A total of 22 bills were introduced in the House on what amounts to the first day of work on legislative agenda items.
The first 10 were sponsored by House Republicans. The first two bills require the use of the state’s website OhioMeansJobs.com by job-seekers getting unemployment benefits and county workforce centers.
Some others are bills that didn’t get finished last session, including the crackdown on internet cafes, an overhaul of the municipal income tax system and the regulation of navigators who would bring together insurance shoppers with insurers under the federal health care act.
And one is an incomplete bill called a placeholder. The description of the bill, called Working to Ensure Safer Schools says that it “will be drafted based on interested party input during the committee process. It will incorporate research and suggestions brought forth by the public.”
Democrats also introduced bills, including one related to metal detectors in schools and a requirement that the Local Government Fund receive the same proportion of tax revenue it did in 2005 – a reaction to the cuts local governments took in Gov. Kasich’s first budget.
And Columbus Rep. Mike Stinziano proposed a constitutional amendment on voters’ rights.
