08-04-2025
What is Issue 2 on Ohio's May 6 ballot?
(WJW) — The only statewide issue up to Ohio voters in the May 6 primary election would allow the state to continue issuing bonds to fund major infrastructure projects at the local level.
Issue 2 would amend the Ohio Constitution to allow the state to issue general obligation bonds to help local governments pay for capital improvement projects like roads and bridges, wastewater treatment systems, storm water management and more through the State Capital Improvement Program.
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The issue does not levy a new tax on Ohioans, since bonds are part of state budget planning, according to the sponsoring lawmakers.
But Ohioans' tax dollars would continue to pay down the debts incurred by local governments that take advantage of the program, according to the Ohio Ballot Board. The new debts could take up to 30 years to repay.
The program itself is nothing new. Ohio voters first approved it in 1987 and re-approved it through three separate constitutional amendments since then — the most recent in 2014. The last amendment will sunset on July 1.
The upcoming issue also raises the annual limit for state-issued bonds from $200 million to $250 million, or $2.5 billion over the amendment's 10-year authorization. The program started out at $120 million per year.
The program has funded nearly 19,000 projects since it began and each dollar funded by the program typically leverages $2 to $3, Linda Bailiff, director of the Ohio Public Works Commission, testified before a Senate committee in November, in favor of the resolution to create the ballot issue.
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The project review committee administering the program awarded the city of Cleveland more than $9 million in 2024 and about $8 million in 2023, according to James DeRosa, director of the Mayor's Office of Capital Projects.
'This represents a significant source of funding for the city to address aged infrastructure while facing the challenges of uncertain revenue streams and ever-rising project costs,' he testified before the Senate committee in November, also in favor of the resolution.
The issue was added to the primary election ballot through a bipartisan joint resolution adopted in the last General Assembly, which saw near-unanimous support in both chambers.
The measure can be approved with a simple majority vote. A vote for 'yes' on the May 6 ballot is a vote to renew the 38-year-old program for another 10 years. A 'no' vote is a vote not to renew the program.
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