Ohio Senate
‘Failed abortion’ laws already on the books, say opponents of new bill
Opponents of a new abortion-related piece of legislation and one legislator on the committee reviewing the bill questioned why the bill was needed considering the regulations are already a part of law. Senate Bill 157 received its third hearing in the Senate Government Oversight & Reform Committee on Wednesday, where opponents and supporters of the […]
Sex abuse survivors speak out for more education
Among more than a dozen advocates demanding better education in schools on sexual abuse, survivors told their stories, issuing an ultimatum to legislators to keep other children from being victimized. “Just as we teach addition and subtraction, we must teach children how to speak up for themselves,” said Alicia Zimov, a survivor, along with her […]
Total abortion ban bill enters Senate committee after day of protest
A bill hinging on the downfall of federal abortion rights came into a Senate committee Wednesday with the support of its two Republican sponsors. Senate Bill 123 is a “trigger” bill that would allow the state to ban abortion with a change in the U.S. Constitution or the overturning of the U.S. Supreme Court decision […]
With school vaccine mandates banned, lawmaker wants mask requirements outlawed, too
Ohio schools will soon be barred from mandating that students be vaccinated against COVID-19. A Republican state lawmaker wants to also prohibit schools from mandating students and others wear face masks. Senate Bill 209, introduced by state Sen. Andrew Brenner, R-Powell, is unlikely to impact school districts’ decisions for the fall, as lawmakers are on […]
Ohio lawmakers reintroduce medically unproven ‘abortion reversal’ bill
Ohio lawmakers are once again proposing that patients be made aware of a controversial and unproven “abortion reversal” method. State Reps. Kyle Koehler, R-Springfield, and Sarah Fowler Arthur, R-Ashtabula, are the main sponsors of a bill they are calling the “Abortion Pill Reversal Information Act.” Two-dozen Republicans in the Ohio House of Representatives have signed […]
Mailbag: What’s the cost of sending Highway Patrol to the Texas border?
Welcome back to another installment of the Ohio Capital Journal Mailbag, which rank choice voting has shown is the most-read political column in the state. (Or at least is readers’ third pick.) Let’s get to it: Got a question about Ohio politics/government? Send them by email to [email protected] or tweet them to @tylerjoelb. Any new […]
Rugby is for every body
By Kat Amrhein During my time as a collegiate rugby player for the Miami Women’s Club Rugby Team, I played alongside individuals of different shapes, sizes, races, sexual orientations and gender identities. Each player brought their distinctive abilities to the team, and there was acceptance for the diversity within our club. A short and scrappy […]
History Thursday: Budget debate led lawmakers to mow Statehouse lawn
By the fall of 1971, having tried just about everything else to get the state budget passed, Ohio lawmakers turned to their next great negotiating tool: Lawnmowers. The tardy budget meant state funding cuts. Lawmakers protested by cutting the grass on the Statehouse grounds themselves. Fifty years later, the Ohio General Assembly would pass a […]
Ohio ballots will list party affiliations for top judicial candidates
A change to Ohio’s ballot rules could impact key Supreme Court races in 2022 and influence the leaning of the state’s highest court for years to come. Gov. Mike DeWine signed a bill into law Thursday that will list candidates’ party affiliations on ballots for certain judicial races. This will include races for the Ohio […]
DeWine signs budget, blocks erasure of COVID-19 health violations
Gov. Mike DeWine signed the $74 billion, two-year state budget into law, keeping in place nearly all of its signature policy positions and spending priorities while once again nixing an effort by Republican lawmakers to counter his administration’s methods of handling the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. The governor also vetoed an attempt by Republican lawmakers to […]
Education funding overhaul reappears in final budget draft
The Ohio House’s version of a public school funding overhaul won the day after negotiations ended for the new two-year state budget. The conference committee on the budget bill, comprised of members of both chambers of the Ohio legislature, returned to the so-called “Fair School Funding Plan” after the Senate tried to make its own […]
Budget includes $250M for Ohio broadband internet expansion
Few items in the new state budget will have as direct an impact on Ohioans’ lives as the money to be spent on improving access to broadband internet, what one lawmaker has long championed as the “great social equalizer of our time.” Lawmakers agreed to spend $250 million on broadband internet expansion projects to aid […]