would prohibit children younger than 6 from contributing money to political campaigns.
With one of their sources of campaign cash in jeopardy, Republican legislative leaders urged colleagues to defeat the proposal. It's unconstitutional, they said.
The amendment failed on a 14-19 vote.
Secretary of State Ken Blackwell fulfilled a campaign promise last week by putting a searchable database of business forms on the Internet.
Business executives have long complained about the system, which seemed perfectly suited for the Bronze Age.
Anybody interested in starting a new company can now use a computer to determine whether somebody else already has taken the prospective business name. They also can download incorporation forms and find out if the documents have been accepted by the secretary of state's office.
Uniform Commercial Code filings also are now available online at www.state.oh.us/sos.
“The quality and speed in which we deliver our business services has a substantial impact on Ohio's economic development,” Mr. Blackwell said. “Our goal is to maximize the use of current and future technologies and make government move at the speed of business.”
The office is about a year away from offering online filing, said Carlo LoParo, Mr. Blackwell's spokesman.
Donald Trump has been basking in the media hype about rumblings that he may seek the Reform Party's presidential nomination.
Folks in other alternative parties grouse that Mr. Trump and the Reform Party's founder, Ross Perot, get all the attention. But Ohioans will be able to vote for candidates in two other parties during the March 7 primary election.
The Libertarian Party qualified by filing 40,346 petition signatures (33,542 are required), while the Natural Law Party secured a ballot spot by filing 44,154 signatures.
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