ohio house
Fertility fraud victim wants punishment put in Ohio law
Last November, Carrie Lauterbach did what many people have done since the fad began and submitted her DNA through a commercially-sold test to find out her genetic background. She knew her mother had gone to a fertility doctor in Cincinnati for help conceiving Carrie and her sister. She knew her parents had filled out paperwork […]
Watch our Ohio state government closely, and hold these politicians accountable
Those who can’t govern, grandstand. You see it in Congress where the minority party routinely resorts to performing for right-wing media with manufactured controversies and tired catch phrases that bemoan “cancel culture” or “woke” libs. But it’s a lot easier to grab attention on Fox News by reading Green Eggs and Ham than it is […]
Don’t entrust pandemic response to lawmakers who aren’t taking it seriously
Snowflakes, misinformation, conspiracy theories, serial abuse of constitutional theory — all were on depressing display last week in an Ohio Senate committee hearing on a recently introduced bill that would allow state lawmakers to strike down executive or emergency health orders issued by the governor. The Feb. 3 public hearing on S.B. 22 featured many […]
Education overhaul’s fate uncertain as lame duck nears end
After years of work, an education overhaul bill that would have addressed the state’s public school funding formula could be put on hold yet again as the lame duck session comes to an end. It doesn’t help that House Bill 305’s two sponsors are both out due to positive COVID-19 tests. State Rep. John Patterson, […]
Abortions bills move through lame duck
As the end of the 133rd General Assembly swiftly approaches, abortion bills are making their way through committees, and one has already been passed into law. The Senate gave their final approval of Senate Bill 27 this week, which requires abortion providers to pay for the burial or cremation of fetal remains after surgical abortion. […]
Armed teachers bill enters House, GOP Committee members express support
In the first hearing before a House committee for a bill authorizing local school districts to create firearms policies for personnel, some committee members made it very clear where they stood on the issue. “The absolute ignorance and absurdity from people who oppose this amazes me,” said state Rep. J. Todd Smith, R-Farmersville, during the […]
Equal pay, gender equity back in the legislature
The issue of gender pay equity has come up yet again in the Ohio Statehouse, after multiple previous attempts to bring the measure to a vote. State Rep. Stephanie Howse, D-Cleveland, introduced a bill called the Equal Pay Act and one that creates a gender pay equity task force this week, marking the sixth time […]
House passes abortion burial bill, now moves to governor for signature
The House passed a bill on Thursday to require abortion providers to bury or cremate fetal remains, despite arguments from religious groups and health clinics in the state. State representatives passed the bill on a 60 to 35 vote along party lines. The bill passed out of the House Civil Justice Committee the same day […]
House passes school funding overhaul, sending it to the Senate
In what legislators called a double-decade effort, a public school funding formula model passed the Ohio House with bipartisan support. The bill passed overwhelmingly, with a vote of 84-8. State Rep. John Patterson, D-Jefferson, brought the measure to the floor, just as he and now-House Speaker Bob Cupp brought the measure up the first time, […]
School funding overhaul moves on for full House vote
The Ohio House version of the public school funding overhaul in the works for three years was approved by the House Finance Committee and is headed for a full House vote, led by its former sponsor. HB 305 had its 10th hearing in the finance committee on Wednesday, where the committee heard from several more […]
Ohio Supreme Court schedules arguments in armed teachers case
The Ohio Supreme Court has scheduled time for the parties in a lawsuit about arming teachers in schools to argue their cases. The state’s highest court will hear from attorneys representing Butler County’s Madison Local Schools and families who filed to keep the school from instituting a firearms policy for school personnel. Oral arguments, which […]
Education bills very active during Ohio Statehouse lame duck session
Both the Ohio Senate’s and House’s proposed overhaul of the state’s public education system are speeding through committees. Both the House and Senate heard hours of testimony on companion bills meant to spell out the changes that would be made to the school funding formula, one that has been deemed unconstitutional multiple times over the […]