Legislation advances dealing with topics from funding a statewide voting machine program to naming a month for Ohio's Byways

COLUMBUS—As Chair, of the State and Local Government Committee, State Representative Marlene Anielski (R-Walton Hills) applauded the passage of many bills during a recent House session. These bills impact constituents of the 6th House District, demonstrating that the House is focused on meaningful legislation.

“I’m proud to support so many bipartisan pieces of legislation,” Rep. Anielski said. “The legislation will serve to make a positive impact in the lives of all Ohioans.”

Listed below are some of the bills that were voted on during the House session:

• Am. H.B. 8 – Protects the personal information of minors who are passengers on a school bus that are involved in a traffic accident.
• Sub. H.B. 21 – Requires community schools to annually verify the resident school district of its students and new enrollees.
• Sub. H.B. 133 – Exempt out-of-state businesses and employees from certain taxes when they come to Ohio for disaster-related work.
• Sub. H.B. 159 – Names the month of May “Drive Ohio Byways Month.” Ohio has 27 byways, which are scenic routes upon which cultural, historic, and natural attractions can be seen and are some of the best ways to explore Ohio.
• Sub. H.B. 292 – Adjusts the criteria for determining whether an individual is considered an Ohio or out-of-state resident for income tax purposes. The set of specific criteria used to make the determination is commonly referred to as the “bright-line test.”
• H.B. 315 – Passing out of the State and Local Government Committee, the bill raises awareness for cyberbullying in Ohio’s schools by designating October 6th as S.M.A.R.T. Parent Day, which stands for Social Media Awareness, Respect and Timing Parent Day.
• H.B. 491 – Allows the State Board of Education to issue substitute licenses to certain licensed professionals, such as speech pathologists, audiologists, registered nurses, physical therapists, and social workers, addressing shortages across school districts.
• H.B. 535 – Also known as the Opioid Data and Communications Expansion Act, this legislation increases data collection related to the opioid crisis. The information would help expand education, intervention, treatment, and recovery efforts, while prioritizing services where they are needed the most.
• H.B. 456 – Protects nurses from being compelled to work overtime shifts under threat of discontinued employment or disciplinary action. The legislation aims to improve patient safety and care, especially during standard day-to-day operations at hospitals.
• H.R. 298 – Recognizes the existence of two alfalfa products in light of recent actions by the Ingredient Definition Committee of the Association of American Feed Control Officials. The legislation will ensure the regulation of animal feed is consistent with other states and uniform for all feed producers and consumers.
• S.B. 139 – Allows for the adoption of the Uniform Electronic Legal Material Act to provide a mechanism for the state’s official legal materials to be provided online with the same trustworthiness as print publications.
• Am S.B. 135 – Makes a $114.5 million investment for Ohio’s outdated voting infrastructure in order to provided up-to-date technology for elections in 2019.
• H.B. 163 – Provides county treasuries the option to invest in bonds that are rated in the top three categories, as opposed to the current law which allows only investments in AA and AAA bonds. The restrictiveness of the current law inhibits counties from making diversified investments.
• S.C.R. 15 – Passing out of the State and Local Government Committee, the resolution designates 2018 as “Ohio’s Year of the Trails” to encourage Ohioans to take advantage of their local trail networks.

To watch House Session archives, visit: https://www.ohiochannel.org, and for more information on these pieces of legislation or other pieces of legislation, please visit: https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/search-legislation.