Wednesday, September 25, 9am-3pm, Sheraton Columbus Hotel at Capitol Square, 75 E. State St.

Ohio S.B. 33 is a bill that criminalizes dissent. It is an attempt by the Gas and Oil Industry to intimidate the people of Ohio from exercising their right to disagree with government policies. The policies in question have been written by industry lobbyists and heavily influenced by corporate campaign contributions and dark money.

This bill has been traced back to model bills emanating from two organizations, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the Council of State Governments (CSG), both of which receive generous financial backing from the oil and gas industry. ALEC is a corporate-backed organization of state legislators and corporate lobbyists; its membership mostly consists of Republican members of state legislatures. It convenes three times per year for educational panel sessions, networking, and to vote on model bills. Those model bills then get distributed to state legislators nationwide, often becoming state law.

Under this proposed legislation it would be a felony for peaceful demonstrators to be present at an event where someone else breaks a law. It allows for financial penalties so extreme that they would bankrupt any organizations that oppose destructive industrial operations in their neighborhoods. It also penalizes groups that provide legal aid to those accused under this law.

The sponsor of the bill, Ohio Senator Frank Hoagland, operates a paramilitary, guns-for-hire, security firm that trains oil and gas operations to constrain Ohio citizens from redressing their grievances and conflicts with First Amendment Rights. This conflict of interest has not been addressed by the legislature.

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