COLUMBUS — Today, Desiree Tims, President and CEO of Innovation Ohio, released the following statement applauding the guilty verdict for former police officer Derek Chauvin in the 2020 murder of George Floyd. Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all counts.
“There is no verdict that could restore George Floyd’s life, but I’m relieved that his family will at least see his murderer brought to justice. Hopefully this will bring some peace to all who loved Mr. Floyd.
“Today must be the beginning, not the end, of the conversation around police reform. Too many unarmed Black men and women have died at the hands of law enforcement — cell phone videos make it impossible to ignore this reality.
“Holding bad actors accountable is only step one. We also need to address the causes of these preventable deaths, and implement meaningful changes to prevent them. We can start by passing the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act through Congress. Let’s get to work.”
Lawmakers Mostly Inactive As Summer Break Begins
We didn’t send an update last week as the House and Senate both began what is likely to be months-long summer break. This week, the Senate returns briefly on Wednesday to vote on bills and hold a handful of committee hearings, the highlights of which we’ll note below.
The House is not currently scheduled to return until after the November election but has set aside a few “if needed” dates in September.
Newsletters will be infrequent for the next several months – we’ll only send a dispatch if legislative hearings or sessions are scheduled. You can always view the full legislative calendar online.
New Legislation This Week
Here are the new bills introduced last week that we will be monitoring. You can also view the complete list of bills we’re tracking.
- House Bill 684 (Hood, Brinkman) – Academic Content – to revise the law with regard to the state academic content standards and primary and secondary education assessments and teacher evaluations, to create the Legislative Office of Education Oversight, and to make other changes regarding the operation of primary and secondary schools.
- House Bill 687 (Hicks-Hudson, Sweeney) – Election Laws – to make changes to the Election Law.
- House Bill 693 (Swearingen, Manning) – School Openings – to prohibit, for the 2020-2021 school year only, public and chartered nonpublic schools from opening for instruction prior to the Wednesday after Labor Day and to declare an emergency.
- House Bill 695 (Becker, Romanchuk) – Legislative Salaries – to enact the “Average Wage Fully Uniform Law (AWFUL)” to set the baseline compensation for General Assembly members equal to Ohio’s median household income.
- House Bill 703 (Plummer, Abrams) – Policing Practices – to express the intent of the General Assembly to study and implement professional police practices in Ohio.
- House Concurrent Resolution 31 (Howse, Crawley) – Racism – to declare racism a public health crisis and to ask the Governor to establish a working group to promote racial equity in Ohio.
- Senate Bill 320 (M. Huffman) – Education Laws – to require public and private schools to decide whether to be open for instruction in the 2020-2021 school year, to permit parents providing home instruction to determine whether a building in which they provide instruction has adequate safety measures to address COVID-19, to prohibit other public officials from closing schools in that school year, and to declare an emergency.
- Senate Bill 323 (Antonio, Williams) – Election Law – to modify the law governing absent voting and online voter registration, to make other changes to the Election Law, and to declare an emergency.
Statehouse Meetings and Events
Wednesday, June 24
- 9:15 am – Senate Judiciary – 13th hearing (all testimony & vote) on SB3 (Drug Sentencing) and 2nd hearing (all testimony) on HB606 (COVID-19 Civil Immunity). Senate Finance Hearing Room or watch online.
- 9:30 am – Senate Health, Human Services & Medicaid – 2nd hearing (proponent testimony – written only) on SCR14 (Racism) and 4th hearing (all testimony & possible amendments) on SB311 (Health Orders). Senate South Hearing Room or watch online.
- 1:30 pm – Senate Session – agenda TBD. Watch online.
- 2:30 pm or after session – Senate Education – 2nd hearing (all testimony) on SB320 (Education Laws) and 6th hearing (all testimony, possible amendments) on HB123 (School Safety). Senate Finance Hearing Room or watch online.
Ohio House Advances Racist “Stand Your Ground” Legislation
While the Ohio Senate this week will take up legislation declaring racism a public health emergency, the Ohio House is taking a far different approach, advancing dangerous Stand Your Ground legislation shown to lead to more violent deaths, particularly among African-Americans.
House Bill 381, up for a hearing in House Criminal Justice Committee Tuesday afternoon, states that “a person who is not engaged in illegal activity has no duty to retreat from a place the person is lawfully present before using or threatening to use reasonable force, including deadly force, in self-defense, defense of another, or defense of that person’s residence.” It would promote the escalation of violent confrontations rather than requiring participants to take steps to de-escalate before resorting to the use of deadly force. Stand Your Ground was the legal justification that resulted in the Florida vigilante killing of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman in 2012. House Bill 381 even declares that deadly force is justified “even when an alternative course of action is available.” The nonpartisan RAND Corporation studied the effects of Stand Your Ground legislation in states that have adopted it and found it to lead to higher homicide rates and violent crime. Florida saw a 32% increase in firearm homicides after Stand Your Ground legislation was adopted, and, in African-American communities, firearm homicides increased by 23%.
Last week, members of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus introduced a resolution to declare racism a public health crisis. The Senate Health Committee will hear the Senate version (SCR14) tomorrow (see below for details on committee times and location), but the House version (HCR31) has not been granted a hearing. House leaders are so tone-deaf that they have chosen to instead push legislation linked to increased firearm-related homicides of African-Americans while Ohioans are literally outside their doors demanding that Black lives be respected and valued. These misplaced priorities must be called out, just as we do when we link arms in the streets, calling for justice and an end to systemic racism.
New Legislation This Week
Here at the new bills introduced last week that we will be monitoring. You can also view the complete list of bills we’re tracking.
- House Bill 684 (Hood, Brinkman) – Academic Content – to revise the law with regard to the state academic content standards and primary and secondary education assessments and teacher evaluations, to create the Legislative Office of Education Oversight, and to make other changes regarding the operation of primary and secondary schools.
- House Bill 686 (Sobecki, Crossman) – School Requirements – to waive state testing requirements for the 2020-2021 school year, to provide exemptions from state report cards and other provisions related to test results, and to declare an emergency.
- House Bill 687 (Hicks-Hudson, Sweeney) – Election Laws – to make changes to the Election Law.
- House Concurrent Resolution 31 (Howse, Crawley) – Racism – to declare racism a public health crisis and to ask the Governor to establish a working group to promote racial equity in Ohio.
- Senate Bill 319 (M. Huffman) – Education Laws – to make changes to education law for the 2020-2021 school year in response to implications of COVID-19, to require the Department of Education to make an additional payment in fiscal year 2020 or 2021 to certain school districts that experience a decrease in the taxable value of the district’s utility tangible personal property, to permit furloughing of certain school employees through June 30, 2021, and to declare an emergency.
- Senate Concurrent Resolution 19 (Craig, Williams) – Racism – declare racism a public health crisis and to ask the Governor to establish a working group to promote racial equity in Ohio.
Statehouse Meetings & Events
Tuesday, June 9
9:30 am – Senate Health, Human Services & Medicaid – 1st hearing (sponsor & proponent testimony) on SCR14 (Racism) and 3rd hearing (opponent testimony) on SB311 (Health Orders). Senate South Hearing Room or watch online.
10 am – House State & Local Government – 4th hearing (all testimony) on HB671 (Health Orders), 4th hearing (all testimony, possible substitute) on HB624 (COVID-19 Testing), 3rd hearing (all testimony, possible substitute) on HB621 (Business Openings), and 1st hearing (sponsor testimony) on HB649 (Health Orders) and HB618 (Health Orders). Statehouse Room 121 (overflow in Room 122) or watch online.
11:30 am – Senate Ways & Means – 6th hearing (all testimony, possible vote) on SJR3 (Tax Increases). Senate Finance Hearing Room or watch online.
1pm – House Session – agenda TBD. Watch online.
1 pm – Senate Education – 1st hearing (sponsor) on SB292 (E-School Attendance), 1st hearing (sponsor & proponent) on SB288 (Religious Expression), 3rd hearing (opponent) on HB164 (Religious Expression) and 4th hearing (all testimony, possible amendments) on SB121 (Health Standards). Senate South Hearing Room or watch online.
3 pm – House Criminal Justice – 3rd hearing (opponent testimony) on HB381 (Stand Your Ground). Statehouse Room 017 or watch online.
3 pm or after Session – House Commerce & Labor – 4th hearing (all testimony, amendments & vote) on HB674 (Liquor Laws) and HB669 (Alcohol Sales). Statehouse Room 121 or watch online.
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Systemic Racism is Harming and Killing Black People. Anti-Racist Policy Change Must Be Part of the Solution.
Statement of Support and Call to Action About the Movement for Black Lives
Our organization is rooted in values of justice and equality, and we wholly condemn the systemic racism that oppresses and threatens people of color, particularly Black Americans who are disproportionately impacted by police brutality across our country. We stand with protesters peacefully demanding change and accountability and will continue to look for ways to support them. Innovation Ohio is committed to doing our part to fight for anti-racist policies to make Ohio safe and equitable for all who live here, regardless of the color of their skin. While we continue to advocate for and help to formulate anti-racist policies to bring an end to injustice, one concrete action you can take right now is to donate to your local freedom fund to bail out protestors who were arrested during the demonstrations in Ohio. Black Lives Matter.