Ohio Senate and House Leaders Announce Joint Committee on Unemployment Compensation Reform

Senate President Keith Faber (R-Celina) and Speaker of the Ohio House Clifford A. Rosenberger (R-Clarksville) today announced the creation of the Unemployment Compensation Reform Joint Committee that will be chaired by Senator Bob Peterson (R-Washington Court House) and Representative Kirk Schuring (R-Canton).

The group, which will be composed of House and Senate legislators, will be tasked with reviewing the stability and sustainability of Ohio’s unemployment compensation system with the goal of determining what reforms may be needed to assure long-term solvency of the system. A major emphasis will be placed on receiving input from labor groups, the business community and Ohio’s workforce.

"This is the second phase of a legislative effort to stabilize and modernize our unemployment compensation laws,” President Faber said. “We started during the spring session by giving the governor's administration the authority to pay off our debt to the federal government, and now we're committed to improving the overall solvency of the unemployment compensation system. This committee will help us craft a bill for consideration during the upcoming fall session."

“Ensuring that Ohio’s unemployment compensation system is sustainable is crucial for the continual growth of business in the state,” Speaker Rosenberger said. “This is an important issue for Ohio’s future and I want to thank Senate President Faber, as well as those on the committee, for their willingness to address this issue in a commonsense and collaborative way.”

Meetings will be held on the following dates in the Ohio Statehouse in the House Finance Hearing Room (Statehouse Room 313):

August 25th
September 15th
October 6th
October 20th
November 3rd

Members appointed to the committee from the Ohio Senate include: Senators Randy Gardner (R-Bowling Green), Bill Seitz (R-Cincinnati) and Kenny Yuko (D-Richmond Heights).

Members from the Ohio House appointed to the committee include: State Representatives Bob Cupp (R-Lima), Gary Scherer (R-Circleville) and Jack Cera (D-Bellaire).

More information regarding the committee will be forthcoming.