The Ohio General Assembly reconvened on Wednesday after taking a couple weeks off for an Easter break. Here are some noteworthy bills that advanced:
- The Ohio Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 86, which restricts the sale of hemp-derived THC products known as Delta-8 (I think of them as “Diet Weed.”) These products emerged via a loophole in the 2018 federal farm bill, which was meant to legalize industrial hemp production. The bill says “intoxicating hemp” products must be sold in state-licensed marijuana dispensaries, although the legislation makes an exception for “drinkable cannabinoid products,” AKA THC beverages. Businesses with retail liquor licenses (bars, grocery stores, carryout stores) would be allowed to sell them to people 21 and up. It also sets quality and testing standards the products must meet.
The bill now heads to the House, which is considering its own proposal to regulate intoxicating hemp. The House version, unlike the Senate version, doesn’t contain language allowing THC beverages to be sold outside of dispensaries. (Legislative leaders said Wednesday that how the state deals with THC products could get pulled into the budget bill.)
Gov. Mike DeWine has been calling on the legislature to ban Delta-8 for over a year, calling the products a risk to children. But it looks more like lawmakers will regulate it in a manner similar to recreational marijuana or even alcohol.
The bill’s supporters said Wednesday it will keep THC products out of the hands of kids but still keep the drinks easily available for adults 21 and up. “I’ve never tried them, but everybody tells me they’re the hip new thing,” said state Sen. Bill Demora, a Columbus Democrat.
- The House and Senate approved House Bill 15, a sweeping rewrite of state energy law that’s meant to encourage private investors to build new power plants. The bill revokes some benefits given to the state’s big regulated utilities – the idea is to encourage competition from new companies. It also streamlines the state’s process for permitting new utility infrastructure such as power plants, power lines and pipelines.
The bill, which has broad bipartisan support, is meant to address increased power demand driven by the expansion of data centers in Central Ohio and elsewhere. The Senate unanimously voted on Wednesday to approve a tweaked version of HB15 that the House approved last month. The House then signed off on the changes, so it heads to DeWine’s desk for his signature.
Trump official in Ohio egg land
Bird flu remains a huge problem in Western Ohio, one of the country’s top egg-producing regions. That’s one reason Gov. MIke DeWine helped broker a visit to the area by President Donald Trump’s top agricultural official earlier this week.
On Monday U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins visited a processing facility owned by Weaver Eggs, which produces, processes and distributes egg brands seen in grocery stores across the United States. Rollins touted the Trump administration’s $1 billion bird flu relief plan, which includes money for biosecurity measures, financial aid for farmers and funds for vaccine research.
The outbreak has led to the deaths of 40.1 million chickens and turkeys in Ohio, including nearly 14.8 million this year, according to USDA data. The most recent reported case came in Mercer County on April 14, leading to the deaths of 293,300 commercial table egg laying chickens, which produce the eggs eaten by humans. Industry advocates said the outbreak weighs financially and mentally not only on farmers but also on those involved in related businesses such as trucking and grain producing.
Bird flu is a major factor contributing to high egg prices, a politically charged issue that Republicans have campaigned on for years. Wholesale egg prices have fallen from a high of about $8 a dozen in late February to about $3 a dozen this month, according to USDA data, although the price consumers pay is higher and varies by region. One of the Trump administration’s strategies for bringing prices down is importing eggs, but that effort has been complicated by the broad tariffs Trump imposed across the world earlier this month.
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Officials talked about chicken vaccine behind closed doors
Before speaking with reporters Monday, Rollins and DeWine held a closed-door roundtable session with local egg farmers.
One attendee was Tim Weaver, whose family owns the facility that Rollins and DeWine visited.
“People talked about vaccines, which I think is the operative word of the day,” Weaver said.
The topic is controversial in the egg industry, since many countries block the importation of eggs from chickens vaccinated against bird flu. Currently, a bird flu vaccine is available, but it has not been licensed for use. Weaver said he thinks support is coalescing around the subject.
“We want to work with the USDA to work through whatever obstacles there may be to bring vaccination to our farms,” said Jim Chakeres, executive vice president of the Ohio Poultry Association.
Egg industry advocates believe the worst of the outbreak may have passed for now. But they expect that could change in the fall, when migration patterns bring some birds back to Ohio. In the meantime, the risk of another outbreak is taking a mental toll on local farmers, Weaver said.
“We’ve been fighting it for three or four years around here. You can’t live that way,” Weaver said. “It’s not a way to live. I’m sitting there afraid to answer my phone.”
Closing the books on after-school program
Republican legislators set aside $125 million nearly four years ago for the Ohio Afterschool Enrichment program, or ACE. The program funds savings accounts that families can tap to pay for tutoring and other after-school programs. Lawmakers used some of the billions in COVID relief the state got, reasoning it could help kids lagging behind as a result of the pandemic.
But there’s evidence the accounts were too difficult for families to navigate. Just $47.9 million of the available ACE money was spent before the Trump administration revoked the COVID relief and apparently ended the program earlier this year. You can read a full story about the ACE program below:
Don’t forget
Tuesday is Election Day. While many communities are holding local elections on candidates and ballot issues, the only thing appearing on the statewide ballot is Issue 2. If voters approve it, it would give the state permission to borrow $2.5 billion over the next 10 years to fund local infrastructure projects. Find out more here.