As expected the lame-duck session in the Ohio Statehouse is off to a busy start. Any bills that fail to pass both chambers and get the signature of the governor by the end of the year will have to start over from scratch when the new general assembly gets to work in 2023.
The topic most anticipated to be addressed in this lame-duck session is abortion. Ohio’s current law, known as a “heartbeat law” bans abortion at about six weeks. But it’s on hold due to a court challenge over its constitutionality in a Hamilton County case. Senate President Matt Huffman says after the Thanksgiving holiday, the Senate will take up clarifying the medical conditions that would enable a woman to legally receive an abortion in the state.
While lawmakers look to tighten up the Heartbeat Law, and some talk about pushing for an all-out abortion ban, those who favor abortion rights are looking at a ballot measure to enshrine abortion rights in the Ohio Constitution. It is a strategy that has worked in other states, including Michigan, on election day. They may have a higher bar to reach if the legislature approves Secretary of State Frank LaRose's idea, which would change the threshold for passage from 50% plus one vote to 60% of the vote. But that's only for constitutional amendments initiated by citizen groups, not those placed on the ballot by the General Assembly. At least 60 percent of legislators must agree to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot, and the threshold for passage of those ballot issues would be lower, 50 percent plus one.
A bill that would restrict gender-affirming care for minors received a hearing this week and included opposition testimony from Jeopardy champion, Amy Schneider. Schneider, a transgender woman, is originally from Dayton. She told lawmakers that gender-affirming care “saves lives”. She says the proposals in House Bill 454 puts transgender children a risk. House Republicans have tweaked the original bill to allow for puberty blockers and hormones for transgender children if a number of conditions are met including two-years of counseling.
Senate lawmakers want to strip the Ohio state school board of most of its duties and move education and workforce development into a new office under control of the governor. Currently the state school board oversees curriculum and textbooks for the state’s K-through-12 students . But Senate Bill 178 would take that away from the board and leave them to handle administrative matters such as teacher licensing and school personnel conduct
The 2022 election is still being certified but lame-duck session lawmakers are eyeing changes to the state’s election laws. A Republican-sponsored bill is again moving forward after being sidelined for more than a year.
An Ohio House committee tweaked the bill this week and those changes include no longer allowing the Secretary of State or local governments to mail unsolicited applications for absentee ballots. Other tweaks include eliminating early voting on the day before Election Day and moving the deadline for requesting an absentee ballot to a week before the election. The current deadline is three day before the election.
Stephanie Czekalinski, Digital Producer, Ideastream Public Media
Ken Schneck, Editor, The Buckeye Flame
Andy Chow, Statehouse News Bureau News Editor, Ohio Public Radio/TV
