Terra Goodnight · March 13, 2017

Statehouse Preview: Week of March 13

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AT THE STATEHOUSE

HB2, legislation to reduce legal protections against workplace discrimination gets its fifth hearing on Tuesday, but as of now, no vote has been scheduled. A bill (HB114) to roll back Ohio’s renewable energy standards gets its first hearing in the House Public Utilities committee on Tuesday. Legislation to automatically “sunset” or close cabinet agencies that fail to receive legislative support (SB79) gets its first hearing in Senate Government Oversight & Reform Wednesday. Two resolutions (HJR2 and SJR1) that call for a constitutional convention to enact a federal balanced budget amendment get hearings in committee this week. View full House and Senate committee schedules. State Budget (HB49) deliberations continue in the House, with multiple subcommittees holding hearings:

TUESDAY

Public testimony in the Transportation and State Government & Agency Review subcommittees of House Finance.
Testimony from the Ohio Association of Community Colleges and interested parties in the Higher Education subcommittee.
Testimony on the severance tax in House Ways & Means.
Public testimony on Medicaid and Mental Health and Addiction Services in the Health & Human Services subcommittee.

WEDNESDAY

Public testimony in the Agriculture, Development & Natural Resources, Transportation, and State Government & Agency Review subcommittees of House Finance.
Testimony from the Ohio Association of Career Colleges and Schools and public testimony in the Higher Education subcommittee.
Public testimony on developmental disabilities, Job and Family Services, insurance and healthcare transparency in the Health & Human Services subcommittee.

THURSDAY

Public testimony in the Agriculture, Development & Natural Resources, Transportation, and State Government & Agency Review (if needed) subcommittees of House Finance.
Testimony from the Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation and members of the public in the Higher Education subcommittee.
Public testimony on opioid addiction, public health, boards and aging in the Health & Human Services subcommittee.

Members of the public are welcome to testify in committees. Click on the name of the committee to view meeting agendas, which include the locations, start time, and instructions for submitting a copy of your testimony in advance.

TAKE ACTION

Support the Affordable Care Act

State lawmakers in Columbus have drafted competing resolutions urging the state’s Congressional delegation to fully repeal the Affordable Care Act (HCR6, sponsored by Reps. Goodman and Faber), or, alternatively, to preserve the ACA (HCR5, sponsored by Rep. Sykes).Contact your State Representative and ask them to support HCR5 and oppose HCR6.