COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)-A petition for a proposed initiated statute called the “Fresh Start Act” which would expunge the criminal record of a person with past marijuana convictions if it becomes legal in Ohio, was certified by Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine.

According to the Attorney General’s office, the petition, a proposed initiated statute, was certified as containing both the necessary 1,000 valid signatures from registered Ohio voters and a “fair and truthful” summary of the proposed law.

According to Responsible Ohio The Fresh Start Act is an initiated statue proposing the review and expungement of criminal records for people with past marijuana convictions if the crime is no longer illegal after the passage of ResponsibleOhio’s Marijuana Legalization Amendment. The language now goes to the Ohio Ballot Board for review.

Once the summary language and initial signatures are certified, the Ohio Ballot Board must determine if the proposal contains a single law or multiple laws.  The petitioners must then collect signatures for each proposed law from registered voters in each of 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties, equal to 1.5 percent of the total vote cast in the county for the office of governor at the last gubernatorial election.  Total signatures collected statewide must also equal 3 percent of the total vote cast for the office of governor at the last gubernatorial election. Once signatures are verified by the Ohio Secretary of State, the Ohio General Assembly has four months to act upon the proposed law. If the proposal is not passed, the petitioners have an opportunity to gather the same number of signatures to have the proposal placed on the ballot.