Ohio House to Vote to Elect New Speaker Next Week

COLUMBUS—State Representative Kirk Schuring (R-Canton) today announced that the Ohio House of Representatives will vote next week to elect a new Speaker.

The announcement comes three days after Rep. Schuring gave members the option of choosing between two alternatives. The options were as follows, with the plan receiving the most votes of support determining the course of action for next week’s session:

Plan A: Call a session to vote on electing a new Speaker. Under this scenario, the House would follow the outlined procedures for electing a new Speaker. Upon the completion of this process, a new Speaker would be elected and take the oath.

Plan B: Call a session to vote to amend House rules, which would allow the Speaker Pro Tempore to oversee the full duties and responsibilities of the Office of Speaker. That includes permitting the House to address legislation.

As of today’s 5 p.m. deadline, the majority of House members opted in favor of Plan A, thus setting in motion a vote to elect a new Speaker of the House during next week’s session.

Rep. Schuring released the following statement:

“It is critical we find a quick and fair course of action for getting back to the business of passing meaningful legislation, which impacts Ohioans across the state. The plan instituted earlier this week allowed members of the Ohio House the opportunity to weigh in on this important matter. The results of this vote indicate that the majority of House members believe a session should be called next week to elect a new Speaker, and I look forward to joining my colleagues in facilitating this vote on Wednesday within the parameters of House rules and constitutional guidelines.”

Next week’s session is scheduled for Wednesday, June 6th.