Terra Goodnight · February 20, 2017

Statehouse Preview: Week of Feb. 20

It’s a short week with the President’s Day holiday, but there’s still plenty going on.

OHIO

The House Economic Development, Commerce & Labor Committee will hold a second hearing for supporters of HB2, a bill rolling back protections against employment discrimination. Despite hearing hours of impassioned testimony from members of clergy opposed to HB36, the so-called Pastor Protection Act, the House Community and Family Advancement Committee is likely to vote to advance the proposal at its Tuesday hearing at 9am. The measure could be up for a vote in the full House as early as Wednesday. Sign up to receive alerts on this and other important legislative developments as they happen. HB1, a bipartisan measure that extends domestic violence protections to dating partners, has a committee vote scheduled in the House Civil Justice committee, which meets Wednesday at 4pm. Budget hearings continue on the state’s transportation budget, which will get its first round of amendments this week and a final vote in the House Finance committee on Thursday 2/23.

IN CONGRESS

Our Congressional delegation is back in Ohio as Congress takes a week-long recess, and many members will be attending (or avoiding) town hall meetings in their districts. Find out if there is an event taking place near you. Bring a copy of our ACA fact sheet to talk about what’s at stake for women if the ACA is repealed.

TRUMP

The administration’s revised executive order on the immigration ban may drop at any time. It still includes the same countries, but exempts green card holders. Deportation raids are increasing and it appears that the crackdown will continue to escalate. Homeland Sec. Kelly signed a memo authorizing the hiring of 10,000 more enforcement agents.

TAKE ACTION

The Ohio House is currently reviewing Governor Kasich’s two-year budget proposal and need to hear from their constituents. This week, One Ohio Now asks Ohioans to write a letter to the editor of their local paper to ask lawmakers to prioritize community needs in the budget process.