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Going Forward! It’s Time to Get Back to Work
By Rep. Paula Hicks-Hudson
Guest Column
The people used their voices on November 3, 2020 to change
the leadership of our government at the local, state and
federal levels. I am grateful for those voters in Ohio
District 44 who will allow me to represent them again in
Columbus, Ohio at the statehouse. Everyone was focused on
the presidential election. (And rightly so, I might add).
Now, with my colleagues and I returning to Columbus this
week for various committees and then starting the “lame
duck” session before the end of the legislative session, we
have a lot of unfinished business to deal with.
Unfortunately, with the results of the state elections and
some legislators not returning for a new term, this will be
the time when those legislators will be pushing to get their
legislation passed. I am told to expect a flurry of
legislation, back-to-back committee meetings and long
sessions to pass legislation before we recess. This time
between now and the end of this year, is called a lame duck
session.
There are several pieces of legislation that could have
major impact on Ohioans.
The Fair School Funding Plan is the Ohio Senate’s companion
bill to the Cupp-Patterson Bill to reform the way the
public education (K-12) is funded in Ohio. This bill is in
response to the Ohio Supreme Court finding that the way Ohio
funds public education is unconstitutional. It creates a
formula to reallocate school funding between local and state
government.
The repeal of HB 6 which was passed to provide First Energy
with a bailout. This legislation has been tainted by the
corruption scandal of former Speaker Larry Householder.
There are currently three bills addressing this. Two bills
are seeking to outright repeal HB 6. The third bill seeks
to remove some of the terms affecting the energy efficiency
and alternative. There were several committee hearings
held, but there doesn’t seem to be any movement either way
right now.
There are several bills seeking to help citizens during this
pandemic:
HB 578 Provides support for homeless shelters and provide
rental assistance for renters who are affected by COVID. HB
599 would require notice to emergency workers, medical
service workers or funeral workers who have treated, handled
or transported a patient who tested positive for Covid-19.
HB 633 makes COVID-19 contracted by specified types of
employees an occupational disease under the Workers’
Compensation. Or HB 593 which would provide paid leave to
quarantined/compensate contract workers, if passed.
This is just a small sample legislation that has been
introduced in the Ohio House. Once a bill is passed from
the House, it then must go through the same process in the
Senate. The bill becomes law when the Governor signs it.
Considering the short timeframe, it will be very interesting
to see what bill the current Speaker John Cupp will set for
the agenda.
Just as your voice became your vote. You can still your
voice in the legislative process. If you want to watch
committee hearings and the legislative sessions, you can
through the Ohio Channel, which now broadcast those
meetings. You can also send comments, call or write to me
and other legislators about your opinion on the bills. It
is so important that you continue to use your voice.
Democracy is a participatory sport and your voice needs to
be heard.
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