SECTION 1-e. The powers defined herein as the "Initiative" and the "Referendum" shall never be used to enact a law authorizing any classification of property for the purpose of levying different rates of taxation thereon or of authorizing any single tax on land or land values or land sites at a higher rate or by a different rule than is or may be applied to improvements thereon or to personal property.2

The

SECTION 1-f. LOCAL INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM. initiative and referendum powers of the people are hereby further reserved to the electors of each municipality on all questions which such municipalities may now or hereafter be authorized by law to control by legislative action, such powers to be exercised in the manner now or hereafter provided by law.

SECTION 1-g. GENERAL PROVISIONS. Any initiative or referendum petition may be presented in separate parts but each part shall contain a full and correct copy of the title, and text of the law, section or item thereof sought to be referred, or the proposed law or proposed amendment to the constitution. Each signer of any initiative or referendum petition must be an elector of the state and shall place on such petition after his name the date of signing and his place of residence. In the case of a signer residing outside of a municipality he shall state the township and county in which he resides and in case of a resident of a municipality in addition to the name of such municipality he

nized that the legislature should have some leeway for quick action where the public welfare demands it, but legislatures are prone to abuse any constitutional privileges of this sort that are extended to them. The people have some protection, however, in their power to repeal even "emergency" acts through the Initiative.

This section is an Ohio "joker" inserted because of the fear that the single taxers would immediately make use of the legislative Initiative to bring their characteristic program to a vote of the people. The section is foolish, as it attempts to prohibit not only the single tax, but also any effort to classify property for the purpose of levying different rates of taxes on different classes. This section, if fully effective, would embalm the general property tax, with all its unjust and fantastic results, in the constitutional law of Ohio indefinitely, except by grace of the General Assembly. The prohibition is not serious, however, as it does not forbid the use of the Initiative to make or authorize any desired changes in the tax system by constitutional amendment.

shall state the street and number, if any, of his residence and the ward and precinct in which the same is located. The names of all signers to such petitions shall be written in ink, each signer for himself. Each part of such petition shall have attached thereto the affidavit of the person soliciting the signatures to the same, which affidavit shall contain a statement of the number of the signers of such petition and shall state that each of the signatures attached to such part was made in the presence of the affiant, that to the best of his knowledge and belief each signature to such part is the genuine signature of the person whose name it purports to be, that he believes the persons who have signed it to be electors, that they so signed said petition with knowledge of the contents thereof, that each signer signed the same on the date stated opposite his name, and no other affidavit thereto shall be required.

The petition and signatures upon such petitions, so verified, shall be presumed to be in all respects sufficient, unless not later than forty days before election, it shall be otherwise proven and in such event ten additional days shall be allowed for the filing of additional signatures to such petition, and no law or amendment to the constitution submitted to the electors by initiative petition and receiving an affirmative majority of the votes cast thereon shall ever be held unconstitutional or void on account of the insufficiency of the petitions by which such submission of the same shall have been procured; nor shall the rejection of any law submitted by referendum petition be held invalid for such insufficiency.

Upon all initiative and referendum petitions provided for in any of the sections of this article, it shall be necessary to file from each of one-half of the counties of the state petitions bearing the signatures of not less than one-half of the designated percentage of the electors of such county.1

A true copy of all laws or proposed laws or proposed amend

1 This is one of the most important concessions made to the conservatives in the Ohio Convention. It will undoubtedly make the effective use of the Referendum within the short period allowed for filing the petitions considerably more difficult. It may also considerably increase the difficulty of initiating measures that are of primary interest to the large cities.

ments to the constitution, together with an argument or explanation, or both, for, and also an argument or explanation, or both, against the same, shall be prepared. The person or persons who prepare the argument or explanation, or both, against any law, section or item, submitted to the electors by referendum petition may be named in such petition and the persons who prepare the arguments or explanations, or both, for any proposed law or proposed amendment to the constitution may be named in the petition proposing the same. The person or persons who prepare the argument or explanation, or both, for the law, section or item, submitted to the electors by referendum petition, or for any competing law or competing amendment to the constitution or against any law submitted by initiative petition, shall be named by the General Assembly, if in session, and if not in session then by the governor.

The secretary of state shall have printed the law or proposed law or proposed amendment to the constitution together with the arguments and explanations, not exceeding a total of three hundred words for each of the same, and also the arguments and explanations not exceeding a total of three hundred words against each of the same, and shall mail or otherwise distribute a copy of such law or proposed law or proposed amendment to the constitution together with such arguments and explanations for and against the same to each of the electors of the state, as far as reasonably possible.

Unless otherwise provided by law, the secretary of state shall cause to be placed upon the official ballots the title of any such law or proposed law or proposed amendment to the constitution to be submitted. He shall also cause the ballots to be so printed as to permit an affirmative or negative vote upon each law, section of law or item appropriating money in a law or proposed law or proposed amendment to the constitution.

When competing laws or competing amendments to the constitution are submitted to the electors the ballots shall be so printed that the elector can express separately by making one crossmark (X) for each, two preferences, first, as between "either measure" and "neither measure," and secondly, as between one and the other. If the majority of the votes cast on

the first issue is for "neither measure," both measures fail of adoption. If a majority of the votes cast on the first issue is in favor of "either measure," then the measure receiving a majority of the votes cast on the second issue shall be the law or the amendment to the constitution as the case may be.

The style of all laws submitted by initiative petition shall be: "Be it enacted by the people of the state of Ohio," and of all constitutional amendments: "Be it resolved by the people of the state of Ohio."

The basis upon which the required number of petitioners in any case shall be determined shall be the total number of votes cast for the office of governor at the last preceding election therefor.

The foregoing provisions of this section shall be self-executing, except as herein otherwise provided. Legislation may be enacted to facilitate their operation, but in no way limiting or restricting either such provisions or the powers herein reserved.

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