The lame duck session are the final weeks of the General Assembly that occur after November’s elections. Anything not passed must start the legislative process all over next General Assembly in January. Here is a run down of the major issues:
HJR6 didn’t pass: This proposal would strip citizens of our voices to initiate constitutional referendums by allowing a minority to suppress the voices of Ohioans. As Ohioans look to the ballot to fix gerrymandering in Ohio, this was a blatant power grab to prevent citizens from holding politicians accountable.
SB 288 Goes to the Governor! Partners at ARCH Re-entry, HEALOhio and the ACLU worked tirelessly over the past two years to move a large and complicated legislative package of criminal justice reforms and tweaks that will reward efforts of those who are incarcerated with more opportunities for earned time and early release efforts, improve the expungement and sealing process, and put public health over retributive justice practices.
Voting Rights HB 458 sadly passes: This legislation will make it more difficult for low-income voters by requiring a photo ID, cementing one drop box location into state law, and reducing some early vote opportunities. Compared to earlier versions of this legislation, proposals to allow requests for absentee ballots online were eliminated. The new law also restricts our board of elections in counting and curing provisional ballots.
HB 45 - were you watching this one? This bill became a spending Christmas tree on Tuesday. Originally offering tax amnesty to allow people and businesses who owe back taxes to get caught up with fewer fees and fines became a $6 billion spending bill! This legislation invests $161 million into rental assistance, $25 million into Ohio’s foodbanks, and authorizes $1.75 billion in federal dollars for K-12 education and COVID response to be released to our schools. The legislation also invests General Revenue Funds into healthcare and boosting Ohio’s savings. You can see the specific breakdown of spending items here.
Schools will continue forward as is… HB 151 became the vehicle to attempt to strip the Ohio Board of Education of its authority and ban trans and non-binary athletes from being on a team. However, after the Senate passed this legislation, the House refused to concur in its amendments, leading to both harmful proposals to be defeated.
Increase oil drilling on state owned land: HB 507 - a bill originally focused on chicken sales - will increase oil and gas drilling in state parks, preservation sites, and other state-owned lands. This legislation also re-classifies natural gas as green energy, despite the inherent risks of methane.
This page will continue to be updated as more information comes out and more resources are available.