Reply #27: Not necesssarily, [View All]

[Ms. Toad]

Some flaws can render an entire bill unconstitutional. About a decade ago, Ohio had a really major bill declared unconstitutional because of the way it was passed - years after everyone had been following the laws that were passed. It was a major mess requiring most of the laws contained in the bill to be passed again as separate bills (that was the flaw - unrelated matter had been included in a single bill), and since many of the laws were in the criminal law arena there were challenges to a significant number of convictions and sentences imposed under the unconstitutional laws that had been in place for a few years before the law was was challenged.

Don't know that the problems in this bill were of that nature - and I am sure that was not their motivation - but ensuring that the rules governing how the bill was passed will give it some protection from being declared unconstitutional down the road.