Kristina Roegner
Senate sends homebrew legislation to governor
Elmer Steingass’ friends call him Goose, and his brown ale took home a gold medal at a recent homebrewing competition. It’s going to be tough to get a taste, though. That’s because homebrewing falls into a bit of a grey area under Ohio law. A measure on its way to Gov. Mike DeWine’s desk would […]
Transgender athlete bills don’t solve any pressing issue. They’re just bullying
Two bills are working their way through the Ohio General Assembly that do not solve any pressing issues in high school athletics; they simply target and needlessly victimize five Ohio children in a cynical attempt to score cheap political points. I’m referring to Ohio House Bill 61 and Senate Bill 132, which would ban transgender girls from […]
Lawmakers pass bill to let them rescind health orders, setting up clash with DeWine
The Ohio General Assembly approved a bill Wednesday to allow lawmakers to strike down health orders they disagree with, sending the legislation to a governor who has already vowed to veto it. Republican leaders in the Ohio House of Representatives and Ohio Senate committed to holding votes to override Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto of Senate […]
Ohio bill slashing “regulatory restrictions” by 30% has watchdog, fire official worried
A bill making its way through the Ohio Senate would require the state to slash almost a third of all state rules based on whether they contain certain words. While supporters say the bill, sponsored by Sens. Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, and Kristina Roegner, R-Hudson, will cut business-suffocating red tape, opponents say it’s an arbitrary, simple-minded […]
Health orgs. backed Ohio’s pandemic response, then gave $ to politicians working to undermine it
As Ohio lawmakers considered a bill last November to allow themselves to strike down public health orders, a handful of organizations banded together to state their unequivocal opposition. “Now is not the time to let up. The public health crisis is not over,” the organizations told lawmakers. This disagreement in a matter of life and […]
Chances for Ohio death penalty repeal appear to be growing
The biggest-ever bipartisan coalition on Thursday announced a renewed effort to repeal the death penalty in Ohio. State Sen. Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, and Sen. Steve Huffman, R-Tipp City, hosted a virtual press conference to announce that they and three other Republican and four Democratic senators so far have said they will co-sponsor the repeal legislation. […]
Public health officials say SB 22 would hamper pandemic response
Public health took center stage at the Ohio Statehouse on Wednesday, if only for an hour, with experts crediting the government pandemic response for saving lives and asking lawmakers not to hamper the ability to do so again in the future. Officials representing health departments throughout Ohio are opposed to Republican-backed legislation that would give […]
Ohio Senate passes bill to prohibit widespread stay-at-home orders
The Ohio Senate has approved a bill that would restrict the state health director from issuing broad quarantine and stay-at-home orders in battling a pandemic. Senate Bill 311 is one in a string of bills introduced by Republican legislators this year seeking to rein in power of the Ohio Department of Health, all while the […]
Ohio Senate votes against bill to limit state health director’s power
The Ohio Senate unanimously voted against an amended bill on Wednesday that would subject some orders from the state health director to a legislative review. Republicans in the Ohio House of Representatives have defended the bill as allowing for checks and balances between branches of government. Senators of both parties offered numerous reasons for voting […]
GOP state senators announce bill to end shutdown, curb Dr. Acton’s power
A pair of Republican state senators have proposed their own bill to get Ohio reopened and curb the executive power of the governor and state health director. The Republican caucus in the Ohio House of Representatives has been active in this effort over the past two weeks, but this marks the first bill coming from […]
As pandemic rages and uncertainty looms, Ohio legislature takes the backseat
For nearly two months now, Gov. Mike DeWine has pulled the levers of government power via executive orders, announced in real time at televised briefings every afternoon. Ohio’s chief executive and his health director have blocked mass gatherings of people, canceled in-person learning at K-12 schools, and shuttered “non-essential” businesses. The General Assembly, meanwhile, has […]
DeWine reversal on mask mandate follows pressure from public, fellow Republicans
On Monday, Gov. Mike DeWine made his position on wearing masks at reopened businesses very clear: “No mask, no work, no service, no exception.” As it turned out, there was an exception: some people being “offended” by that mandate. The result was a complete reversal on Tuesday. DeWine announced his administration would not require any […]