Budget activity
The General Assembly sent House Bill (HB) 110 to Gov. Mike DeWine. The bill makes operating appropriations for the fiscal years (FY) 2022 and 2023 biennium. The Conference Committee report includes the Fair School Funding Plan (HB 1) as the basis for school funding and includes additional education-related changes. Click here for a comparison document detailing the conference committee report.

General Assembly activity
The General Assembly sent the following bills to DeWine:

  • HB 82, which would create an opt-out for 11th-grade students from the state requirement to take the ACT or SAT. The bill was amended in the Senate Primary and Secondary Education Committee to include modified provisions from Senate Bill (SB) 145, a bill to revise the state report card. Click here to read an analysis of the bill.
  • HB 244, which would require K-12 schools to allow military children who are relocating but not yet residents of a district to enroll electronically and participate in technology-based educational opportunities. The bill was amended on the Senate floor to prohibit K-12 schools from mandating a vaccine that is not fully approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Additionally, the bill was amended on the Senate Floor to modify quarantine procedures for individuals who come from a high-risk country as defined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
  • HB 252, which would enter Ohio into the Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Interstate Compact that increases public access to audiology and speech-language pathology services by mutually recognizing other member state licenses. The legislation would allow for telehealth services if allowable under other state’s licenses.
  • Senate Bill (SB) 52, which would permit a board of county commissioners to designate a restricted area that prohibits the construction of any or all utility facilities in all, or in part, of the unincorporated areas of the county. The bill also makes changes to the Power Siting Board, public notices to school districts in the affected area and includes language grandfathering certain wind and solar projects. Click here to read an analysis of the bill.

House activity
The House last week passed SB 111 by a vote of 62-34. The bill would make an appropriation related to coronavirus local fiscal recovery for townships and other local governments. The bill was amended on the House floor to prohibit private and public entities from requiring vaccinations of a vaccine for which the FDA has not given full approval and to prohibit discrimination against persons who have not taken the vaccine. Earlier in the week the House Finance Committee removed the bill language pertaining to funding for schools provided by Congress through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic due to the enactment of HB 170, which contained those provisions. The bill is now in the Senate pending a concurrence vote.

The House last week also passed SB 187 by a vote of 58-36. The bill would allow intercollegiate athletes to earn compensation from their name, image or likeness. The bill was amended on the House floor to include provisions of HB 61, which would enact the Save Women’s Sports Act to require schools and public and private colleges to designate separate single-sex teams and sports for each sex. The bill is now pending in the Senate for a concurrence vote.

The House passed SB 19 by a vote of 59-36. The bill would establish a property tax exemption for certain property used for wetland mitigation projects; revise the process for adjusting property values due to instances that result in injury or destruction to the property; expand an existing property tax exemption for fraternal organizations; and create an annual report to the legislature on ineligible properties for the homestead tax exemption. Additionally, the bill would change the current requirement for community schools to file an annual tax exemption form. Earlier in the week, the bill was amended in the House Ways and Means committee to make changes to the tax commissioner’s study of properties that improperly receive the property tax homestead exemption and also makes changes regarding the regional transit authority (RTA) in Lucas County. The bill is now pending in the Senate for a concurrence vote.

The House voted not to concur on Senate changes to HB 29 by a vote of 96-0. The bill would allow a person who was discharged from the United States Public Health Service or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to obtain an Ohio veterans identification card. The bill was amended on the Senate Floor to include SB 187, a bill that would allow intercollegiate athletes to earn compensation from their name, image or likeness. Additionally, the bill was amended to include modified provisions from SB 176, a bill that would legalize, regulate and tax sports gaming; prohibit betting on any sport or athletic event if a player is under the age of 18; and require that 98% of profits be used for K-12 education. Click here to read a synopsis of the Senate Floor amendments.

The House last week passed HB 83 by a vote of 87-0. The bill would make changes to child support laws with regard to caretakers. The bill now moves to the Senate.

The House passed House Resolution 90 by a vote of 56-0. The resolution appoints Kevin D. Miller (R-Newark) to fill the open seat in the 72nd House District.

House Health Committee
The committee last week amended HB 248, which would prohibit mandatory vaccinations and vaccination status disclosures; prohibit discrimination based on a person’s refusal of a vaccination or refusal to show proof of vaccination status; and require school districts to disclose available exemptions when disclosing required vaccinations. The amendment clarifies that existing school and child care immunization requirements and exemptions continue after the bill’s enactment. Additionally, the amendment removes the process of seeking relief through the attorney general’s office and removes language that would have allowed the bill’s provisions to prevail over any conflicting provisions in a general law, present or future.

House Primary and Secondary Education Committee
The committee last week accepted a substitute version of HB 61, sponsored by Reps. Jena Powell (R-Arcanum) and Reggie Stoltzfus (R-Minerva), which would enact the Save Women’s Sports Act to require schools and public and private colleges to designate separate single-sex teams and sports for each sex. The substitute version of the bill removes language that would have required an athlete’s sex be established via a physician’s statement; clarifies that the bill does not prevent anyone from participating on co-ed or men’s sports teams; includes language that schools and athletic organizations may not knowingly allow male athletes to participate on women’s teams; and includes athletic organizations on the list of entities that athletes may sue if they believe they are retaliated against for reporting a violation of the legislation’s requirements.

House State and Local Government Committee
The committee last week held a second hearing on HB 322, sponsored by Rep. Don Jones (R-Freeport), which would prohibit the State Board of Education from adopting model curriculum regarding certain concepts of race and sex in public schools. The bill would prohibit school districts from teaching, instructing or training certain concepts of race and sex and prohibit a school district from requiring a teacher to discuss current events or controversial issues. Additionally, the bill would prohibit a school district from requiring, through a policy, a teacher to believe in the systemic nature of racism or gender identities if it is against the teacher’s religious or philosophical convictions.

The committee last week held a second hearing on HB 327, sponsored by Reps. Diane V. Grendell (R-Chesterland) and Sarah Fowler Arthur (R-Geneva-on-the-Lake), which would prohibit school districts and state agencies, among others from teaching, advocating or promoting divisive concepts and allow the Ohio Department of Education to withhold funding for noncompliance.

House Commerce and Labor Committee
The committee last week held sponsor testimony on HB 232, sponsored by Reps. Stephanie D. Howse (D-Cleveland) and Jessica E. Miranda (D-Forest Park), which would enact the Ohio Equal Pay Act to address wage disparities in K-12 schools, among other entities.

The committee last week held a second hearing on HB 146, sponsored by Reps. Craig S. Riedel (R-Defiance) and Susan Manchester (R-Waynesfield), which would maintain the prohibition of a public authority applying prevailing wage requirements to a public improvement for a school district or ESC.

House Civil Justice Committee
The committee last week held sponsor testimony on HB 350, sponsored by Rep. Al Cutrona (R-Canfield), which would prohibit school districts and state agencies, among others, from requiring a COVID-19 vaccination; prohibit school districts and state agencies among others, from requiring proof of a COVID-19 vaccination; prohibit discrimination against individuals based on their COVID-19 vaccination status; and prohibit an employer other than a health care entity or practitioner from taking an adverse employment action against an individual based on the individual’s COVID-19 vaccination status.

Posted by Nicole Piscitani on 6/29/2021