During their ongoing lame-duck session, the Republican-controlled Ohio General Assembly is following a time-honored seasonal tradition – stuffing legislation with changes not related to the original bills and then hastily approving them.
On Tuesday, an Ohio Senate committee voted to recommend House Bill 74, which has to do with state IT issues. But first, they amended it to also broaden Republican Attorney General Dave Yost’s power to block ballot issues over their proposed titles. The Senate approved the bill on Wednesday.
The amendment comes weeks after Yost lost a case before the Ohio Supreme Court, which unanimously found that Yost – who must sign off on the petition language ballot issue campaigns must circulate before voters – improperly blocked two proposed ballot constitutional amendments over their titles. One of the amendments, which would have asked voters to expand voting-access laws, likely would have made the ballot had Yost not done so.
HB74 requires approval from the full legislature and Gov. Mike DeWine’s signature to become law.
Other lame-duck session highlights
- An Ohio Senate committee on Tuesday amended one controversial educational bill into another one. House Bill 8, which requires schools to notify parents of any changes in their children’s gender identity, now also contains a different bill requiring schools to excuse students for off-site religious instruction. House Speaker Jason Stephens told reporters this week he’s not a fan of combining the two measures.
- A DeWine-backed proposal that would ban “diet weed” delta-8 THC products seems unlikely to pass this year. Stephens also told reporters that House Republicans prefer imposing a tobacco-style age restriction on the products, a position backed by convenience stores that commonly sell them.
- The new, Senate-passed version of HB74 also includes language banning anyone from filling out any part of a voter registration form or absentee ballot application on someone else’s behalf. This would forbid a common practice in which third-party groups send unsolicited voter registration or absentee ballot forms, in which some fields are pre-completed, which recipients then can complete and sign.
- The Ohio House and Senate both have passed bills extending the length of fracking leases in state parks. But the House and Senate passed them in different bills, so neither has full approval yet.
Mark the calendar
Friday, 12/13: The post-general election campaign finance deadline. This will cover all activity from Oct. 17 through Dec. 6.
Tuesday, 12/17: Ohio’s Electoral College will meet to formally cast its 17 electoral votes for President-Elect Donald Trump.
Wednesday, 12/18: Ohio House session at 11 a.m.
Wednesday, 12/18: Ohio Senate session at 1:30 p.m.
