Please help support Carolyn’s Law Petition for the State of Ohio
Website: Carolynslaw.org Email: petition@carolynslaw.org
INITIATIVE PETITION Amendment to the Constitution Proposed by Initiative Petition To be Submitted Directly to the Electors AMENDMENT TITLE Nursing Facility Patients’ Bill of Rights SUMMARY This Amendment would add section 12a to Article XV of the Ohio Constitution to require certain staff-to-patient ratios in nursing facilities and require certain minimum daily amounts of direct care to nursing facility patients. In addition to other provisions, the Amendment would: • Provide that the provisions of the Amendment adopted by the voters will also be known as Carolyn’s Law.
Carolyn’s Law proposes to have a mandatory staffing limit based on intense medical needs to the number of patients that each nurse and nurse aide cares for. Skilled nursing facilities would have a patient ratio of 1:5 for nurses and 1:8 for nurse aides. Nursing homes and long-term care facilities would have a patient ratio of 1:8 for nurses and nurse aides. If Carolyn’s Law is approved and passed into Ohio law, this will improve the quality of health care received in these nursing facilities, which can reduce adverse effects and increase satisfaction among patients, their families, and the nursing staff.
Please call Jesse J. Ruffin, Jr Bus: 216-825-3900 Cell: 216-702-2300
June 30, 2021 Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose 180 E. Broad St. Columbus, Ohio 43215 Re: Submitted Petition for Initiated Constitutional Amendment to Amend Article XV of the Ohio Constitution —“Nursing Facility Patients’ Bill of Rights” Dear Mr. LaRose, On June 23, 2021, in accordance with Ohio Revised Code (“ORC”) Section 3519.01(A), I received a written petition containing (1) a copy of a proposed constitutional amendment to amend Article XV of the Ohio Constitution, and (2) a summary of the same measure. It is my statutory duty to determine whether the submitted summary is a “fair and truthful statement of the proposed law or constitutional amendment.” ORC Section 3519.01(A). If I conclude that the summary is fair and truthful, I am to certify it as such within ten days of receipt of the petition. In this instance, the tenth day falls on Friday, July 2, 2021. Having examined the submission, I conclude that the summary is a fair and truthful statement of the proposed amendment. I therefore submit the following certification to the Ohio Secretary of State: Without passing on the advisability of the approval or rejection of the measure to be referred, but pursuant to the duties imposed upon the Attorney General’s Office under Section 3519.01(A) of the Ohio Revised Code, I hereby certify that the summary is a fair and truthful statement of the proposed amendment. Yours, Dave Yost Ohio Attorney General.
