Keeping it Brief

State

Many versions of this bill have come to the floor and a 14th version is currently being reviewed in the House Criminal Justice Committee
- This new version will include strangulation in the state’s definition of domestic violence.
The bill has bipartisan support
“If made law, if a person has been previously convicted of a domestic violence offense “resulting in serious physical harm,” that person can be charged with aggravated murder “if they purposely cause the death of another when the victim was a family or household member of the offender,” the Bill states”.
- $150,000 of appropriations would be allocated to the Ohio Police Officer Training Academy to help implement aspects of the legislation.

The U.S. Department of Education decided that waivers will not be provided for federal standardized testing in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic
- This decision comes in the midst of discussion over the state testing bill being discussed in the state legislator.
- Some Ohio lawmakers want to continue with standardized testing in the midst of the pandemic in order to measure student knowledge, however, many educators state that it is not appropriate to do so at this time because many students are behind in their studies due to the COVID-19 pandemic and online learning.
The U.S. Department has decided to shorten the english/language arts, math, and science portions of the exam. They also will only require 95% of students to take the exam.

SB 80 was recently introduced by Sens. Theresa Gavarone of Bowling Green and Jerry Cirino of Kirtland. The bill “would require party affiliations be listed for candidates to the Ohio Supreme Court and to the various Courts of Appeals”.
- Candidates for lower level courts would not have their party affiliation on the ballot.
Some believe that having party affiliation listed on the ballot would encourage Ohioans to vote for the candidates. As of right now, not many vote for the Ohio Supreme Court candidates because they are unaware of their party affiliation.

HB 127 was recently introduced by Rep. Derek Merrin R-Monclova. If the bill were to pass, COVID-19 health orders would no longer be reinforced at businesses and the state would reimburse any business that received a fine for not following health orders.
- “Ohio businesses and job creators have suffered enough,” Merrin wrote on Facebook. “Hundreds of businesses have been harassed, cited, and fined by government bureaucrats for ‘supposedly’ not abiding by Covid orders.”
This bill has not yet had a hearing in the House State and Local Committee

Republicans voted to pass SB 22 which would “provide legislative oversight of the executive branch’s handling of a health crisis”.
- Republicans explain that the bill is associated with checks and balances between the Governor and State House and Senate.
- The bill allows for lawmakers to strike down any health orders made by the state health department with a concurrent resolution.
It is unlikely the Governor will approve the bill, as he has vetoed similar bills in the past.

SB 34 was introduced by Sen. Andrew Brenner R-Powell. The passage of the bill would “elevate the criminal penalties for certain acts of arson, disrupting public services, criminal damaging or endangering, vandalism and criminal mischief...SB 34 proposes $500,000 in spending for CSRAB to purchase and install 60 high-definition cameras with “new imaging software.”
- This bill comes in reaction to the vandalism many businesses and government institution faced over the summer in reaction to protests.
Sen. Cecil Thomas D-Cincinnati, who is a former police officer, explained that there is a “significant amount of research that clearly says that enhancing penalties is not a deterrent to crime.”

On Thursday, the House passed the Equality Act, which “bans discrimination against people based on sexual orientation and gender identity” in schools, homes, places of work, and federally funded programs.
- This would “amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act to include protections for LGBTQ individuals”.
The bill passed with full support of Democratic representatives and three members of the GOP.
- Republican members who do not support the bill explain it is because of “its perceived infringement on religious freedom”.

Democrats should be able to pass Biden’s pandemic relief package by the evening of Feb. 26.
- “The Covid-19 aid bill would send $1,400 stimulus checks to millions of Americans, boost unemployment payments and increase the Child Tax Credit, as well as provide billions of dollars in aid to small businesses, states and efforts to test and vaccinate against the coronavirus.”
  - House Democrats want to include language about penalizing businesses that do not provide a $15 minimum wage to employees, however, the Senate Parliamentarian said that they would strip this language when the package is debated in the Senate because it violates budget rules (Politico).

Guest UserFebruary 26, 2021