This week at the Statehouse I announced that I will be introducing a bill entitled the Ballot Integrity Act to improve our ballot initiative process for the future and protect Ohio's Constitution.

The Ballot Integrity Act is in response to the increase in deceptive practices and other problems seen with petition circulators attempting to place an initiative on the ballot. The Ballot Integrity Act will recommend changes designed to protect direct democracy by enhancing accountability, enforcement and transparency.

This Ballot Integrity Act would do the following:

Require petition firms to get a license from the Secretary of State.

Allow the Secretary of State to deny a license to a petition entity that violated petitions laws in Ohio or any other state.

Allow the Secretary of State to revoke the license of a petition entity that is not in compliance with Ohio laws.

Require all petition circulators to register with the Secretary of State.

Allow the Secretary of State to invalidate submitted signatures if fraud exists while circulating petitions.

Require the Secretary of State to develop cost-effective training programs for circulators to inform them of laws that apply to them.

The national not-for-profit Ballot Initiative Strategy Center (BISC) has given Ohio a score of 68 out of 100 - a D - for its current laws governing ballot initiatives.

Joel Foster, Director of BISC's Ballot Integrity Project in Washington D.C., said if this legislation is adopted, Ohio's grade would rise to an A.

"Only by implementing solutions to the problems that exist will states be able to provide people with a ballot measure process that works for voters instead of against them,'' Foster said. "The proposed reforms will strengthen the state's protection against initiative fraud and will help ensure the integrity of the ballot for the people of Ohio. If passed, this legislation would establish Ohio as a national leader and provide the rest of the country with a model for common-sense reform."

I plan to introduce the Ballot Integrity Act next week and look forward to the legislature considering it in the near future.

In October we passed two other bills I have not had a chance to discuss yet in this column.

House Bill 280 authorizes the Village of Terrace Park outside of Cincinnati to hold a special election on December 10, 2009 for the purpose of putting a renewal levy on the ballot. The village's current levy expires at the end of 2009 and, due to a clerical error; the village missed its filing deadline to get the renewal of this levy on the November 2009 ballot.

This type of legislation has been passed before under similar circumstances to ensure local public safety services continue to be funded. There was no formal opposition to this bill in committee and, I voted "yes" as the bill passed out of the House. HB 280 now goes to the Senate for its consideration.

House Bill 38 creates the Prince Hall Freemason license plate. The Prince Hall Freemason Grand Lodge of Ohio is celebrating its 160th anniversary this year. Their Ohio membership includes almost 4,000 members.

I voted "yes" on HB 38 as it passed out of the House unanimously. The bill now goes to the Senate for its consideration.

You can reach Jennifer Garrison in her Columbus office at (614) 644-8728, in the district at (740) 373-2414 or by email at Jennifer@jennifergarrison.com. Her Web site is www.jennifergarrison.com.