Group ends effort to repeal Internet Cafe ban

Press Release from the Committee to Protect Ohio Jobs:

STATEMENT FROM COMMITTEE TO PROTECT OHIO JOBS

This week, the leaders of the Committee to Protect Ohio Jobs were informed by the petition management firm it retained to gather signatures that the firm was unable to gather enough signatures to place House Bill 7 on the November 2014 ballot. Given this information, the Committee has no choice but to announce that the effort to give Ohio voters the last say on this issue has been discontinued. Although tens of thousands of signatures were gathered in the last 10 days and have been inventoried, none will be submitted to the Secretary of State.

As the first statewide ballot issue committee to operate under new, more onerous rules regarding signature collection in Ohio, it appears that the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law was correct when it recently filed a lawsuit challenging these rules as an unconstitutional infringement of Ohioans' right to petition their government. Simply put, never before has it been so difficult for Ohio citizens to place an issue on the ballot.

With respect to the ability of Ohioans to continue to patronize Internet Sweepstakes Cafes in Ohio, legal challenges to House Bill 7 are under consideration by industry attorneys. As of today, there is nothing to announce in that regard.

The Committee is grateful to the tens of thousands of voters who signed petitions in solidarity with the 80 percent of Ohioans who oppose banning Internet Sweepstakes Cafes. Sadly, as a result of House Bill 7 going into effect, Ohio will lose thousands of jobs and state and local governments will lose millions of dollars in tax revenues.

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