Lawmakers considering state land leasing, AI regulation and more
A plan to update orphan well plugging laws would now accelerate the leasing of state land for oil and gas activity thanks to changes agreed to Tuesday.
That is one of several new elements added to a pending proposal from Sen. Al Landis, R-Dover, that remains before the Senate Energy Committee (SB 219).
The substitute bill agreed to during the measure's fourth hearing revives former operating budget language (HB 96) vetoed by Gov. Mike DeWine requiring the Oil & Gas Land Management Commission to execute leasing agreements within 30 days.
The bill also requires the commission to approve or deny any nomination within 90 days, up from the current six-month timeframe, and directs the panel to accept winning bids within 60 days.
DeWine had also done away with budget language enabling a five-year extension of primary leasing terms, rather than the current three years — language also now resurrected in SB219.
Other changes, which were lauded by the industry and panned by Save Ohio Parks during the hearing, include language directing federal mineral royalties into a new Federal Royalty Mineral Fund (HB 525) and permitting up to 10 expedited well plugging permits per year.
Artificial Intelligence: A bipartisan plan unveiled Tuesday would prohibit artificial intelligence systems from encouraging users to hurt themselves or others.
The need for regulation follows an incident in which an AI chatbot provided a 16-year-old California boy who died by suicide with instructions on how to take his life, said joint sponsor Rep. Christine Cockley, D-Columbus.
“In the wake of Adam [Raine's] death, his parents discovered that the chatbot had discouraged him from reaching out for help and even offered to write his suicide note,” she told the House Technology & Innovation Committee.
“No parent should ever have to experience the unimaginable pain of losing a child in such a preventable way.”
Medicaid: A bill providing more transparency about the Medicaid Estate Recovery Program sailed through the House, but faced questions of practical implementation in the Senate Medicaid Committee.
HB 130 from Rep. Jeff LaRe, R-Canal Winchester, and Rep. Sean Brennan, D-Parma, directs the Department of Medicaid to provide notice of the federal program, which requires states to recover Medicaid expenses from a beneficiary’s estate after death.
Chair Sen. Mark Romanchuk, R-Ontario, and Sen. Steve Huffman, R-Tipp City, questioned whether the bill requirements provide the right information at the right time and to the right person.
Romanchuk also noted that the bill requires the Department of Medicaid to share the capitation rate, which only applies to enrollees of a managed care plan. However, he said, Ohio Medicaid is currently in a transition phase and many beneficiaries are under fee-for-service.
Afternoon action: Those bill hearings are a handful of the action playing out at the Statehouse, with 12 afternoon committee meetings lined up covering various issues.
Among them, the Senate Local Government Committee will forge ahead at 4 p.m. on hearings over property taxation, with bills to revise the 20-mill floor calculation (HB 129) and allow county budget commissions to reduce milage on voter-approved tax levies (HB 309).
The House Medicaid Committee at that same time will consider opponent testimony to a bill barring Medicaid funds to certain abortion providers (HB 410).
Among others, the House General Government Committee will hold a first hearing at 4:15 p.m. on a rare move to summon a county judge to appear before the General Assembly and show cause why he should not be removed from office (HCR 26).