Democratic News

COLUMBUS– State Rep. Paula Hicks-Hudson (D-Toledo) announced today that House Bill (HB) 1, her bipartisan criminal justice reform bill, was passed unanimously out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. HB 1 prioritizes rehabilitation by expanding access to drug treatments, and it allows record-sealing of convictions for low-level, non-violent, non-sex offense felonies.

Ohio House Minority Leader Emilia Strong-Sykes (D-Akron) and Minority Whip Rep. Paula Hicks-Hudson (D-Toledo) today issued statements after House Republicans rejected their floor amendments to repeal House Bill (HB) 6 and to require facemasks at the Statehouse.

COLUMBUS- Ohio House Health Committee Ranking Member Rep. Janine Boyd (D-Cleveland Heights) and House Minority Leader Emilia Strong Sykes (D-Akron) todayissued statements in opposition to Senate Bill (SB) 260, the latest Republican attack on women’s healthcare access that would ban abortion-related care via telemedicine.

Rep. Brigid Kelly (D-Cincinnati) today sent a co-sponsor request memo to House lawmakers urging them to sign onto her proposal to allow House committees and/or session to be conducted virtually amid worsening conditions of the coronavirus pandemic in Ohio and across the country. 

COLUMBUS— Ohio House Minority Leader Emilia Strong Sykes (D-Akron) issued a statement following a flurry of reports that multiple House members have tested positive for COVID-19 in recent days. So far, one Democratic member has tested positive today though many other Democrats await test results tonight. To date, House Dems have learned of multiple Republicans lawmakers testing positive through news reports, though no direct information has been shared with the House Democrat Caucus from the Speaker’s Office.

COLUMBUS –State Rep. John Patterson (D-Jefferson) announced this afternoon that he has tested positive for COVID-19.

COLUMBUS – Ohio House Minority Leader Emilia Strong Sykes (D-Akron) today issued a statement following Governor Mike DeWine’s veto of Senate Bill (SB) 311, legislation Democrats say will slow the state’s coronavirus response, ultimately leading to more deaths and further destabilizing Ohio’s economy.

Assistant Minority Leader Rep. Kristin Boggs (D-Columbus) today issued a statement as Republicans rejected several Democratic efforts to bring important measures to the House floor, including a Statehouse facemask mandate to protect the health and safety of the public, staff, and elected officials, as well as a proposal to declare racism a public health crisis. Both measures were presented as floor amendments but ruled out of order on the grounds that they were not germane to a SCR 8, a resolution urging Congress to end daylight savings for health and public safety reasons.

The House Finance Committee Wednesday passed the latest version of the Fair School Funding Plan, House Bill (HB) 305, bipartisan legislation sponsored by Reps. John Patterson (D-Jefferson) and Gary Scherer (R-Circleville) that would transform the way Ohio’s schools are funded. Supporters say the plan would address many of the issues that have plagued the state’s funding formula, which the Ohio Supreme Court has found unconstitutional four times, beginning with the DeRolph decision in 1997.

COLUMBUS— Rep. Catherine Ingram (D-Cincinnati) voiced concerns over the House passage of Senate Bill (SB) 40 Wednesday, which would enact the “Forming Open and Robust University Minds Act” regarding free speech on college campuses.