General Assembly activity
The General Assembly sent House Bill (HB) 51 to Gov. Mike DeWine for his approval. The bill would revise the process for adjusting property values due to instances that result in injury or destruction to the property. The bill also would allow a public body, including a board of education, to temporarily meet remotely until June 30, 2022, and include federal tax law conformity provisions. Both the ability for a public body to meet remotely and the federal tax law provisions have an emergency clause pertaining to them, which means they take immediate effect upon the governor’s signature.

The General Assembly also sent Senate Bill (SB) 181 to DeWine for his approval. The bill would establish restrictions on policies that prevent students from wearing religious apparel when competing or participating in interscholastic athletics or extracurricular activities. The bill also would permit certain officials to limit the wearing of religious apparel if a legitimate danger to participants is identified but requires an administrator or official to offer all reasonable accommodations. Additionally, the bill would provide civil immunity for schools and school districts, among others.

Senate activity
The Senate passed SB 168 by a 23-8 vote. The bill would establish the Ohio Mobile Training Team Program that provides basic firearms training programs to school safety designees and includes quarterly training required for continued certification.

The Senate unanimously passed SB 112, which would require abandoned land to be forfeited to the state, instead of a school district, as under current law if unsold after the first foreclosure sale, and eliminate the requirement to notify a school district upon receiving certification that a property has been offered for sale and is unsold.

EdChoice Voucher Amendment
A possible amendment to HB 265 that would revise the Cleveland Scholarship Program was adopted in the Senate Health Committee and then later withdrawn from the bill. The amendment would eliminate the requirement that the private school accepting a scholarship student be in a municipality of at least 15,000 people. The General Assembly may try to incorporate the proposed amendment in a different bill over the next few weeks. Click here to the view the amendment.

Ohio Supreme Court
The Ohio Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that the House and Senate state legislative maps approved by the Ohio Redistricting Commission are unconstitutional. The Ohio Redistricting Commission has until Feb. 17 to approve new maps.

Senate Judiciary Committee
The committee held sponsor testimony on SB 288, sponsored by Sen. Nathan H. Manning (R-North Ridgeville), which would revise laws regarding aggravated rape, aggravated burglary and trespassing and would update employment laws as it pertains to Head Start agencies.

Senate Workforce and Higher Education Committee
The committee held a third hearing on SB 251, which would allow a person under age 16 to be employed between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. during the school year if the person has parental or legal guardian consent.

House Government Oversight Committee
The committee amended and passed SB 9, which would require the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) and other state agencies to reduce regulatory restrictions by 30% by 2025. The amendment clarifies that when an agency is reviewing its own rule to determine whether it duplicates, overlaps with, or conflicts with other laws or rules, the agency is required to examine federal laws and rules and Ohio laws and rules. Additionally, the amendment specifies that the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review (JCARR) may recommend invalidation of a proposed rule or no-change rule for failure to justify a regulatory restriction to any agency required to reduce regulatory restrictions.

The committee held a second hearing on HB 455, sponsored by Rep. Reggie Stoltzfus (R-Paris Township), which would provide an opportunity for a concealed handgun licensee or qualified military member to avoid charges for carrying a deadly weapon into a prohibited place, including a school zone, if the person leaves upon request, and penalize failure to leave upon request or returning with a firearm.

House Commerce and Labor Committee
The committee held a second hearing on HB 181, sponsored by Rep. Jena Powell (R-Arcanum), which would require a licensing authority, including ODE, to issue an occupational license to an applicant who completes a registered apprenticeship program and prohibit the licensing authority from requiring an examination or higher passing score if not required for other applicants.

Senate Health Committee
The committee held a third hearing on HB 281, which would change terminology in the Ohio Revised Code as it pertains to individuals with mental illnesses and disabilities.

Senate Agriculture Committee
The committee held sponsor testimony on HB 397, sponsored by Reps. Brian Stewart (R-Ashville) and Darrell Kick (R-Loudonville), which would revise the law regarding agricultural leases.

House Public Utilities Committee
The committee accepted a substitute version of HB 450, which would allow for the development of community solar projects. Click here to the read the substitute bill comparative synopsis.

House State and Local Government Committee
The committee held a third hearing on House Joint Resolution 1, which would request a constitutional convention to impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, and limit the terms of office for its officials and members of Congress.

Ohio Department of Education
The State Board of Education’s Performance and Impact Committee is working on the administrative rules pertaining to the report card reforms. ODE released the 2018-2019 school year data that is being used to simulate new calculations to inform the discussions. The data includes the underlying detail at the school and district level for the component simulations. Each file has a “Notes” tab that includes detail on the source of data and the general rules for re-creating any simulations. The document includes the necessary information to re-create the overall rating simulations. These are not official ratings and the ratings released in September 2022 will not exactly replicate the modeled calculations. Click here to view the data.

ODE has the following proposed rules open for public comment:

  • OAC Chapter 3301-28 Local Report Card (4 rules)
  • OAC Chapter 3301-44 Adult Diploma Pilot Program rules
  • OAC Chapter 3301-40 Rules on Nonpublic Schools Administrative Cost Reimbursement
  • OAC Chapter 3301-35 rules regarding blended/online learning (3 rules)
  • OAC 3301-24-19 Alternative resident educator licenses for teaching in grades kindergarten to 12

Click here to view the rules open for public comment.

Posted by Nicole Piscitani on 4/11/2022