Ohio Senate
Education sees some funding boosts, some missed opportunities in 2022
Next year is sure to be a busy one when it comes to education in Ohio, with potential state agency overhauls and funding changes still on the agenda for the state legislature. The end of 2022 was capped by an 11th-hour push and ultimately failure for an attempted overhaul of the Ohio Department of Education […]
Voter ID requirements inserted into special election bill, passed by Senate
A bill originally authored to get rid of certain election days has been expanded to require photo IDs for in-person voting and codifying a limit on ballot drop boxes. House Bill 458 passed the Ohio Senate on Tuesday on a 24-6 vote after additions were added by the Senate Local Government and Elections Committee. The […]
Ohio trans athletes ban moving forward with genital inspections replaced by birth certificates
Changes to remove genital inspections as part of a ban on trans student athletes have been approved by an Ohio Senate committee, replaced by birth certificates, as the overall bill continues to move forward. House Bill 151’s efforts to increase teacher mentorship in Ohio were praised by education leaders, except for the part of the […]
Ohio Senate bill passed with provisions for fertility fraud
Ohioans may soon get protections from fertility fraud after an extensive criminal justice reform bill was passed by the Senate last Wednesday. A 27-2 bipartisan vote sent the bill to the House where lawmakers will further scrutinize it before being sent to Gov. Mike DeWine for final approval. The bill was first introduced in February […]
What will happen if Ohio abolishes its income tax?
For years, legislators in the Ohio General Assembly have been working to abolish the state income tax. Republicans now command historic majorities after the 2022 midterm elections. Because of this, Cleveland.com politics reporter Jeremy Pelzer is saying income tax abolition is now closer than ever. The caveman argument for abolition of the income tax is […]
After bipartisan backlash, Ohio GOP tweaks legislation that makes it harder to amend Constitution
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. The resolution to make it harder for voters to amend the Ohio Constitution […]
In 1912, Ohio voters asserted their democratic authority. Now Ohio Republicans want to rip it away
Ohio Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose and state Rep. Brian Stewart have launched a frontal assault on voters’ ability to amend our state constitution, putting their knives at the neck of 110 years of citizen-led democratic progress in the Buckeye State. Thinking that Ohioans are stupid and gullible enough to relinquish our democratic powers […]
Frank LaRose and Ohio Republicans have launched an all-out assault on voters and democracy
Right now, at least, Ohioans can bypass an out-of-step legislature and go straight to statewide voters to remedy wrongs and enshrine rights in the Ohio Constitution. It is not an easy process by design. No slam dunk. But amending the state constitution through citizen-led ballot initiatives gives people power to change policy that politicians won’t. […]
Newly elected state school board member calls GOP plan to gut powers ‘Tornado from hell’
Former state Sen. Teresa Fedor got out of the Statehouse before the last vestiges of democratic governance were flattened by a power-hungry party on steroids. She knew a cyclone of destructive GOP legislation, super-charged by an unstoppable Republican juggernaut in the General Assembly, would be devastating. It is already bearing down fast on voting rights, […]
Ohio Senate GOP to clarify women’s health exemptions on six-week abortion ban
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. Ohio Senate Republicans are working to clarify language on the six-week abortion […]
Ohio Republicans want to make June 24 ‘Life Day’ in honor of decision overturning abortion rights
A group of Ohio Republican state senators want to designate June 24 “Life Day” in Ohio, in honor of the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning national abortion rights on that date this year. Ohio Senate Bill 352 is sponsored by state Sen. Steve Huffman, R-Tipp City, with co-sponsors including state Sens. Niraj Antani, Louis Blessing, […]
Ohio Republicans look to have picked up one Ohio Senate seat, and perhaps 2 to 4 in the Ohio House
Competing under maps declared to be an unconstitutional GOP gerrymander by a bipartisan majority on the Ohio Supreme Court, Ohio Republicans look to have picked up one Ohio Senate seat Tuesday and perhaps two to four seats in the Ohio House as well. With outstanding absentee and provisional ballots, these results could change in the […]