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Lame Duck Season Starts

Lame Duck: The perfect time to sign up for our Statehouse Update Newsletter

Today, the Statehouse will see a number of hearings as the 133rd General Assembly kicks off the first week of its always-interesting Lame Duck session. Lame Duck is a colloquial name for the period of time between the general election and the end of the year when a new legislative term starts.

For this two month stretch, term-limited lawmakers and those who lost their bids for reelection are effectively “lame ducks,” on the way out the door. It’s often a time when lawmakers rush to pass priority bills before time runs out at the end of a term, but also is when we tend to see some of the most extreme proposals enacted. Recent examples include restrictions on local minimum wage increases and the 6-week abortion ban.

Lame Duck requires close watch by statehouse activists.

Most of what is on the agenda this week is uncontroversial, as committees work to clear the deck of bills that have been introduced but not yet heard in committee.

Two proposals up for hearings, however, are priorities for legislative leadership and merit careful monitoring: a school funding overhaul in the House Finance Committee and a Senate bill to repeal House Bill 6, the bailout of failing nuclear plants, the 2019 passage of which is the subject of an FBI bribery investigation.

After this week, many anticipate more controversial bills will begin moving. One concern we hear from allies is that conservative lawmakers will enact a full abortion ban in the form of a “trigger law” — one that only takes effect or becomes “triggered” by a ruling of the United States Supreme Court overturning Roe v Wade. In that case, the Ohio law would then take effect.

We will continue to send weekly updates about what’s on the Lame Duck agenda.

New Legislation This Week

The following bills were introduced since our last update. You can keep an eye on all the bills we’re tracking here.

House Bill 777 (Lang, Perales) – Alcohol Sales – to reinstate the authorized hours of operation for liquor permit premises that existed prior to the state of emergency declared in response to COVID-19 and to declare an emergency.

House Bill 783 (A. Miller) – Election Intimidation – to prohibit any person from intimidating, threatening, or coercing a person for the purpose of interfering with that person’s right to vote in an election.

House Bill 784 (Adams, Carruthers) – Law Enforcement – to increase penalties for certain assault, vandalism, and riot offenses, to allow peace officers to bring civil suits against persons participating in a riot, and to prohibit bias-motivated intimidation of first responders.

Senate Bill 374 (Obhof, Peterson) – Alcohol Sales – to reinstate the authorized hours of operation for liquor permit premises that existed prior to the state of emergency declared in response to COVID-19 and to declare an emergency.

Senate Bill 375 (Hoagland, Schafer) – County Fairs – to void the Director of Health’s July 30th order regarding county fairs and to declare an emergency.

Statehouse Meetings & Events

Tuesday, November 10

10:00 am – Senate Energy and Public Utilities – Informal hearing on HB772 (HB6 Repeal) and 2nd hearing (proponent) on SB346 (HB6 Repeal). Senate Finance Hearing Room or watch online. 

10:00 am – House Finance – 7th hearing (invited testimony, possible substitute) on HB305 (School Funding). Statehouse Room 313 or watch online.  

11:00 am – House State & Local Government – 4th hearing (all testimony, possible amendments & vote) on HB621 (Pandemic Business Closures). Statehouse Room 116 or watch online.  

12:30 pm – House Health – 1st hearing (sponsor) on HB316 (firearm “red flag” orders). Statehouse Room 313 or watch online.  

12:30 pm – House Criminal Justice – 1st hearing (sponsor) on SB3 (Drug Sentencing). Statehouse Room 121 or watch online. 

Get these updates weekly in your inbox when lawmakers are in session. Sign up now for Statehouse Update.

House committee to vote on bringing anti-abortion education to Ohio classrooms

The House Health Committee has scheduled a vote on House Bill 90 for Tuesday, June 4.

The bill, introduced by Rep. Niraj Antani (R-Miamisburg), would require Ohio public schools to teach students about the “anatomical and physiological characteristics of the unborn child” that pertains to each week of gestation. While pushing the message to students that “abortion is killing a living human being,” any education regarding human sexuality would be prohibited.

This misleading informational attack on reproductive choice will be aimed at students of various levels. This curriculum would be taught in 3rd through 8th grade science classes and in high school health classes.

  • Mandates the state Dept. of Health to implement curriculum in Ohio public schools regarding the “anatomical and physiological characteristics of the unborn child” that pertain to each week of gestation to be taught in 3rd through 8th grade science classes, 9th through 12th health classes
  • Prohibits the curriculum from including any “component of human sexuality education”
  • Directs Dept of Health to create and maintain a pregnancy and child services database to provide women a comprehensive list of public and private adoption agencies
  • Dept of Health to include the following statement on its website and all public restrooms: “There are many public and private agencies willing and able to help you carry your child to term and assist you and your child after your child is born, whether you choose to keep your child or place your child for adoption. If you are pregnant, the State of Ohio strongly urges you to contact an agency listed on the Department of Health’s pregnancy and child services database.”

If passed by the committee, the proposal could come before the full House of Representatives as early as this week. To share your views about this new mandatory education curriculum, contact your State Representative.

Update (6/5/19): The committee did not hold a vote on HB90 on June 4. Opponent testimony from the ACLU of Ohio, Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio and others, which can be located on the committee website under “June 4”. The bill could be brought up for a final hearing and vote at any time. Follow @innovationohio on Twitter or subscribe to our legislative alerts newsletter for the latest. 

More on House Bill 90:

Ohio House: Legislation Text and Status

Legislative Services Commission: Synopsis of Changes in Substitute HB6 vs. Original Version

Columbus Dispatch: Critics say bill would push ‘harmful’ anti-abortion beliefs onto Ohio school children

Statehouse Preview: Week of June 4

Back in Business

This week, lawmakers are back at it, with the logjam in the House expected to finally break with a Wednesday vote (scheduled for 1:30pm) to name a new House Speaker. Representatives are set to return on Thursday to vote on the backlog of bills that are awaiting action in the chamber.

That’s good news and bad news.

As we noted last week, it means important legislation–payday lending reform, campus sexual assault policies, textbook taxes and more–can finally move. It also means that some very harmful legislation may also be advanced to the Senate or even the Governor. Here’s a short list of what we’re watching for:

Bills Awaiting House Action

  • SB28 – Fetal Tissue Disposal; this bill, which would require burial or cremation of fetal remains resulting from abortion (but not miscarriage), has already passed the Senate. With House approval, it could become law with Governor Kasich’s signature.
  • HB402 – Telephone Deregulation – this bill to loosen regulation of the state’s landline telephone providers would allow for rate increases and could result in loss of affordable service for senior and low-income households and coverage for rural customers.
  • HB258 – 6-week (“heartbeat”) abortion ban – would prohibit abortion as soon as a fetal heartbeat is detected, often as early as six weeks of gestation, before most women know they are pregnant.
  • HB228 – Stand Your Ground – a sweeping reform of Ohio’s gun laws, this bill would eliminate the “duty to retreat” before using deadly force, and would also outlaw local ordinances aimed at reducing gun violence, subjecting local communities to civil lawsuits.

For a full list of bills and their status, view the Legislative status report

On The Agenda This Week

Committees will see a lot of activity, with several bills up for a committee vote:

The Senate Government Oversight and Reform committee will hold a hearing tomorrow at 9:45am on three gun safety reform measures, including SB279, a proposal from Senators Tavares and Sykes to require the safe storage of firearms when a person reasonably should know that a minor child is able to gain access to the weapon.

The Senate Energy and Environment committee will hear testimony on an amended version of HB114, a compromise that would retain but weaken Ohio’s renewable energy and efficiency mandates. An alliance of 20 organizations sent a letter last week to the Senate President asking them to protect Ohio’s renewable standards

To see the full line-up of bills being heard this week, check out:

House committee schedule
Senate committee schedule

As was made painfully clear by the tragic school shooting in Santa Fe, Texas, firearms need to be stored safely to prevent access by minor children. Ohio is one of just 23 states without a so-called Child Access Prevention law. Contact your lawmakers and urge them to support hearings and a vote on SB279 and its companion, HB33 which could help to prevent needless gun violence and harm.

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Is the Ohio House pulling a Mourdock?

The Ohio House Judiciary Committee recently heard testimony on HB 108 and voted the bill out of committee. HB 108 was originally intended to create the Rape Crisis Trust Fund, a fund to aid rape crisis centers throughout the state.  While this cause is a worthy one, the committee made changes to the substitute bill which calls into question the true motivation of the bill.

According to Gongwer

Under the substitute bill, government-based or nonprofit centers that refer rape victims to abortion clinics would be ineligible to receive the funding, except in cases of medical emergency. “Can you tell me why the General Assembly would be inserting itself into rape counseling?” she [Representative Pillich] asked the sponsors, Reps. Nan Baker (R-Westlake) and Kirk Schuring (R-Canton).

Adding these provisions seems unnecessary.  There are several laws already in place which prevent public dollars from being used to fund abortions  In 2010, in Ohio, 3,500 forcible rapes were reported to the police. This only includes rapes that were reported, more likely occurred and went unreported. Does it seem right to limit the treatment options that are available to women who have experienced this type of trauma?

Has the Republican party learned nothing from Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock in 2010? Both men came under considerable fire after making incorrect and controversial statements regarding rape. The next thing we know the Ohio Senate will be suggesting, as Mourdock did, that pregnancy from rape is “something  that God intended.”

 

Bills to prevent pregnancy after rape given low priority in Ohio

Health & Aging Committee Chairman Lynn Wachtmann

On November 6, two candidates for the United States Senate lost based in part on an extreme view that pregnancies from rape were “gifts from God,” not meriting an exception from the types of strict abortion bans they would like to see enacted.

On the same day, 56 percent of Ohio voters told exit pollsters that they believed that abortion should be legal in “all or most” cases. Only 39 percent support laws banning abortion.

There is clearly a mood among the electorate — nationally and in Ohio — that women should not be forced to carry a pregnancy to term after a rape. Even the minority of Ohioans who oppose legal abortion should support any measure that would prevent an unwanted pregnancy, thus eliminating the need for an abortion.

Ohio legislators have an opportunity to make a difference. Four opportunities, actually. [Read more…]

Ohio GOP moves to ban abortion, end funding for planned parenthood

Senate President Niehaus

Fresh off Tuesday’s election, the GOP majority in Ohio’s legislature returned to Columbus with a bang, indicating they will take up legislation in both Chambers to roll back women’s healthcare options.

Heartbeat Bill

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that supporters of the so-called Heartbeat Bill (HB 125) have reached a compromise with Ohio Right to Life, an anti-abortion group that originally opposed the bill for being too extreme. HB 125 bans all abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detectable, which can often occur before a woman even knows she is pregnant. Its only exception is for medical emergencies. No exceptions exist for instances of rape, incest or the long-term health of a woman. [Read more…]

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