Ohio lawmakers continue to pass legislation as quickly as possible, focusing this week on education policy, criminal justice reform and low-level marijuana regulation. However, as we move deeper into the lame duck session, provisions from the bills will be incorporated into unrelated policies to get them passed more quickly.
“A lot of things could happen,” House Speaker Jason Stephens laughed.
As the speaker said, now is the critical moment.
Any remaining bill that is not passed during the lame duck session dies. For the bill to pass, lawmakers would have to go through the same process starting next year.
As of Monday, we know what will be in the House of Representatives, but not in the Senate. Here are some of the main pieces of legislation we’ll be looking at this week.
The biggest proposition to watch is House Bill 8which is currently moving through the Senate. Originally, it allowed parents to opt out of the so-called “sexual” content in schools.
State Reps. DJ Swearingen (R-Huron) and Sara Carruthers (R-Hamilton) introduced a bill that would also require schools to report any changes in students’ “identity,” such as membership in the LGBTQ+ community.
“This bill is intended to provide parents with transparency in how our schools operate and encourage parents to be involved in their child’s life,” Swearingen said.
For opponents, it’s Ohio’s version of Florida’s controversial “Don’t Tell the Gays” law.
“Transgender students want to have an equal opportunity to succeed in school, and these bills make that harder,” Morgan Zickes of Equality Ohio said during a news conference on other anti-LGBTQ+ laws. “We are not giving up because queer joy and queer identity cannot be legalized.”
The bill passed the House largely along party lines in 2023. Only state Rep. Jamie Callender (R-Concord) joined Democrats to vote against it.
But now lawmakers have said senators plan to make unrelated amendments to other bills, such as requiring public schools to allow children to skip classes to attend religious education classes.
Another amendment introduced would require Ohioans to provide ID online to view pornography.
“If you’re not interested in selling porn to children and making money from it, you shouldn’t have a problem with it,” Gov. Jon Husted said during a news conference announcing a bill with the same function last January.
The bipartisan legislation was introduced by state Sens. Stephanie Kunze (R-Dublin) and Bill DeMora (D-Columbus).
This dual action by Republicans and Democrats sparked immediate backlash from citizens on both sides of the political aisle because it would require all porn viewers to provide personal information in order to view sexually explicit material.
“No one is going to keep a record of the porn they watch that could one day be used against them or blackmailed,” said Clevelander Mallory McMaster.
Verification would be done by uploading a photo of an ID or entering personal information into a third-party system, which would then run the private data through other online databases to assess age.
Legislators are constantly wondering what should be included and whether anything else should be added.
Stephens is not a fan of the potential novel version of the bill, but he cannot “speculate” whether he will agree with it or not.
We asked him to explain his opposition and request for a “clean bill.”
“I think you’re saying more by saying less… When you add a lot of other things to that, there could be unintended consequences, or there could be elements in a bill like this that may not have been thoroughly vetted or discussed,” Stephens responded.
He added that HB 8’s message could be botched by unrelated provisions.
“We could have easily added a lot of different things to this on our end, but we wanted to make clear with this legislation that parents have a right to know what is happening to their children in schools,” he added. he said.
Another Senate proposal that Stephens is unimpressed with will likely go to the House soon.
Anyone can legally purchase delta 8, low potency marijuana, in convenience stores. Gov. Mike DeWine has been pushing for legislation to fix this loophole for a year.
SB326 he would outright ban it.
“We must act quickly to prevent customer confusion and protect Ohioans from unsafe, untested products,” said Sen. Steve Huffman (R-Tipp City), the bill’s sponsor.
But Stephens and the more marijuana-friendly House would prefer to simply regulate it.
“Treat it like you would tobacco,” Stephens said. “Put an age restriction on it and put it in a place where kids can’t access it.”
Stephens said another controversial bill may not have a chance of passing this week.
HB 319introduced by state Reps. Jennifer Gross (R-West Chester) and Scott Wiggam (R-Wayne County) is an anti-vaccination bill that would prohibit employers from requiring Ohioans to have any vaccine. Prevents alleged discrimination by universities and other public or private entities based on vaccine status.
“I don’t know if this one will make it to the floor,” Stephens said, frowning at the mention of the bill.
However, two bipartisan bills will be brought to the floor on Tuesday.
SB100 would make it illegal to place a tracking device on someone else’s property without their consent.
Introduced by Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio (D-Lakewood) and Sen. Nathan Manning (North Ridgeville), the legislation would close a loophole in harassment laws.
“I truly believe that we can save women’s lives, as well as anyone who becomes a victim of harassment,” Antonio said.
HB274 is a property tax relief bill that would establish a $50,000 improved homestead for certain homeowners who have lived in their homes for 20 years or more.
“This will impact a number of Ohioans,” said Minority Leader Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington). “However, we believe that even more can be done.”
As we mentioned in the previous edition of What to Watch, HB660 will be on the floor.
State Reps. Adam Mathews (Lebanon) and Jay Edwards (Nelsonville) have introduced a bill that would allow universities to directly pay student-athletes for their name, image and likeness.
Dozens of other bills will be considered this week, and the race to pass them is on.
This article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and are published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication on other news outlets because it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland.
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