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Dec 21 2020

Wrapping Up Lame Duck

Our hopes of seeing the last of the 133rd General Assembly last week were unrealized. A few pieces of unfinished business remain.

Last week, the Ohio House added a “Stand Your Ground” gun amendment to another bill (SB175), and with the agreement of the Ohio Senate on a party-line basis, the bill now goes to Governor DeWine for his signature. The House also sent DeWine a bill (SB27) to require burial or cremation of aborted fetal remains.

DeWine has 10 days, not including Sundays and holidays from the day he receives a bill to veto or sign, or it becomes law.

In unfinished business, a Senate committee last week added a measure (SB317) to allow school districts to arm staff to a bill (HB425) that eliminates the requirement that a concealed carry license-holder notify a law enforcement officer that they are carrying a weapon. The bill, opposed by law enforcement and education groups, has not been reported out of the committee, so its backers may be out of time, but with sessions scheduled for tomorrow, anything can happen.

Another piece of unfinished business is what to do about HB6 — energy legislation passed as part of a $61 million bribery scandal, that eliminated Ohio’s renewable energy standards and subsidizes failing coal and nuclear power plants at ratepayer expense. One option (HB798) would delay the implementation of the law for a year, while another (HB772) would only eliminate portions of the law. House and Senate leaders had planned to spend the weekend negotiating and, if they reach a deal, the language could make its way into either HB264, a water infrastructure bill currently pending in a conference committee (meeting time at the call of the chair, Rep. Wilkin) or HB104, a nuclear power bill pending in the Senate Energy Committee, which is scheduled to meet tomorrow morning at 10 am.

Either bill could be on the House or Senate floor Tuesday. To stay up to date, watch session live streams on ohiochannel.org.

We were wrong last week, but really really hope this is the last update we send in 2020. See everyone in 2021!

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Written by Terra Goodnight · Categorized: Gender Equity, Gun Safety, Statehouse Update · Tagged: 133 general assembly, guns, Lame Duck, Mike DeWine, ohio legislature

Aug 25 2020

2020 Legislative Scorecard: Ohio House of Representatives

Beginning in January of every odd-numbered year, lawmakers come to Columbus to convene the Ohio General Assembly. In the two year session that follows, hundreds of bills are introduced, many of which are signed into law. During the 133rd General Assembly, which began in January of 2019, legislators have grappled with issues ranging from responding to the COVID-19 pandemic to abortion rights, local control of public schools, gun safety to the confederate flag.

With Statehouse activity mostly wrapped up for the term, we’ve compiled the voting record of all 99 State representatives on the most significant proposals they faced for consideration by voters before they head to the polls on November 3.

Check out our Ohio House Scorecard, which lists how all 99 members of the Ohio House of Representatives voted on important proposals in the 133rd General Assembly.

View the Innovation Ohio 2020 House of Representatives Scorecard

Written by Terra Goodnight · Categorized: 2020 Election, Featured Items, Front Page, Legislative Updates, Statehouse Update · Tagged: 2020 election, Candidates, Ohio General Assembly, ohio house, ohio legislature, Scorecard

Jun 17 2019

Ohio lawmakers should update state’s antiquated laws against sexual abuse

A report released by The Ohio State University which found that a former school doctor had sexually abused more than 177 male student-athletes has added pressure on state lawmakers to reform Ohio’s laws against sexual abuse. Since news broke of the late doctor’s widespread abuse, high-profile Republican leaders in Ohio, including Governor DeWine and Attorney General Yost, have voiced support to end the statute of limitations on rape. It’s about time! Ohio currently has one of the nation’s strictest statute of limitations for sex crimes, which requires a survivor or victim to file charges against their abuser within 25 years of the crime. However, DNA evidence can be preserved for many decades with today’s forensic technology, meaning that the “validity of evidence” should no longer force a limit on the amount of time a victim or survivor has to seek justice. Applying a statute of limitations to these crimes also disregards the countless personal reasons that survivors of sexual assault may wait to press charges against their perpetrators. We applaud the Republican leaders who are now calling for eliminating the statute of limitations on rape, but can’t help but wonder: why now? Democratic lawmakers have been pushing bills to end the statute of limitations on rape for years, with very little support from their colleagues across the aisle. Amid that process, the voices and stories of many women who are victims or survivors of sexual abuse have been ignored, criticized, or questioned. Women are often asked why they didn’t choose to share their stories earlier, and the validity of their accusations is often called into question. In contrast, when men wait to share their story (which every survivor is 100% entitled to do), it does not dampen the urgency for action from political leaders. Enough is enough. Both men and women deserve to have their stories believed by the public, regardless of how long they wait to come forward or seek justice. There are currently bills pending in the Ohio Legislature that would achieve the goal of eliminating the statute of limitations on rape in Ohio, while also modernizing another section of the state code for cases of rape. House Bill 279, legislation introduced by Representatives Boggs (D-18) and Galonski (D-35) with bipartisan support, aims to end the statute of limitations on rape and close the marital rape loophole. Senators Nickie J. Antonio (D-23) and Sean O’Brien (D-32) recently introduced a bipartisan companion bill in the Ohio Senate that would accomplish the same ends. Senate Bill 162 currently has two Republican cosponsors. Because of the outdated way that current Ohio law classifies rape and sexual assault differently for married couples, there are still certain circumstances, if there is no proof that there was “force or threat of force,” where there are no legal options to prosecute the crime if a couple is married or living together. Ohio’s “marital exemption” for rape is rooted in victim blaming culture and only reinforces the misguided and out-of-touch belief that married women are the property of their husbands. If Republican leaders are serious about protecting victims and survivors of sexual abuse and rape in Ohio, they should focus their efforts on passing House Bill 279 or Senate Bill 162. It is about time political leaders listen to the stories of all victims and fix our state’s antiquated laws against sexual abuse and rape.

Written by Samantha Katz · Categorized: Gender Equity · Tagged: marital rape, ohio legislature, Ohio State, protections, rape, sexual abuse, sexual assault, survivors, women's rights

Jun 03 2019

HB6 latest: Ohio Nuclear Bailout Measure Reaches Senate

A bill that would raise utility rates to bail out two Ohio nuclear power plants while gutting renewable energy standards cleared the Ohio House this week. House Bill 6, the so-called “Clean Air” bill, was approved by a 53-43 vote in House following a week of extensive hearings and last-minute lobbying efforts. The bill now heads to the Senate. Ohioans will pay for a “Clean Air Fund” to bail out FirstEnergy Solution’s Davis-Besse and Perry nuclear power plants through a $1 monthly surcharge on their electric bills. Backers of the bill argue that this fee will save consumers money as the bill repeals the current $4.68 monthly utility fee. While the bill takes aim at lowering electric rates and protecting jobs in the nuclear energy industry, it guts Ohio’s clean and renewable energy standards. Ohio would be the first state to enact a measure that subsidizes nuclear energy for financial reasons while at the same time eliminating clean energy standards. Make no mistake – Ohio lawmakers are making a deliberate choice to go this route. As noted by Inside Climate News, Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, and New York have subsidized nuclear power plants recently, however, those measures bolstered support for clean and renewable energy. With both parties split on this legislation in the House, it’s not so obvious what political motives are behind some lawmaker’s support for it. This has been sought out by FirstEnergy and its PAC for a while now. Campaign finance records indicate that thousands of dollars were donated by FirstEnergy and its executives to Speaker Larry Householder and his loyalists. The struggling utility company’s former CEO, Anthony Alexander, donated $5,000 each to Householder’s and Rep. Jamie Callender’s (HB6 primary sponsor) 2018 campaign, along with a maximum contribution of $12,707 to Mike DeWine’s campaign. The Governor has come out in support of this bill. The Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Editorial Board voiced its opposition to the bailout Friday, calling  HB6 “a platter of goodies for deep-pocketed special interests who spent liberally — not just in advocating for this legislation but also on Householder’s efforts to get his supporters elected or re-elected to the Ohio House, so they could choose him as speaker.” One of the last-minute changes to House Bill 6 was to expand the bill to expand eligibility for the subsidies generated by the bill beyond the state’s two nuclear power plans to large solar facilities. According to the Ohio Power Siting Board, six facilities have been approved that would be eligible under the latest changes to HB6. A look at whose districts those facilities are located in suggests which lawmakers were targeted by the move:

More Reading on House Bill 6

Innovation Ohio, “Nuclear Energy Bill Could Kill Ohio’s Clean Air Industry” Politico, “Ohio advances coal, nuclear subsidies after pressure from Trump campaign official“

Written by Alex Jackson · Categorized: Energy, Statehouse Update · Tagged: electric bill, Energy, energy bill, First Energy, FirstEnergy, Fracking, house bill 6, nuclear, nuclear bailout, nuclear power, ohio legislature, Severance Tax, surcharge

Mar 15 2019

Innovation Ohio Response to Gov. DeWine’s Budget 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 15, 2019
Innovation Ohio Response to Gov. DeWine’s Budget 
Columbus, OH – Today, Innovation Ohio president Janetta King issued the following statement in response to Gov. DeWine’s budget proposal:
“Gov. DeWine has talked a lot about investing in Ohio’s future. But for an ‘investment’ budget, this is very underwhelming. Gov. DeWine has assumed office following eight years of massive tax giveaways to the rich – leaving very little left for everyday Ohioans. Without a real discussion of new revenue, this budget cannot be viewed as a serious investment in our state.”
Founded in 2011, Innovation Ohio is a nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank that blends policy research and advocacy to fight for working families in Ohio.
Innovation Ohio’s 2019 budget priorities can be found online at: http://innovationohio.org/2019-budget-priorities/
###
 

Written by Michael McGovern · Categorized: Ohio State Budget, Press Releases · Tagged: biennial budget, Funding, Governor, Governor Mike DeWine, Janetta King, Mike DeWine, Ohio Budget, Ohio Governor, ohio legislature, ohio statehouse, State Budget, taxation

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