Ohio News

Among the flood of bills that passed this week in the lame duck legislature is a controversial proposal that would require state agencies to be abolished unless lawmakers approve their continued existence. 

The Ohio House and Senate finished their work as the 131^st General Assembly with back-to-back-to-back marathon sessions -- passing a flurry of bills. Some were mundane, while others made headlines.

The future of green energy development and use in Ohio is murky after lawmakers decided to continue a freeze on renewable energy standards utilities would be required to follow. 

The Ohio Legislature has passed the second abortion bill this week. It bans abortion at 20 weeks of gestation. 

Fighter pilot, astronaut and former US Senator John Glenn has passed away.

There’s been a flurry of activity at the Statehouse, as the Senate and House move through many pieces of legislation before the year ends and there are dozens of bills that could be up for a vote on this final day of lame duck session.

The Senate has passed a bill that makes it possible for people to carry concealed weapons onto college campuses and into daycares. 

The Ohio House has passed a bill that prevents local communities from preventing sales of puppies at pet stores. But that’s not all this legislation does. 

Treasurer Josh Mandel has announced he wants a rematch against Democratic US Sen. Sherrod Brown in 2018 – though Mandel may have to survive a Republican primary this time around. And he plans to take a page from the President-elect’s playbook.

Gov. John Kasich made a surprise appearance on the floor of the Ohio House yesterday, to tell lawmakers to expect a tough budget because Ohio is on “the verge of a recession”. But a report from his budget office doesn’t back up that claim.

Republican state Treasurer Josh Mandel is calling for a rematch with Democrat Sherrod Brown. Mandel wants Brown’s U.S. Senate seat. And he seems to be leaning on the momentum of Donald Trump.

A bill that would ban abortion at the point a fetal heartbeat can be detected was passed late last night in the Ohio House. That vote came a few hours after it was suddenly approved in the Senate. And it got through the legislature in an unexpected way.

The House passed a bill that would stop the state from enforcing an increased use of green energy for three years. 

The House is calling for a stopgap for the state’s unemployment compensation fund with the hopes of coming back to pass a larger reform bill next year. 

There’s been a battle to change what employers pay into and what benefits workers get out of  the state’s unemployment compensation fund. Now the bill to deal with that seems to be stalled at the Statehouse. 

Backers of the so-called “heartbeat bill”, the legislation that would ban abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected, are putting pressure on state lawmakers to pass it during the lame duck session. And the person behind the movement to pass that bill thinks lawmakers might be working behind the scenes on it.

Former Gov. George Voinovich passed away nearly six months ago. A public memorial service honoring his life will be held at the Statehouse Wednesday night. 

The state’s largest e-school is fighting to keep up to $60 million that it could lose because of an enrollment audit that the school says was improperly conducted by the state. 

The head of the Ohio Republican Party is likely to have a challenger to his re-election to that position next month.

A top utilities watchdog, nominated to that spot by Gov. John Kasich, has stepped down after the Senate rejected that appointment.