These last few weeks since the election have been very busy for state lawmakers, who spent much of the summer and fall in their districts, since the entire House and half the Senate was on the ballot. But before lawmakers left, there were some big pieces of legislation that went through, and several high-profile measures that got a lot of attention but didn't get far. Talking about that was – for the last time – are two longtime state lawmakers who are leaving their seats because of term limits. Speaker Bill Batchelder is a Republican from Medina and is the second-longest serving lawmaker in Ohio history. Minority Leader Tracy Maxwell Heard of Columbus is the first African American woman to serve as majority leader of the Ohio House – she’s been minority leader for the last year and a half.
Now that the House and Senate are officially done, it can be said that it's been an interesting and busy year – especially these last few weeks. Going over some of the highlights are the reporters of the Statehouse News Bureau, Andy Chow and Jo Ingles.