Editing Ohio (section)

===State government===
{{Main|Government of Ohio}}
[[File:Ohio Statehouse exterior.jpg|thumb|The [[Ohio Statehouse]] in Columbus, home to the [[Ohio General Assembly]]]]

The state government of Ohio consists of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches.<ref name="CO">{{cite web | title = Constitution Online | publisher = Ohio General Assembly | url = https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/laws/ohio-constitution?Part=3&Section=01 | access-date = March 25, 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304052752/https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/laws/ohio-constitution?Part=3&Section=01 | archive-date = March 4, 2016 | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Constitution Online | publisher = Ohio General Assembly | url = https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/laws/ohio-constitution?Part=4&Section=01 | access-date = March 25, 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304023513/https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/laws/ohio-constitution?Part=4&Section=01 | archive-date = March 4, 2016 | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Constitution Online | publisher = Ohio General Assembly | url = https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/laws/ohio-constitution?Part=2&Section=01 | access-date = March 25, 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160404181108/https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/laws/ohio-constitution?Part=2&Section=01 | archive-date = April 4, 2016 | url-status = live }}</ref>

The executive branch is headed by the [[List of Governors of Ohio|governor of Ohio]].<ref name="CO" /> The current governor is [[Mike DeWine]] since 2019, a member of the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]].<ref name="GOV">{{cite web |title=The Governors of Ohio |publisher=Ohio Historical Society |date=January 8, 2007 |url=http://www.ohiohistory.org/onlinedoc/ohgovernment/governors/ |access-date=March 25, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605224802/http://www.ohiohistory.org/onlinedoc/ohgovernment/governors/ |archive-date=June 5, 2011 }}</ref> A [[Lieutenant Governor of Ohio|lieutenant governor]] succeeds the governor in the event of any removal from office, and performs any duties assigned by the governor.<ref>{{cite web| title = Constitution Online| publisher = Ohio General Assembly| url = https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/laws/ohio-constitution?Part=3&Section=15| access-date = March 25, 2009| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181001114549/https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/laws/ohio-constitution?Part=3&Section=15| archive-date = October 1, 2018| url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title = Constitution Online| publisher = Ohio General Assembly| url = https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/laws/ohio-constitution?Part=3&Section=01b| access-date = March 25, 2009| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304024808/https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/laws/ohio-constitution?Part=3&Section=01b| archive-date = March 4, 2016| url-status = live}}</ref> The current lieutenant governor is [[Jim Tressel]]. The other elected constitutional offices in the executive branch are the [[Ohio Secretary of State|secretary of state]] ([[Frank LaRose]]), [[Ohio State Auditor|auditor]] ([[Keith Faber]]), [[Ohio State Treasurer|treasurer]] ([[Robert Sprague]]), and [[Ohio Attorney General|attorney general]] ([[Dave Yost]]).<ref name="CO" /> There are 21 state administrative departments in the executive branch.<ref>{{cite book|chapter=The Ohio Executive Branch|pages=263–264|title=Ohio Politics|first=John J.|last=Gargan|editor-first=Mary Anne|editor-last=Sharkey|year=1994|publisher=[[Kent State University Press]]|isbn=0-87338-509-8|lccn=94-7637|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v7hkbUXIQdwC&pg=PA264|access-date=February 10, 2021|archive-date=February 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210216234435/https://books.google.com/books?id=v7hkbUXIQdwC&pg=PA264|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[[Ohio Revised Code]] § 121.01 ''et seq.'' Ohio Revised Code § 5703.01 ''et seq.'' Ohio Revised Code § 3301.13.</ref>

The [[Ohio General Assembly]] is a [[bicameral]] legislature consisting of the [[Ohio Senate|Senate]] and [[Ohio House of Representatives|House of Representatives]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Ohio General Assembly |publisher=Ohio History Central |date=July 1, 2005 |url=http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=2126 |access-date=March 25, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080828082257/http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=2126 |archive-date=August 28, 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref> The Senate is composed of 33 districts, each of which is represented by one senator. Each senator represents approximately 330,000 [[Electoral district|constituents]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Population_represented_by_state_legislators |title=Population represented by state legislators—Ballotpedia|access-date=March 6, 2017|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170318010456/https://ballotpedia.org/Population_represented_by_state_legislators|archive-date=March 18, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> The House of Representatives has 99 members.<ref>{{cite web |title=Government |publisher=Congressman Michael Turner |url=http://turner.house.gov/District/Government.htm |access-date=March 25, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325134028/http://turner.house.gov/District/Government.htm |archive-date=March 25, 2009 }}</ref> The Republican Party is the majority party in both houses as of the [[2022 Ohio elections|2022 election cycle]].

In order to be enacted into law, a bill must be adopted by both houses of the General Assembly and signed by the governor. If the governor vetoes a bill, the General Assembly can override the veto with a three-fifths supermajority of both houses. A bill will also become a law if the governor fails to sign or veto it within 10 days of its being presented. The [[session laws]] are published in the official ''[[Law of Ohio]]''.{{sfn|Putnam|Schaefgen|1997|pp=31-32}} These in turn have been [[codification (law)|codified]] in the ''[[Ohio Revised Code]]''.{{sfn|Putnam|Schaefgen|1997|pp=65-66}} The General Assembly, with the approval of the governor, draws the U.S. congressional district lines for Ohio's 16 seats in the [[United States House of Representatives]]. The [[Ohio Apportionment Board]] draws state legislative district lines in Ohio.

[[File:Ohio State Office Building 2.jpg|thumb|The [[Thomas J. Moyer Ohio Judicial Center]] holds the [[Supreme Court of Ohio]].]]

There are three levels of the Ohio state [[judiciary]]. The lowest is the court of common pleas: each county maintains its own constitutionally mandated court of common pleas, which maintain jurisdiction over "all justiciable matters".<ref name="District">{{cite web |title=Constitution Online |publisher=Ohio General Assembly |url=https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/laws/ohio-constitution?Part=4&Section=04 |access-date=March 25, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304052233/https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/laws/ohio-constitution?Part=4&Section=04 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> The intermediate-level court system is the district court system.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ohio District Courts of Appeal |publisher=Ohio Judiciary System |url=http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/JudSystem/districtCourts/ |access-date=March 25, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090514001636/http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/JudSystem/districtCourts/ |archive-date=May 14, 2009}}</ref> Twelve courts of appeals exist, each retaining jurisdiction over appeals from common pleas, municipal, and county courts in a set geographical area.<ref name="District" /> A case heard in this system is decided by a three-judge panel, and each judge is elected.<ref name="District" />

The state's highest-ranking court is the [[Ohio Supreme Court]].<ref name="SCOO">{{cite web | title = The Supreme Court of Ohio Jurisdiction & Authority | publisher = The Ohio Judicial System | url = http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/SCO/jurisdiction/default.asp | access-date = March 25, 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090314015128/http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/SCO/jurisdiction/default.asp | archive-date = March 14, 2009 | url-status = live }}</ref> A seven-justice panel composes the court, which, by its own [[Certiorari#State courts|discretion]], hears appeals from the courts of appeals, and retains original jurisdiction over limited matters.<ref>{{cite web | title = Constitution Online | publisher = Ohio General Assembly | year = 2009 | url = https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/laws/ohio-constitution?Part=4&Section=02 | access-date = March 25, 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160404171811/https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/laws/ohio-constitution?Part=4&Section=02 | archive-date = April 4, 2016 | url-status = live }}</ref>