Ohio legislature
License amnesty program nets big gains for low-income drivers
Nearly a quarter-million Ohio drivers have taken advantage of a program started at the end of 2020 that is intended to reduce license-reinstatement fees or waive them altogether, the Ohio Poverty Law Center said Monday. The group released an analysis of the amnesty program, a bipartisan measure passed by the legislature. It found that nearly […]
ODE programming officer tapped to head agency as state board searches for permanent leader
The chief programming officer at the Ohio Department of Education has been appointed the next interim state superintendent of public instruction. Chris Woolard was one of two candidates recommended by ODE’s outgoing interim superintendent of public instruction, Dr. Stephanie Siddens, who is leaving to become Upper Arlington City Schools’ deputy superintendent. Woolard’s first day as […]
Cleveland’s Superior Midway bike project saved after backlash
The following article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content-sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets as it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland. Following backlash from the biking community, a proposal to stop cities from creating […]
Six transgender girls play sports in Ohio, but GOP wants them out
The following article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content-sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets as it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland. Six girls across Ohio may no longer be able to play on their […]
Arming teachers will not prevent school violence
Teachers spend countless hours every school year learning how to hit student learning targets, and now some are being asked to hit firearms targets as well. In June of 2022, the Ohio legislature passed a law authorizing teachers to carry handguns while in their classrooms. Ohio joined a growing list of states that are arming […]
Legislature on the clock to redraw Ohio’s unconstitutional Congressional district map
As the state awaits the Ohio Supreme Court’s decision on the second round of legislative maps, the state legislature is on a timeline to revise the invalid congressional map as well. The state’s high court decided in a 4-3 decision on Jan. 13 that a congressional map passed by the General Assembly was not valid, […]
Abortion providers press on as state regulations grow
Ohio’s largest abortion clinic says it will continuing seeing patients and providing care as it awaits the impact of the most recent wave of regulations by the state, and further efforts in the state legislature. The non-profit Preterm in Cleveland has been open for 47 years, through legal barriers galore, on the state, federal and […]
The complications of history: Public policy must provide a full picture for true education
Ohioans are understandably proud of the fact that their state was abolitionist from its inception. Predictably, this aspect of our state’s history has been evoked within the context of the anti-racist discussions of the past few months. I recently took some time to read David McCullough’s, “The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who […]
House reps target ‘discriminatory’ health insurance practice
Two lawmakers pitched a bill Tuesday they say would block insurers from a practice that shifts health care costs onto patients with chronic diseases who require expensive drugs. Speaking to the House Health Committee, Reps. Susan Manchester, R-Waynesfield, and Thomas West, D-Canton, proposed prohibiting insurers from using “copay accumulator” policies. These policies prohibit patients from […]
Bipartisan Ohio bill seeks to raise age to own firearms to 21
A bill with bipartisan sponsorship making its way through the Ohio legislature aims to raise the age for gun ownership from 18 to 21. Senate Bill 182 would also increase the maximum amount of prison time and fines attached to the charge of “improperly furnishing a firearm to an underage person.” Under the proposed law, […]
Judges’ political party can inform voters, experts and advocates say
Experts and election advocates in Ohio are seeing the positives in including a judicial candidate’s party affiliation on a general election ballot, something a new Ohio House Bill proposes to do. Late last month, House Bill 460 was introduced, which would allow judges to include their political party on the ballot, in a change from […]
New Ohio House bill would allow judges to include party affiliation on ballot
A House Bill introduced during the holiday break would allow judges to run under party affiliation, which the sponsors of the bill say would allow voters to have more information about the candidates. House Bill 460 would allow judges races to become partisan in a general election, as opposed to the non-partisan ballot which also […]