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Tag: Ohio House

Newest abortion restricting bill heading to full House vote after committee approval

BY: SUSAN TEBBEN – Ohio Capital Journal DECEMBER 8, 2021 12:55 AM

Anti-abortion demonstrators march. (Photo by Robert Zullo/ States Newsroom).

The Ohio House will consider a new abortion regulation that would keep some doctors from being able to work with abortion clinics and could cause felony charges for doctors working on complicated pregnancies.

Russo furthered an argument made by abortion rights proponents in previous testimony against the bill by saying the regulation “effectively bans and removes access to abortion,” particularly in Southwest Ohio, where two abortion clinics are located.

Senate Bill 157 passed through the House Families, Aging and Human Services Committee on Tuesday, approved along party lines. It has already been approved in the Ohio Senate.

The bill would expand the charge of abortion manslaughter, already on the books in Ohio, to include a physicians’ failure to “take measures to preserve the health of a child born alive after abortion,” according to the bill documents.

Under the legislation, a physician who conducts an abortion but finds the fetus is still alive after the abortion to provide life-preserving care, something that opponents of the bill have said is already a part of state law and medical procedure.

There is also a provision in the bill that requires the Ohio Department of Health to develop a “child survival form” for a physician to complete if a child is born alive after an attempted abortion, and for ambulatory surgical facilities to submit monthly and annual reports to the ODH.

The ODH already compiles an annual abortion report based on medical reports signed by physicians of abortions conducted in the state. The report also includes complications, including “failed abortions” that happen in the state and a narrative on the complications.

The bill’s sponsors referred to an abortion in which a child is born alive as a “botched abortion,” but state data shows the occurrence as a “failed abortion.” According to the most recent years of data on abortions in the state, “failed abortions” are rare, and did not happen in any pregnancies that were viable.

An amendment made while the bill was in the Ohio Senate prohibits physicians who are funded through a public institution’s medical school from being a part of abortion clinics written transfer agreement variances, which allow a patient to be transferred to a hospital where the physician practices in the case of emergencies.

Physicians who teach at public medical schools are also not allowed to serve as a consulting physician for abortion-related surgical facility, or the variance can be rescinded, according to the bill.

Democrats attempted to insert amendments into the bill, including one from state Rep. Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, that would remove the transfer agreements variance regulation. Russo furthered an argument made by abortion rights proponents in previous testimony against the bill by saying the regulation “effectively bans and removes access to abortion,” particularly in Southwest Ohio, where two abortion clinics are located.

“These are medically unnecessary agreements, but on top of that, because of the broad language, this does ban and remove abortion access for one part of the state in Southwest Ohio,” Russo said.

State Rep. Beth Liston, D-Dublin, introduced an amendment that would take away the word “health” from the bill, leaving the bill to involve a baby’s “life,” which Liston said gives doctors more freedom to do what they feel is best in complicated births and pregnancy plans. Her amendment also sought to remove a requirement that a physician be charged with a third-degree felony for failing to file forms.

“I think that these changes would minimize the downstream impacts and harm that we might see from this legislation in some small ways,” Liston said.

Both amendments were quickly voted down along party lines without further discussion.

The bill now heads for full House consideration, scheduled for 1 p.m. Wednesday.

Abortion is legal in the state of Ohio up to 22 weeks gestation.

Dec 9, 2021
Ohio representatives file new anti-trans bill, targeting health care providers

BY: NICK EVANS and Ohio Capital Journal

Ohio House lawmakers are running back a fight over trans youth in the state. But this time, instead of focusing on school sports, the proposal would prohibit offering minors any kind of gender affirming treatment — from hormones to surgery. The measure, H.B. 454, puts the onus on health care providers by defining that treatment as “unprofessional conduct” for state licensing boards, and making “actual or threatened violations” of the bill grounds for a lawsuit.

Erin Upchurch, executive director of Columbus’ Kaleidoscope Youth Center, calls the bill dehumanizing.

“I feel frustrated and angry and extremely disappointed that people who were voted into office to protect all Ohioans are using their platform and their power to actually attack a really specific portion of our communities,” she said. “It is a gross misuse of power and completely an overreach.”

The bill’s sponsors, Rep. Gary Click, R-Vickery, and Diane Grendell, R-Chesterland, begin by enumerating a series of legislative findings—a laundry list of dubious assertions meant to cast doubt on trans identities and the safety of medical procedures.

“The risks of gender transition procedures far outweigh any benefit at this stage of clinical study on these procedures,” the legislation claims.

Upchurch disputes that, noting national organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics support gender affirming care.

In a 2018 policy statement on the issue, the organization’s very first recommendation contends transgender youth should have access, “to comprehensive, gender-affirming, and developmentally appropriate health care that is provided in a safe and inclusive clinical space.”

In addition to punishing providers who offer care, H.B. 454 threatens school workers including teachers, nurses and counselors. The bill says they can’t “withhold” information about a student who is questioning their gender identity from that child’s parent or guardian. But Upchurch, who is a licensed social worker, explained the ethical standard is to maintain confidentiality unless a minor is harming themselves or others.

“Are you withholding or are you protecting the young person’s confidentiality?” Upchurch asked. “So when we look at what’s accurate and what’s in there, language can be used in a lot of ways to serve our agendas.”

The bill’s sponsors did not respond to a request for comment, but Sen. Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, was quick to condemn the move.

“I am incredibly frustrated that some members of the General Assembly continue to challenge our most vulnerable children’s right to exist for a political soundbite,” she wrote in a statement.

Antonio argued lawmakers do not have a role in the health care decisions of individual children.

“Those decisions must be made in concert with medical experts and physicians,” Antonio said. “Frankly, it is time for the legislature to stop these unnecessary and hateful attacks on transgender youth once and for all.”

Earlier this year, lawmakers put forward a so-called “Save Women’s Sports Act.” The bill would limit a student’s participation in sports to the team corresponding with the sex they were assigned at birth. Although the proposal got a few hearings, it never passed a committee.

In June, bill sponsor Rep. Jena Powell (R-Arcanum) tried to force the issue by tacking the language onto an unrelated Senate bill dealing with name, image and likeness policy for college athletes. Her move scuttled the bill, and Gov. Mike DeWine instead issued an executive order giving athletes the green light to sign sponsorship deals.

The latest proposal has yet to be assigned to a committee.

Oct 22, 2021
Dems push for legislation after OSU team doctor has charges dismissed for sexually assaulting hundreds of student athletes

BY: SUSAN TEBBEN and Ohio Capital Journal

Days after lawsuits against a former OSU team doctor were dismissed because of the statute of limitations, Democratic state representatives want action to extend time and help to sexual assault survivors.

A federal judge didn’t dispute the facts of the case in which Dr. Richard Strauss was accused of sexually assaulting hundreds of student athletes, but said too much time had passed to continue the lawsuits.

State Reps. Kristin Boggs, D-Columbus, and Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, say the Strauss case is a major example of why sexual assault laws in the case need to change.

“Trauma — especially the kind of trauma experienced by those Strauss abuse—doesn’t have a statute of limitations,” Russo said in a statement. “Therefore, I fail to see why our legal system should have a statute of limitations or damages cap for such horrific acts.”

Boggs and Russo are calling on the House to bring up legislation that has stalled after being introduced last April.

House Bill 199 would create an exception to the legal deadline for filing lawsuits if the case involves instances of rape, felonious assault, aggravated assault, assault, or negligent assault.

The bill is a reintroduction of a bill Boggs introduced in the last General Assembly, which failed with lack of support from the Republican majority. The current bill still only has Democratic support, making passage difficult in the sustained GOP supermajority.

Sep 27, 2021
State testing bill passes committee without stopping exams this year

By Susan Tebben and Ohio Capital Journal

An Ohio House committee passed a bill regarding state education testing on Wednesday, with the bill looking quite different than its original version. It now extends the period for testing and reporting of grades.

The bill changed significantly because of a decision made last week by the U.S. Department of Education that will not allow blanket waivers of federal testing in schools.

The federal agency said, however, that tests can be shorter and participation can be less than the usual 95% requirement, according to a letter from the agency. Schools can also request that test scores not be counted against them.

Wednesday’s bill passed through the House Primary and Secondary Education Committee along party lines.

Before the committee favorably passed the bill, several amendments were inserted into the bill to make up for the moot federal waiver measure.

“These are all changes to help schools and students be held harmless as much as possible,” said cosponsor Kyle Koehler, R-Springfield.

The bill doesn’t stop state testing, but extends the testing period, including for versions of English, math, science and social studies.

The third-grade English/Language Arts testing period will not be extended from its deadline of April 23, according to Koehler.

“The reason that is, is because those third-grade reports are used to promote kids to the fourth grade,” Koehler said.

The deadline for reporting the third-grade ELA tests is extended from June 15 to June 28 as part of the bill, and reporting for report cards will be moved from Sep. 15 to Oct. 14.

ELA tests for fourth grade through 12th grade will be extended one week, similar to tests in other subjects.

Math tests will continue, and the bill’s cosponsor, state Rep. Adam Bird, R-New Richmond, said Ohio has a unique circumstance that forces them to continue math testing. Because Ohio allows integrated math studies that can’t be separated for testing purposes, those tests couldn’t be waived, he said.

The only state test that has been eliminated is American History, which some legislators took issue with, partly because they felt if one test could be eliminated, others could be as well.

“We can waive state testing; we chose one, American History, which right now in our climate is probably the most important one that is taught and tested in our buildings,” said state Rep. Lisa Sobecki, D-Toledo.

Removed from the bill was a provision regarding the ACT and SAT because many schools have already administered those exams.

The Ohio Department of Education was asked about virtual testing ahead of Wednesday’s committee meeting, according to chair Gayle Manning, R-North Ridgeville.

“These discussions we’ve had with ODE, there’s no way of doing virtual testing,” Manning said.

State Rep. Joe Miller, D-Amherst, has expressed in the multiple committee hearings his disapproval of standardized testing as a whole, but said he’d be willing to compromise if the test administration could be expanded further, to include summer tests, for example.

Miller was skeptical about the amount of parents who are placing stock in these state tests over individual evaluations in schools, negating a study of more than 700 parents done by non-profit education organization Ohio Excels, who testified at a previous committee meeting that eight out of 10 parents they surveyed wanted to use state testing as a benchmark for achievement.

“I think you’ll find that not eight out of 10 parents care about the end score of these tests, and you’ll probably get a 30% to 40% participation rate on these exams,” Miller said.

Koehler said he’s received push-back from both sides on the bill and keeping the testing, but said quick passage of the bill would move it along in the legislative process for more discussion in the Senate, and at least bring some relief, rather than leaving school districts to resolve the issues.

“If I could come up with another 90 days to do that, that would be great, but unfortunately last (week), the federal government did something that caused an issue with that,” Koehler said.

Several former teachers on the committee focused on the underlying flaws in state testing, which they said could have been further exposed if sponsors of the bill had done more to halt testing.

“I don’t know that any of these tests are going to give us any information beyond what we already know,” said state Rep. Mary Lightbody, D-Westerville. “That we have a lot of problems in administering and in providing education for our students that adequately supports them.”

Supporters of the bill said while it has its issues brought on by the federal complications, those that have had in-person instruction want to see their progress in the way they’re used to seeing it every year, especially when there is no punishment attached.

“Let’s keep the kids in mind and put the differences aside about whether we’re going to do really well or we’re not going to do well,” said state Rep. Don Jones, R-Freeport. “Because let’s face it, in any given year, students are going to succeed and students are going to fail.”

The bill now moves on for a full House vote.

Mar 4, 2021
Fraternal Order of Police, teachers, former law enforcement against armed teacher policy

by Susan Tebben – and the Ohio Capital Journal

An organization representing more than 23,000 police officers, including school resource officers, says allowing teachers to bring guns to school under only a concealed carry permit could do more harm than good.

The Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio said this in a brief to the Ohio Supreme Court, which is considering a case that would keep schools from allowing a firearms authorization policy. The police organization said they were not taking a stand on whether teachers should be armed, but rather the training involved.

Susan Tebben is an award-winning journalist with a decade of experience covering Ohio news, including courts and crime, Appalachian social issues, government, education, diversity and culture. She has worked for The Newark Advocate, The Glasgow Daily Times, The Athens Messenger, and WOUB Public Media. She has also had work featured on National Public Radio.

“An interpretation holding that a school resource officer or security guard needs extensive training to carry a gun in school, but the art teacher does not, is neither just nor reasonable,” the group said in a brief to the court.

While 17 other school districts argued that the “plain language” in the Ohio Revised Code allowed them the right to bring guns to school when authorized, the FOP read the “plain language” as advising schools to the contrary.

“A teacher who carries a weapon into a classroom while teaching is, quite

literally, both ‘armed’ and ‘on duty,’” the organization stated. “There is no reason to depart from this plain language because it yields a ‘just and reasonable’ result, as the Revised Code demands.”

Agreeing with the language, a group of 284 current or former Ohio teachers or school staff members said the law was “unambiguous” in its explanation of the training requirements needed to bring guns to schools. The teachers and staff don’t say school districts should be banned from creating weapons policies.

“But the General Assembly has required that, should they elect to arm teachers, school districts must ensure that they have adequate training, which the legislature has determined was satisfactory completion of an approved basic peace officer training program,” the brief by the teachers and staff stated.

The FOP even went so far as to say the Madison Board of Education’s interpretation “would get people killed.”

In arguing against the firearms policy, the police officer’s group brought up gun-retention skills, accuracy in a gunfight and situational awareness that they say would decrease if teachers were given the responsibility of defending themselves and others in a school shooting.

The brief to the court also said a lack of training would make armed teachers a liability, causing law enforcement to have more difficulty stopping an active shooter, and “may get themselves shot in the process.”

“If nothing else, police officers train on the ‘mental preparedness’ necessary to take a life,” the brief stated. “But in the context of a school setting, undertrained teachers will be mentally unprepared to kill one of their own students.”

Several others submitted document in support of a decisions that keeps gun policies out of the board’s hands, including the Ohio Education Association and the Ohio Federation of Teachers. A group of “experts in school safety and firearms training,” including Dayton Police Department Chief Richard Biehl, a former leader of the Columbus Division of Police Training Bureau and a former Madison Local School District teacher who became a police officer after the 2016 school shooting there, joined in the support of the parents against the firearms policies.

The cities of Columbus and Cincinnati also filed briefs showing their interest in the case, and support of the present law on training of armed personnel in schools.

If an Ohio Senator has his way, the law will change regarding armed personnel in school. The bill passed the Senate Government Oversight & Reform Committee, and is awaiting a full floor vote before moving on to the Ohio House.

Oct 8, 2020
URGENT: They’re rushing “Stand Your Ground” for a vote in Ohio
by Sarah Mouncey

Dear Loveland Magazine Readers,

Over the weekend we were alerted that the Ohio House is planning to vote on an alarming gun bill as early as tomorrow.

Sarah Mouncey is the Ohio Chapter Leader of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America

Less than a week after a person armed with a gun shot and killed 12 people at a bar in California, our lawmakers are gearing up to make far-reaching changes to our state’s gun laws. And they’re trying to move quickly to force through this dangerous bill before the legislative session ends next month.

Tell your lawmakers to REJECT HB 228, a bill that would threaten public safety by making Ohio a Stand Your Ground state. Send your message today.

HB 228 would:
- Upend centuries of self-defense law by making Ohio a Stand Your Ground state;
- Make it easy for people, including some violent criminals, to carry hidden, loaded guns in public without a permit or safety training;
- Allow out-of-state special interest groups to sue Ohio cities and towns for attempting to enact or enforce local solutions to gun violence.
HB 228 is bad news for Ohioans. In just one click, send your lawmakers a message asking them to vote NO on HB 228 >>

For months, volunteers like you and me have been writing, calling and making in-person visits to lawmakers to urge them to vote against HB 228, but pressure from the gun lobby is forcing this bill to come to a vote before the legislative session ends in just a few weeks.

We need to get loud and we need to do it quickly.

Thanks for all that you do.
Nov 13, 2018
Patricia Lawrence: I’m running because our community deserves effective leadership

Guest Column

I’m Patricia Lawrence, candidate for Ohio House District 65 (Goshen, Miami, Stonelick, Union, and Wayne Townships.) I’m a wife, mother, former teacher, and deeply concerned citizen. My decision to run is not about ego. I’m running because our community deserves effective leadership.

Patricia Lawrence is running for Ohio House District 65

My opponent John Becker rode the Tea Party train to the statehouse where he has been sitting on a sidetrack for the past six years. He asserts that spending money is bad. He voted against supporting our school resource officers, yet proposes arming our teachers. I want our teachers armed, not with guns but with the resources they need for student success. District 65 is scheduled to receive $130,000 for school resource officer and teacher training. The first House vote for the bill to authorize this money was 92-2. Becker voted no! As a former teacher and school board president, I am acutely aware of the balance our schools face in providing a safe and nurturing environment. I will vote for our students.

Here are the facts. In 2010, Ohio ranked fifth in the nation for education. Today we rank 22nd. The fault of this in large part lies at the door of the state legislators like Becker who have failed our schools and students. It is time to reverse this trend with better school funding, less testing, and innovative career training.

My opponent John Becker rode the Tea Party train to the statehouse where he has been sitting on a sidetrack for the past six years.

Healthcare is another critical issue, especially Medicaid expansion, which Becker voted against. As a breast cancer survivor, I am grateful for health care coverage I had and the good care I received. Nearly 700,000 Ohio residents (20,000 in our county) depend on Medicaid expansion and that enables them to work, a step-up from out-right poverty. My opponent not only voted against Medicaid expansion, but also proposes to do away with the minimum wage. I will fight for and vote to support the healthcare and economic needs of working families, children, and seniors.

These are proposals that lift people up. I believe hard working people deserve a living wage. I know that what people truly want is the means to care for their families and have a little change in their pockets at the end of the week.

When tribal politics prevail, we do not get the best candidate. A GOP friend told me, “When Democrats don’t run, Republicans are not pushed to put forward their best candidates.” My opponent proposes radical, fringe ideas such as the strange notion of Ohio seceding from the Union (he said the “so-called ‘Civil War’ is the historical precedent”). Regarding due process about a troubling case, Becker’s comment was, “justice was delivered to the dead punk.” Regarding healthcare Becker’s attitude is that hospital ERs should not have to help “non-paying customers.”

Cancer taught me that time is short. I do not take one day for granted and I will not waste time on fringe legislation.

I have served on six boards, including two national boards, and served as president of two of those boards. I know how to set meaningful goals and to work in committees with multiple points of view. Accomplishing meaningful work is what I do. My opponent has the reputation in Columbus where not even his own party will touch his outlandish proposals.

Cancer taught me that time is short. I do not take one day for granted and I will not waste time on fringe legislation.

Political stereotypes have driven an enormous wedge in our world and we cannot abide by that any longer. Real leadership is curious, thoughtful, and responsive to the needs of the community. I will deliver.

Oct 26, 2018
Ohio House and Senate Support World Heritage designation for Ft. Ancient

Several sites in Ohio are poised to join the extremely prestigious UNESCO World Heritage List, with more than 1000 other properties around the globe, including the Pyramids of Giza, the Great Wall of China, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, and Stonehenge. World Heritage inscription is based on stringent criteria, and signifies outstanding universal value to humanity. Making the list helps ensure a site’s permanent preservation, enhanced understanding, deeper appreciation, and increased tourism.

Oregonia, Ohio, Warren County, Ohio – The Ohio House and Senate passed identical resolutions supporting a United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site nomination for the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks at Ft. Ancient.

Also included in the nomination are the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks, located in, Ross County, and Licking County They are described as being the epicenter of a vibrant American Indian culture that lived in Ohio approximately 2,000 years ago.

These sites were ceremonial and social centers, characterized by enormous earthwork constructions that feature precise geometric shapes, standard units of measure, accurate alignments to the rising and setting of the sun and moon, and deposits of artifacts of exceptional artistic merit crafted from exotic raw materials obtained from as far away as the coast of the Atlantic Ocean and the Rocky Mountains.

The Ohio sites are currently listed as National Historic Landmarks and are owned and managed by the Ohio History Connection. Read more about the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks.

Three nominations in Ohio are among 20 currently on the “US Tentative List” from which nominees will be drawn to go forward for inscription in the coming years. Efforts are now underway to prepare the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks to go forward; while Serpent Mound and the Dayton Aviation Sites will follow afterwards.

Ft. Ancient is a short drive up I-71 or U.S. 22 along the eastern shore of the Little Miami River. The site and museum are at 6123 St. Rt. 350 in Oregonia. 513–932–4421 or 1–800–283–8904.

Directions

Jun 4, 2018