Ohio lawmakers returned to the Statehouse to begin the lame-duck post-election period before the end of the General Assembly.
There are many accounts that can view movement as lawmakers are working to get the legislation across the finish line before the end of the year.
The Ohio Senate will be in session on Wednesday, November 20, December 4, December 11 and December 18.
The Ohio House is scheduled to be in session on December 4, December 10, December 11 and December 18. If necessary, two sessions are scheduled for December 3 and 19.
Bathroom bill
Before lawmakers went on break, Republican lawmakers in the Ohio House passed a bill that would prohibit transgender students from using bathrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity.
House Bill 183 (toilet ban bill) was woven in Senate Bill No. 104 as an amendment submitted in the House, and then resolution SB 104 was adopted in the House.
State Senator Jerry Cirino introduced SB 104, which changes the College Credit Plus program.
A bathroom ban would require K-12 schools and colleges in Ohio stipulating that students may only employ the bathroom or locker room that matches the gender assigned to them at birth.
It would not prevent a school from having single-person facilities and would not apply to a person helping a disabled person or a child under 10 who is being helped by a parent, guardian or family member.
The American Medical Association officially opposes policies that prevent transgender people from accessing vital social services and public facilities consistent with their gender identity.
The amended bill, SB 104, now returns to the Senate for approval. If the Senate agrees, the bill will go to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s desk.
Senate Bill No. 83
The massive higher education bill known as Senate Bill No. 83 stuck in the Ohio House for almost a year.
The bill quickly passed the Senate after being introduced in March 2023 and passed by the House Higher Education Commission a few weeks before Christmasbut it was never placed on the agenda of the House session.
Before lawmakers went on their summer break, Cirino said he had noneabout your interest in talking to the Speaker of the House of Representatives Jason Stephens, R-Kitts Hill, about your bill. Cirino told reporters that he already had an hour-long meeting with Stephens about the bill last December.
SB 83 has already undergone nearly a dozen amendments, and Cirino previously said he would reintroduce the bill in the next General Assembly as he originally wrote it – if the bill is not passed before the end of the year.
The bill would prohibit mandatory diversity, equity, and inclusion training unless required to comply with state and federal laws, professional licensing requirements, or to receive accreditation or grants.
The retrenchment provision would prevent unions from negotiating employment, and universities could fire tenured professors for a number of reasons, including reduced student numbers. However, lecturers with 30-35 years of service would be protected.
SB 83 defines a controversial belief or policy as “any belief or policy that is the subject of political controversy, including issues such as climate policy, electoral policy, foreign policy, diversity, equity and inclusion programs, immigration policy, marriage or abortion. “
The bill would allow students to “draw their own conclusions about any controversial beliefs or policies and would not seek to indoctrinate any social, political or religious viewpoint.”
Religious religious time
A set of companion bills would be require school districts to develop policies allowing students to be released from school to attend free religious classes.
Ohio law currently allows school district boards of education to adopt a policy allowing students to attend religious education classes on infirmed leave, so these bills seek to strengthen the law by requiring such a policy.
House Bill 445 was introduced earlier this year by state Reps. Gary Click, R-Vickery, and Al Cutrona, R-Canfield (now a state senator). On Tuesday afternoon, the bill will be considered for the third time.
Sen. Michele Reynolds, R-Canal Winchester, introduced Senate Bill No. 293 this summer.
Earlier this fall, the Westerville City Schools Board of Education voted to eliminate its religious-free time policy that allowed LifeWise Academy to take public school students off campus for Bible classes during school hours.
LifeWise, based in Hilliard, is a nondenominational program that teaches the Bible to students who have parental consent as part of their religious education free time.
Wild pigs
The bill would declare feral pigs open season, prohibit feeding pigs with garbage, and prohibit the bringing of pigs that have been fed garbage into Ohio.
House Bill 503 has passed unanimously in the House in June and the first hearing in the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources takes place on Tuesday.
Reps. Bob Peterson, R-Sabina, and Don Jones, R-Freeport, introduced Bill in April and say feral pigs in Ohio could cost the state millions in damage to crops, natural vegetation, water and soil.
Parents’ Bill of Rights
The bill would force teachers to disclose students’ sexuality to parents.
State Reps. D. J. Swearingen, R-Huron, and Sara Carruthers, R-Hamilton, introduced HB 8 last year. It was accepted in the House of Representatives and had four hearings in the Senate Education Committee.
The bill would also require public schools to provide parents with advance notice of sexually explicit material and provide them with the opportunity to request alternative instruction.
Hemp bills
There are several bills floating around the Statehouse related to hemp products.
State Sens. Kirk Schuring, R-Canton, and Steve Huffman, R-Tipp City, introduced Senate Bill No. 278 which would prohibit the sale of adult-use cannabis products to anyone under 21 years of age.
Huffman recently introduced a bill to ban the sale of intoxicating cannabis products in Ohio. Senate Bill 326 The first meeting of the committee will take place on Tuesday.
House Bill 642 — introduced by state Rep. Sara Carruthers, R-Hamilton — would require Ohio’s director of agriculture to issue recommendations for adult-use cannabis products.
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