The Ohio State House. (Photo by Jodi Jacobson/Getty Images.)
Ohio lawmakers continue to pass legislation as quickly as possible, focusing this week on education policy, criminal justice reform and low-level marijuana regulation. But as we get further into the lame duck session, provisions from bills will be slipped into unrelated policies to help them pass more quickly.
“A lot of things can happen,” laughed House Speaker Jason Stephens.
As the speaker said, the time for the crisis is now.
Every remaining bill that doesn’t pass during the Lame Duck session dies. Lawmakers would have to go through the same process starting next year to get their bill passed.
From Monday we know what will happen in the House of Representatives, but not in the Senate. Here are a few key pieces of legislation we’re watching this week.
The biggest bill to watch is House Bill 8, which is now moving through the Senate. It originally allowed parents to opt out of so-called “sexuality” content in schools.
State Reps. DJ Swearingen (R-Huron) and Sara Carruthers (R-Hamilton) introduced the bill that would also require schools to report any changes in students’ “identities,” such as LGBTQ+.
“This bill is intended to provide transparency for parents in our schools and encourage parental involvement in their child’s lives,” Swearingen said.
To opponents, this is Ohio’s version of Florida’s controversial “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
“Trans students want a fair chance to succeed in school, and these bills make that harder,” Morgan Zickes of Equality Ohio said during a press conference about other anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. “We will not give up, because queer joy and queer identities cannot be legislated away.”
The bill passed in the House of Representatives in 2023 mainly along party lines. Only state Rep. Jamie Callender (R-Concord) joined Democrats in voting against it.
But now lawmakers have said senators plan to introduce unrelated amendments from other bills — such as requiring public schools to allow children to leave the classroom to attend religious education.
Another amendment filed would require Ohio residents to submit their ID online to view pornography.
“If you’re not interested in selling porn to kids and making money from it, then you shouldn’t have a problem with this,” Lt. Gov. Jon Husted said during a press conference announcing a bill with the same function last January .
The bipartisan legislation was introduced by Secretaries of State Stephanie Kunze (R-Dublin) and Bill DeMora (D-Columbus).
This dual collaboration between Republicans and Democrats has led to immediate backlash from citizens on both sides of the political aisle, as all porn viewers would be required to provide personal information in order to view sexually explicit material.
“No one is going to keep a log of the porn they watch that could one day be used against them, one day be used to blackmail them,” said Clevelander Mallory McMaster.
Verification could be done by submitting a photo of an ID or by entering personal information into a third-party system that then runs private data through other online databases to evaluate age.
Lawmakers are going back and forth on whether anything else should be added.
Stephens isn’t a fan of the potential new version of the bill, but he can’t “speculate” whether or not he’ll agree with it.
We asked him to explain his opposition and his request for a ‘clean law’.
“I think you say more by saying less… If you add a lot of other things on top of that, there may be unintended consequences, or there may be things in a bill like this that may not have been thoroughly vetted or discussed,” Stephens replied.
HB 8’s message could be spoiled by unrelated provisions, he added.
“We could have easily filled it with a lot of different things on our part, but we wanted to make a clear, clean statement with that legislation – that parents have the right to know what’s happening to their children in the schools,” he said .
Another Senate proposal that Stephens is unimpressed with will likely head to the House of Representatives soon.
It is legal for anyone to purchase delta 8, low-level marijuana, from convenience stores. Gov. Mike DeWine has been asking for legislation to close this loophole for a year.
SB 326 would ban it outright.
“We must act quickly to stop customer confusion and protect Ohioans from these dangerous, untested products,” said Senator Steve Huffman (R-Tipp City), the bill’s sponsor.
But Stephens and the more marijuana-friendly House would rather just regulate it.
“Treat it like you would tobacco,” Stephens said. “Put an age limit on it, put it in a place where children don’t have access.”
Another controversial bill may not get a chance this week, Stephens said.
HB 319, introduced by state Reps. Jennifer Gross (R-West Chester) and Scott Wiggam (R-Wayne County) is an anti-vax bill that would ban employers from requiring Ohioans to get a vaccine. It prevents alleged discrimination by colleges and other public or private entities based on vaccine status.
“I don’t know if it’ll make it to the floor,” Stephens said, frowning at the mention of the bill.
However, two bipartisan bills will come to the floor on Tuesday.
SB 100 would make it illegal to place a tracking device on someone else’s property without someone else’s permission.
The legislation, introduced by Nickie Antonio (D-Lakewood) and Sen. Nathan Manning (R-North Ridgeville) in the Senate, would close the loophole in stalking laws.
“I truly believe we can save the lives of women, as well as anyone who would be a victim of stalking,” Antonio said.
HB 274 is a property tax bill that would establish a $50,000 improved home allowance for certain homeowners who have lived in their home for 20 years or more.
“It’s going to impact a number of Ohioans,” said Minority Leader Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington). “But we think more can be done.”
As mentioned in our previous version of What to See, HB 660 will be on the ground.
State Reps. Adam Mathews (R-Lebanon) and Jay Edwards (R-Nelsonville) introduced the bill, which would allow universities to pay student-athletes directly for their name, image and likeness.
Dozens more bills will be debated this week, and the race is on to get them to the floor.
This article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets as it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland.
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