Form No. 6-I Prescribed by Secretary of State (03-09)

INITIATIVE PETITION (Municipality or Home Rule Township)

Revised Code 504.14, 731.28-.41, 3501.38, 3503.06

NOTE: Prior to circulation of an initiative petition proposing an ordinance or measure, a certified copy of such ordinance or measure must be filed with the City Auditor, Village clerk or Township Fiscal Officer (home rule township). This petition must be signed by ten percent of the number of electors in the city, village or unincorporated area of the township who voted for governor at the preceding gubernatorial election and must be filed with the City Auditor, Village Clerk or Township Fiscal Officer.

(NOTE –The below notice must be printed in red.)

NOTICE – Whoever knowingly signs this petition more than once, signs a name other than his own, or signs when not a legal voter, is liable to prosecution.

To the Director of Finance of the City of

(City Auditor, Village Clerk or Township Fiscal Officer) (City, Village or Township)

Brecksville , Ohio:

(Name of City, Village or Township)

We, the undersigned, electors of the City of Brecksville , Ohio

(City, Village or Township) (Name of City, Village or Township)

respectfully propose to the electors of such city, village or township for their approval or rejection at the

general election to be held on the 6th day of November, 2012


the following Ordinance:

The following is a full and correct copy of the title and text of the proposed Ordinance:

Brecksville Initiative In Support Of Movement to Amend the U.S. Constitution To Establish That Corporations Are Not People And Money Is Not Speech

WHEREAS, free and fair elections are essential to American democracy and effective self-governance, and

WHEREAS, in a 2010 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, Citizens United v. the Federal Election Commission, the Supreme Court overturned some provisions of the federal Campaign Reform Act enacted in 2002, and ruled that corporate entities, and labor unions, have the same rights as individuals to unrestricted spending on political speech; and

WHEREAS, in reaching its decision, a majority of the Supreme Court interpreted the First Amendment of the Constitution to afford corporations the same free speech protections as natural persons; and

WHEREAS, the Court's decision in effect allows unlimited corporate spending to influence campaigns, elections, lawmaking and public policy decisions; and

WHEREAS, the Court's decision in Citizens United severely restricts the ability of federal, state and local governments to enact reasonable campaign finance reforms and regulations regarding corporate political activity, and

WHEREAS, the people of the United States have previously used the constitutional amendment process to correct decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court that are widely deemed to be egregious or wrongly decided or significantly out-of-step with the prevailing values of the populace, and

WHEREAS, the preservation and protection of our democracy depends upon the informed participation of the citizens, and

WHEREAS, local governments have an important role in protecting the integrity of our political processes.

THEREFORE BE IT ORDAINED by initiative by the People of the City of Brecksville, Ohio the new Chapter 129 of the Ordinances of the City of Brecksville:

Section. 129.01. Beginning in the year 2013, the Mayor and City Council shall designate one day in the month of February following the November federal elections, “Democracy Day.” On this day, the Mayor and City Council shall sponsor a Public Hearing in a public space within the City. The City shall publicize the Public Hearing on its website and through area media at least one (1) month in advance of the Hearing. The Public Hearing will examine the impact of political contributions of corporations, unions, PACS and Super-PACS on the City. The Mayor and at least one (1) City Councilperson shall submit testimony at the public hearing. In addition, all citizens of Brecksville will be permitted to submit oral testimony for a period of at least 5 minutes per citizen.

Section.129.02. Within one (1) week following the Public Hearing, the Mayor shall send a letter to the leaders of the Ohio House and Senate, and Brecksville’s U S congressional representative, and both Ohio U S Senators stating that the citizens of Brecksville in November 2012 voted in support of a Citizens’ initiative calling for a constitutional amendment declaring:

A)  Only human beings, not corporations, are legal persons with constitutional rights,

B)  Money is not equivalent to speech, and therefore regulating political contributions and spending is not equivalent to limiting political speech.

Section.129.03. The bi-annual Public Hearings will continue for a period of ten (10) years through February, 2023, or until a constitutional amendment reflecting the principles set forth in Section 129.02 is ratified by ¾ of state legislatures.

Section.129.04. This initiative shall take effect and be included in the City Ordinances at the earliest date permitted by law.

We hereby designate the following petitioners as a committee to be regarded as filing this petition or its circulation:

NAME / RESIDENCE
Bre

Signatures on this petition must be from only one county and must be written in ink.

SIGNATURE / VOTING RESIDENCE ADDRESS
STREET AND NUMBER / CITY, VILLAGE OR TOWNSHIP / COUNTY / DATE OF SIGNING
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SIGNATURE / VOTING RESIDENCE
ADDRESS STREET AND NUMBER / CITY, VILLAGE OR TOWNSHIP / COUNTY / DATE OF SIGNING
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CIRCULATOR STATEMENT – Must be completed and signed by circulator.

I, , declare under penalty of election falsification that I

(Printed Name of Circulator)

reside at the address appearing below my signature; that I am the circulator of the foregoing petition containing signatures; that I witnessed the affixing of every signature; that all signers were to

(Number)

the best of my knowledge and belief qualified to sign; and that every signature is to the best of my knowledge and belief the signature of the person whose signature it purports to be or of an attorney in fact acting pursuant to section 3501.382 of the Revised Code.

WHOEVER COMMITS ELECTION FALSIFIICATIONIIS GUILTY OF A FELONY OF THE FIFTH DEGREE

I


(Signature of Circulator) (Permanent residence address)

(City or Village, State and Zip Code)