Dontavius L. Jarrells News

State Rep. Greta Johnson (D-Akron) today applauded the House’s passage of legislation to extend the statute of limitations for rape, while saying the legislators could still do more to bring justice to victims of rape and sexual battery.

House Bill 6 will extend the statute of limitations for rape from 20 to 25 years for all cases. It will also extend the statute another five years for cases in which there is a DNA match. Today Rep. Johnson, a former assistant county prosecutor, spoke on the House floor about ways in which the bill could be improved, such as by eliminating the statute of limitations for rape entirely.

“This bill is a positive step forward, but removing the statute of limitations would go even further in helping victims. Having the courage and ability to speak out against such an atrocious act as rape should not be limited by a legislative timeline,” said Rep. Johnson. “I believe that we can and should eliminate the statute of limitations for rape in its entirety.”

State Rep. Kathleen Clyde (D-Kent) today announced the formal introduction of House Bill 181, the Registration Modernization Act, which will modernize voter registration in Ohio and potentially add over 1 million people to the voting rolls. The bill was referred to the House Government Accountability and Oversight Committee of which Rep. Clyde is the ranking minority member.

“I am proud to offer HB 181, the Registration Modernization Act, to make the first step to the ballot box much easier for all Ohioans,” said Rep. Clyde. “There is a wide gap between the haves and have-nots in this country and voting access should not fall into that gap. We can move toward greater equality and a healthier democracy by welcoming and empowering every Ohioan to vote.”

The Registration Modernization Act will do the following:

-          Automatically register to vote all Ohioans with a drivers’ license or state ID.

-          Automatically register to vote all Ohioans who interact with Jobs and Family Services offices and other agencies designated by the federal Motor Voter law.

-          Automatically register to vote all graduating Ohio high school students who are eligible to vote.

-          Allow every person 21 days to opt out of voter registration in person or by mail.

-          Provide online voter registration for all eligible Ohioans, not just those with a photo ID.

-          Potentially add over 1 million eligible Ohioans to the voting rolls and update thousands more.

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The Ohio House Education Committee today favorably passed Rep. Denise Driehaus’ (D-Cincinnati) bipartisan legislation, House Bill 70, unanimously. Based on Cincinnati’s Community Learning Centers (CLC), the model would allow any Ohio school to work with parents and community members to provide supplemental services for students such as on-site healthcare, dental care, tutoring, recreation and mental health services.

“I am thrilled by the bipartisan support for this legislation,” said Rep. Driehaus. “This was an important step in the process of allowing our schools to transform their buildings beyond the traditional place of providing only education. Many other states have come to visit Cincinnati’s model and now all of Ohio will have the opportunity to be on the forefront of twenty-first century education.”

HB 70 brings families, residents, students, educators and business leaders together to review the strengths and needs of their individual communities to decide how best to support students and their families. Together, the group decides which services are important for children in the neighborhood. Public-private partnerships are a key element to the CLCs. The partners use their own dollars to provide services so that no additional education funding is necessary.