Innovation Ohio

What you need to know about Ohio Politics and Policy

Lame Duck – Gun Hearings Wednesday, Marathon Sessions Thursday

Since our Monday coverage, the schedule has changed a bit and we have more clarity about what the rest of the week will look like.

The House and Senate will each hold their final session of the year on Thursday at 11 am. Expect these to go well into the afternoon or evening with all the measures likely to come up for a vote. It’s safe to assume that the bills scheduled for committee hearings and votes this week will be on the agenda.

In committee action, more gun bills are set to be heard in committees today (HB425, Duty to Notify and HB796 Duty to Retreat).

A conference committee debating a bill to combat theft in office by public officials (Senate Bill 10) may add language to the bill to strip power from the Franklin County Prosecutor to investigate wrongdoing by Statehouse officials, now that a Democrat is set to occupy that office.

A proposal (House Bill 798) to partially repeal HB6 — but keep portions bailing out coal & nuclear plants and eliminate Ohio’s renewable energy standards — will be heard today, but it seems unlikely that will make it to the floor of both chambers this week.

A Senate bill prohibiting medication abortion via telemedicine (SB260) will be on the House floor tomorrow while a House bill to make it harder to sue your employer for civil rights violations (HB352) is likely up for a Senate vote.

Bills likely up for a vote in Senate session Thursday:

Bills likely up for a vote in House session Thursday:

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.

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. 

Sign up to receive these legislative alerts and other updates at innovationohio.org/signup

Statehouse Preview: November 13

With the election behind us, the lame duck legislature is here. The six-week session that starts today is already shaping up to be eventful and potentially consequential. Today we’ll focus on the significant bills that are likely to move this week. You can revisit our last update for a run-down of other bills that are positioned to move quickly over the next six weeks. The stakes are not as high as they would have been were a Democrat be set to take the Governor’s chair in January. However, Republicans may want to help the new Governor avoid expending political capital on controversial measures, potentially setting the stage for passage of more extreme proposals like Stand Your Ground and the Heartbeat abortion ban now rather than waiting until January. Any bill not on the governor’s desk before the two-year session comes to a close will need to be reintroduced and start the legislative process all over again in January. Here’s what we’re watching on the Statehouse agenda this week:

Tuesday, November 13

House Bill 53 (Becker) – Public Sector Union Dues: So-called ‘Right-to- Work’ legislation that would allow public employees to work in unionized workplaces without actually joining the union or paying regular union dues, making it more difficult for workers to form unions and collectively bargain for better wages, benefits, and working conditions. The bill will be heard by the House Finance Committee for sponsor testimony.
House Bill 119 (Henne, McColley) – Nutrition Assistance and Medicaid: Imposes new eligibility requirements on recipients of food assistance and Medicaid. The bill will receive a fourth hearing for all testimony in Senate Health, Human Services & Medicaid.
House Bill 240 (Patmon) – Respect Your Date Act: Designates the month of April as “Respect Your Date Month” and requires each state institution of higher education to adopt a policy regarding dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and rape on campus. The bill is up for a sponsor hearing in Senate Education.
House Bill 619 (Antani) – Pregnancy Misinformation and Coercion Act: Mandates the State Board of Education and Department of Health to develop curriculum for public high schools about fetal development for the “purpose of achieving an abortion-free society.” The House Education & Career Readiness Committee will hold a first hearing on the bill for sponsor testimony.
House Bill 758 (Antani) – Campus Speech: would subject public college and university trustees to legal penalties for denying the use of facilities to groups or individuals except in a narrow set of exceptional situations. The House Higher Education and Workforce Development committee will hold a first hearing for sponsor testimony.
Senate Bill 207 (Kunze) – Strangulation: Expands the offense of felonious assault to include the acts of strangulation or suffocation. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a fourth hearing on the bill for all testimony and a possible vote.
Senate Bill 251 (Schiavoni) – Private Images: Prohibits the nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images, also known as ‘revenge porn.’ The bill will also create certain legal rights and employment protections for victims of such an offense. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a first hearing on the bill for sponsor testimony.

Wednesday, November 14 

House Bill 33 (Patmon) – Firearm Storage: Would prohibit leaving an unsecured and operable firearm in a residence where a minor child could gain access. The bill is up for a first hearing in House Government Accountability & Oversight for sponsor testimony.
House Bill 228 (Johnson, LaTourette) – Stand Your Ground: This measure would allow armed individuals to use deadly force instead of walking away when it is safe to do so. The bill also shifts the burden to prosecutors to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a shooter did not act in self defense. The bill would also effectively allow for the carrying of concealed weapons without a permit by making it a minor misdemeanor. It additionally prohibits Ohio communities from enacting gun legislation, further eroding local control over gun violence prevention standards. The bill is up for a vote by the full House at its 1:30 pm session.
House Bill 425 (Antani, Craig) – Body Cameras: Defines specified portions of peace officers’ body-worn camera recordings and the infrastructure records of public schools as not subject to Ohio’s public records laws. The bill is up for a first hearing in Senate Government Oversight & Reform for sponsor testimony.
Senate Bill 250 (Hoagland) – Critical Infrastructure. To increase criminal and civil penalties for protests that take place on so-called “critical infrastructure facilities.” The bill is up for a third hearing and opponent testimony in Senate Judiciary.

Thursday, November 15

House Bill 402 (Hill) – Telephone Deregulation. Would effectively deregulate landline telephone service in Ohio, allowing for a weakening of customer service standards, more frequent price increases and reduced access to basic landline service at the provider’s discretion. The bill is up for a first hearing in Senate Public Utiities for sponsor testimony.
House Bill 563 (West) – Firearm Sales. To prohibit a licensed firearms dealer from transferring a firearm while a background check is pending unless 30 days have elapsed from the date the background check was requested. The bill is up for a first hearing in House Federalism and Interstate Relations.
More Information about This Week’s Agenda
We will be tracking any new updates and sharing timely legislative updates on significant legislation on Twitter using the #LameDuckOH hashtag. Follow us to stay up-to-date on what’s happening at the Statehouse.
TAKE ACTION: House Bill 258, a sweeping new abortion ban, would ban any abortion as early as six weeks – at a time before most women even know that they are pregnant, effectively eliminating abortion access in our state.
Ohioans deserve access to safe, legal abortion care in their community without interference from anti-abortion extremists.
 
The bill is up for a House vote on Thursday, November 15. Can you contact your State Representative and ask them to oppose HB258 today?

Statehouse Preview: Week of April 16

In a relatively quiet week after last week’s turmoil, we’re watching three bills moving at the Statehouse.

Stand Your Ground

On Tuesday at 3pm, the House Federalism and Interstate Relations committee will hold its second hearing in two weeks, and 5th overall, on Representatives Johnson and LaTourette’s  House Bill 228, a wide-ranging bill to change Ohio’s gun laws, the most notable change being the creation of a so-called “Stand Your Ground” provision. Last week’s hearing featured committee Republicans accepting an amendment to the bill that added a ban on “straw man” third party purchases. The bill also eliminates certain penalties for illegal carry, signage requirements at certain no-carry premeses, and the responsibility of permit holders to keep hands in plain sight when encountering police in a motor vehicle. A previously scheduled vote on the measure has been cancelled, but the committee has invited the public to testify. HB228 Bill analysis (original version) HB228 Comparison document (comparing the committee’s amended bill to prior amended version)

Payday Lending

Last week, with a rumored FBI investigation over lawmakers’ interactions with representatives of the payday lending industry swirling, a proposal (HB123) to crack down on predatory payday lending practices was scuttled by the House Government Accountability and Oversight committee. This week the bill, and a proposed “compromise” negotiated by acting Speaker Kirk Schuring that advocated what has been called “watered down” reform, is back and again scheduled for a vote at the committee’s Wednesday meeting >> Read more about the recent history of payday lending reform efforts

Police Incidents

Finally, a bill introduced more than a year ago, Senate Bill 13 from Senator Tavares will get its first hearing in the Senate Local Government, Public Safety and Veterans Affairs. The measure grants individuals the right to lawfully record any incident involving a state or local law enforcement officer and to maintain custody and control of that recording and the recording device
Complete House committee schedule Complete Senate committee schedule
>> Sign up for our other email lists at innovationohio.org/signup

Stay informed about key issues and bills.

Sign Up

We monitor Ohio politicians to help you hold them accountable.