a population of 11,800 or more. The executive department
consists of a governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of state;,
auditor, treasurer and attorney-general. As a result of the
dispute between Governor Arthur St Clair and the Territorial
legislature, the constitution of 1802 conferred nearly all of the
ordinary executive functions on the legislature. The governor’s
control over appointments was strengthened by the constitution
of 1851 and by the subsequent creation of statutory offices,
boards and commissions, but the right of veto was not given to
him until the adoption of the constitutional amendments of
1903. The power as conferred at that time, however, is broader
than usual, for it extends not only to items in appropriation bills,
but to separate sections in other measures, and, in addition to the
customary provision for passing a bill over the governor’s veto
by a two-thirds vote of each house it is required that the votes
for repassage in each house must not be less than those given on
the original passage. The governor is elected in November of
even-numbered years for a term of two years. He is commander-in-chief
of the static military and naval forces, except when
they are called into the service of the United States. He grants
pardons and reprieves on the recommendation of the state
board of pardons. If he die in office, resign or be impeached, the
officers standing next in succession are the lieutenant-governor,
the president of the Senate, and the speaker of the House of
Representatives in the order named.
Members of the Senate and House of Representatives are elected for terms of two years; they must be residents of their respective counties or districts for one year preceding election, unless absent on public business of the state or of the United States. The ratio of representation in the Senate is obtained by dividing the total population of the state by thirty-five, the ratio in the House by dividing the population by one hundred. The membership in each house, however, is slightly above these figures, owing to a system of fractional representation and to the constitutional amendment of 1903 which allows each county at least one representative in the House of Representatives. The constitution provides for a reapportionment every ten years beginning in 1861. Biennial sessions are held beginning on the first Monday in January of the even-numbered years. The powers of the two houses are equal in every respect except that the Senate passes upon the governor’s appointments and tries impeachment cases brought before it by the House of Representatives. The constitution prohibits special, local and retroactive legislation, legislation impairing the obligation of contracts, and legislation levying a poll tax for county or state purposes or a tax on state, municipal and public school bonds (amendment of 1905), and it limits the amount and specifies the character of public debts which the legislature may contract.
The judicial department in 1910 was composed of a supreme court of six judges, eight circuit courts[1] of three judges each, ten districts (some with sub-divisions) of the common pleas court, the superior court of Cincinnati, probate courts, courts of insolvency in Cuyahoga and Hamilton counties, juvenile courts (established in 1904), justice of the peace courts and municipal courts. Under the constitution of 1802 judges were chosen by the legislature, but since 1851 they have been elected by direct popular vote—the judges of the supreme court being chosen at large. They are removable on complaint by a concurrent resolution approved by a two-thirds majority in each house of the legislature. The constitution provides that the terms of supreme and circuit judges shall be such even number of years not less than six as may be prescribed by the legislature—the statutory provision is six years—that of the judges of the common pleas six years, that of the probate judges four years, that of other judges such even number of years not exceeding six as may be prescribed by the legislature—the statutory provision is six years—and that of justices of the peace such even number of years not exceeding four as may be thus prescribed—the statutory provision is four years.
Local Government.—The county and the township are the units of the rural, the city and the village the units of the urban local government. The chief county authority is the board of commissioners of three members elected for terms of two years. The other officials are the sheriff, treasurer and coroner, elected for two years; the auditor, recorder, clerk of courts, prosecuting attorney, surveyor and infirmary directors, elected for two years; and the board of school examiners (three) and the board of county visitors (six, of whom three are women), appointed usually by the probate judge for three years. The chief township authority is the board of trustees of three members, elected by popular vote for two years. In the parts of the state settled by people from New England township meetings were held in the early days, but their functions were gradually transferred to the trustees, and by 1820 the meetings had been given up almost entirely. The other township officials are the clerk, treasurer, assessor, supervisor of roads, justices of the peace, constables, board of education and board of health. Under the constitution of 1802, municipal corporations were established by special legislation. The constitution of 1851, however, provided for a general law, and the legislature in 1852 enacted a “general municipal corporations act,” the first of its kind in the United States. The system of classification adopted in time became so elaborate that many municipalities became isolated, each in a separate class, and the evils of special legislation were revived. Of the two chief cities, Cleveland (under a special act providing for the government of Columbus and Toledo, also) in 1892–1902 was governed under the federal plan, which centralized power in the hands of the mayor; in Cincinnati there was an almost hopeless diffusion of responsibility among the council and various executive boards. The supreme court in June 1902 decided that practically all the existing municipal legislation was special in character and was therefore unconstitutional. (State ex. rel. Kniseley vs. Jones, 66 Ohio State Reports, 453. See also 66 Ohio State Reports, 491.) A special session of the legislature was called, and a new municipal code was adopted on the 22nd of October which went into effect in April 1903; it was a compromise between the Cleveland and the Cincinnati plans, with some additional features necessary to meet the conditions existing in the smaller cities. In order to comply with the court’s interpretation of the constitution, municipalities were divided into only two classes, cities and villages, the former having a population of five thousand or more; the chief officials in both cities and villages were the mayor, council, treasurer and numerous boards of commissions. This was an attempt to devise a system of government that would apply to Cleveland, a city of 400,000 inhabitants, and to Painesville with its 5000 inhabitants. The code was replaced by the Paine Law of 1909, which provided for a board of control (something like that under the “federal plan” in Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo) of three members: the mayor and the directors (appointed and removable by the mayor) of two municipal departments—public service and public safety, the former including public works and parks, and the latter police, fire, charities, correction and buildings. The mayor’s appointments are many, and are seldom dependent on the consent of the council. A municipal civil service commission of three members (holding office for three years) is chosen by the president of the board of education, the president of the city council, and the president of the board of sinking fund commissioners; the pay (if any) of these commissioners is set by each city. The city auditor, treasurer and solicitor are elected, as under the code.
In 1908 a direct primary law was passed providing for party primaries, those of all parties in each district to be held at the same time (annually) and place, before the same election board, and at public expense, to nominate candidates for township and municipal offices and members of the school board; nominations to be by petition signed by at least 2% of the party voters of the political division, except that for United States senators 12 of 1% is the minimum. The law does not make the nomination of candidates for the United States Senate by this method mandatory nor such choice binding upon the General Assembly.
Laws.—The property rights of husband and wife are nearly equal; a wife may hold her property the same as if single, and a widower or a widow is entitled to the use for life of one-third of the real estate of which his or her deceased consort was seized at the time of his or her death. Among the grounds on which a divorce may be obtained are adultery, extreme cruelty, fraud, abandonment for three years, gross neglect of duty, habitual drunkenness, a former existing marriage, procurement of divorce without the state by one party, which continues marriage binding on the other, and imprisonment in a penitentiary. For every family in which there is a wife, a minor son, or an unmarried daughter, a homestead not exceeding $1000 in value, or personal property not exceeding $500 in value, is exempt from sale for the satisfaction of debts.
In 1908 an act was passed providing for local option in regard to the sale of intoxicating liquors, by an election to be called an initiative petition, signed by at least 35% of the electors of a county.
Charitable and Penal Institutions.—The state charitable and penal institutions are supervised by the board of charities of six members (“not more than three . . . from the same political party”) appointed by the governor, and local institutions by boards of county visitors of six members appointed by the probate judge. Each state institution in addition has its own board of trustees appointed by the governor, and each county infirmary is under the charge of three
- ↑ The provision for circuit courts was first made in the constitution by an amendment of 1883.
