Budget activity
The House voted not to concur on Senate changes to House Bill (HB) 110 by a vote 86-6. The bill, which makes operating appropriations for the fiscal years (FY) 2022 and 2023 biennium, was revised earlier in the week by the Senate Finance Committee through an omnibus amendment and later passed 25-8 by the full Senate. Click here for the omnibus amendment. Click here for a comparison of the changes between the executive, House and Senate versions of the bill.

A conference committee will now begin discussions to reconcile the differences between the bill’s provisions.

House activity
The House passed HB 82 by a vote of 94-0. The bill would create an opt-out for 11th-grade students from the state requirement to take the ACT or SAT.

The House passed HB 105 by a vote of 86-8. The bill would require public schools to provide age-appropriate instruction in child sexual abuse and sexual violence prevention and require in-service staff training in child sexual abuse prevention.

Senate activity
The Senate passed Senate Bill (SB) 181 by a vote of 33-0. The bill would establish restrictions on policies that prevent students from wearing religious apparel when competing or participating in interscholastic athletics or extracurricular activities; 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; and provide civil immunity for schools and school districts, among others.

House Primary and Secondary Education Committee
The committee held a second hearing on HB 316, sponsored by Reps. Dontavius L. Jarrells (D-Columbus) and Brett Hudson Hillyer (R-Uhrichsville), which would allow school districts to implement the Supplemental School Year Program that provides high school students who were enrolled in public and chartered nonpublic schools in the 2020-21 school year the opportunity to retake or supplement the grades or courses they completed during that school year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and would require the school to petition the Ohio High School Athletic Association for up to two additional semesters of eligibility for students participating in the program. OSBA, the Ohio Association of School Business Officials, the Buckeye Association of School Administrators, the Ohio Association of Secondary School Administrators and the Alliance for High Quality Education provided interested-party testimony. Click here to read the testimony.

The committee held sponsor testimony on SB 1, sponsored by Sens. Steve Wilson (R-Maineville) and Rob McColley (R-Napoleon), which would require students who enter the ninth grade for the first time on or after July 1, 2021, to complete at least one-half unit of instruction in the study of financial literacy.

The committee amended HB 151, sponsored by Rep. Don Jones (R-Freeport), which would revise the Ohio Resident Educator Program. The amendment changes eligibility requirements for new teacher mentors and allows school districts local flexibility to decide how the mentorship programs are structured. The amendments made technical corrections to the bill.

The committee held a third hearing on HB 205, which would revise school discipline, bullying and hazing policies at public schools and colleges.

Senate Select Committee on Gaming Committee
The committee accepted a substitute version of SB 176, which would legalize, regulate and tax sports gaming; prohibit betting on any sport or athletic event for primary or secondary school students; and require that 98% of profits be used for K-12 education. The substitute bill modifies license restrictions and tax deductions and adds competitive video game competitions to the allowable games to be wagered on. Additionally, the substitute bill clarifies language that no gambling can occur on an event if a player is under the age of 18.

House Ways and Means Committee
The committee accepted a substitute bill on SB 19, which would establish a property tax exemption for certain property used for wetland mitigation projects. The substitute bill includes the following changes:

  • provisions of HB 314, a bill that would exempt from state and local use taxes certain watercraft seasonally stored or repaired in Ohio;
  • provisions of HB 51, which would revise the process for adjusting property values due to instances that result in injury or destruction to the property;
  • expands an existing property tax exemption for fraternal organizations;
  • creates an annual report to the legislature on ineligible properties for the homestead tax exemption.

House State and Local Government Committee
The committee amended HB 203, which would require an occupational licensing authority to issue a license or government certification to an applicant who holds a license, government certification or private certification or has satisfactory work experience in another state under certain circumstances. The amendments make changes to veterinary medical licenses, credit services organization certificates, professional engineer and surveyor registrations and real estate brokers’ licenses.

The committee held a third hearing on HB 285, which would allow the House speaker or Senate president to intervene in state and federal court cases that challenge a statute; allow legal representation other than the attorney general; and require the attorney general to obtain legislative approval before compromising or settling an action in certain circumstances.

Senate Veterans and Public Safety Committee
The committee held a second hearing on SB 168, sponsored by Sen. Frank Hoagland (R-Mingo Junction), which 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.

House Health Committee
The committee passed HB 281, sponsored by Reps. Jarrells and Tom Young (R-Washington Township), which would change terminology in the Ohio Revised Code as it pertains to people with mental illnesses and disabilities.

The committee held a third hearing on 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.

House Commerce and Labor Committee
The committee passed HB 187, which would require an employer to provide earnings and deductions statements to each of the employer’s employees.

Posted by Nicole Piscitani on 6/11/2021