The bill introduced by Representatives Lorenz and Deeter seeks to amend the Ohio Revised Code to enhance the regulation of statewide initiative petition circulators by requiring them to be licensed by the Secretary of State. It introduces new definitions, such as "statewide initiative petition," and mandates that circulators include their license number on petitions. The legislation aims to improve accountability and integrity in the petition process by ensuring that only qualified electors can sign petitions and that circulators are responsible for the accuracy of the signatures they collect.

In addition to the licensing requirement, the bill outlines the application process for obtaining a circulator license, which includes personal information, an affirmation of truthfulness, and notarization. It also establishes a registry of licensed circulators for verification by boards of elections. The bill specifies that petitions will be invalid if they lack a valid circulator license and repeals existing sections of the Revised Code that conflict with the new regulations. However, it protects part-petitions signed before the law's effective date from being invalidated due to non-compliance with the new requirements, provided they followed the previous regulations.

Statutes affected:
As Introduced: 3501.01, 3501.38, 3503.06, 3519.05, 3519.06