Petition Seeking to End Qualified Immunity for Employees of Political Subdivisions Rejected Over Summary

(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — The Ohio Attorney General’s Office today rejected the summary of a petition seeking to amend Section 2744.03 of the Ohio Revised Code to end qualified immunity in Ohio for employees of political subdivisions.

On Nov. 22, the Attorney General’s Office received the submitted summary for “The Ohio Civil Liberties Restoration Act.” The proposed amendment would remove qualified immunity for employees of political subdivisions for injury, death, or loss of person or property allegedly caused by any act or omission in connection with governmental or proprietary function.

The attorney general’s role in the petition process is to determine whether the summary is a fair and truthful statement of the proposed law or constitutional amendment. The submitted petition does not meet that requirement.  

A response letter sent to the petitioners today says “the summary does not properly advise a potential signer of the proposed amended statute’s character and limitations.”

More specifically, the letter says the summary contains a material omission and the title of the summary is misleading.

The petitioners were encouraged to carefully review the summary to ensure that it accurately captures the proposed amended statute’s definitions, contents and limitations before resubmitting another version.

The full text of the rejection letter and the petition can be found at www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov/Petitions.