Ohio House Veterans and Military Development Committee - 6-2-2026

Good morning and welcome to the House Veterans and Military Development Committee. I also want to welcome Rep. Gerald's, who's joining us today, replacing Rep. McNally. Welcome, Rep. Gerald's. I want to also thank everyone for your flexibility with scheduling as well as being here early today. So thank you to everyone. Will the clerk please call the roll? Chair Richardson?

Vice Chair Matthews has checked in. Ranking Member Lawson Rowe?

Representative Davila.

Representative Hall. Aye.

Here. Representative Lampton.

Representative Moore is excused.

And Representative Willis. Here.

by Representative Hall. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Madam Chair, I move to favorably report House Bill 452 and recommend its passage.

Yes.

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Yes.

Good morning, Chair Richardson, Vice Chair Matthews, Ranking Member Lawson Rowe, and members of the Veterans and Military Development Committee. I want to thank you for the opportunity to provide sponsor testimony on this meaningful piece of legislation. Senator Reynolds and I are honored to introduce a bill that would designate February 20th as the Black Ohio Civil War Medal of Honor recipient day. This is an intentional step to honor the bravery, sacrifice and patriotism of black soldiers from Ohio who received the Congressional Medal of Honor for their extraordinary service during the American Civil War. At a time when our nation was torn apart by the question of freedom and equality, these men stepped forward with courage and changed the course of history. I think it would be disingenuous to recognize these soldiers and not to speak their names. These courageous men are known as James N. H. Bronson, Robert A. Penn, and P. Hatton Beatty. These brave men have not only fought in one of the most defining moments in our nation's history, but also against the prejudice and discrimination that followed them in military service. Serving in segregated units and often denied the respect afforded their fellow soldiers, they nevertheless answered the call of duty and distinguished themselves through acts of remarkable valor. It is especially important as we approach our nation's 250 birthday that we tell the stories of courageous Ohioans who, despite their extraordinary contributions, remain largely unknown. It is a disservice not only to these men, but also to shared history. Their legacy deserves not only remembrance, but recognition. by formally recognized February 20th as the Black Ohio Civil War Medal of Honor recipient day, we ensure that future generations will not be forgotten. We acknowledge that there are extraordinary contributions not only to the union's victory, but also to the ongoing struggle for freedom, equality, and justice that continues to shape our state and our nation. Certainly want to thank you, Chair Richardson, and Vice Chair Matthews and Ranking Member Lawson Rowe and members of the committee at this time certainly offer testimony by my distinguished colleague, Senator Reynolds.

Well, thank you so much for your thoughtful testimony. Are there any questions for the witnesses? Yes, Representative Gambari.

To the chair, to the representative, I do have that information. February 20th was chosen intentionally because it marks the anniversary of the establishment of the 5th United States Colored Troops Regiment in 1863.

Let me, through the chair, Representative, thank you very much for raising that point. And I am not certain of that, but it seems appropriate to me, and I appreciate very much you raising that issue. I think it would be appropriate. Thank you very much.

I have just a quick one. When did they actually receive their medals? Was it posthumous? Was it in the 1870s, or was it fairly recently?

Thank you.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I looked. I'm not sure if the iPads are catching up, but just first thanks to Rep. Demetrio for leading the charge on this. I'm happy to be co-sponsored with him on this as a joint sponsor. Chairwoman Richardson, Vice Chair Matthews, Ranking Member Lawson Rowe, and the rest of the members of the House Veterans and Military Development Committee, thank you for the opportunity to provide the sponsor testimony today on what I believe is a very important concurrent resolution on what is going to be an important decision. House Concurrent Resolution 42 is a resolution that supports our veterans in increasing the access to mental health and addiction services through the Department of Veterans Affairs. As we know, that is a federal issue. Every way that we can try to support the decisions at the federal level that help our veterans, not only inside the state, but nationally, are important. And we have an obligation to ensure that those who served and defended our nation are protected and have access to healthcare that they have earned. The VA Mission Act made significant progress by providing millions of veterans with new choices in care through community care programs Despite these advances many veterans continue to face barriers to care VA wait time manipulation, faulty scheduler guidance, and improper appointment cancellations can prevent veterans from accessing the care they deserve. I will append my comments here by saying that inside the state of Ohio, we have very good VA care. And it is one of the things that I personally state regularly that our Dayton VA, specifically the closest one to me, is an exceptionally good place. And we have people who are working very hard at making these things better all the time. But as we know, there are always cracks in the system. And this is one of the things that helps to support the ways that we fill those cracks. The Veterans Access Act protects and expands veterans' health care choices in order to right the wrongs that are being made and help veterans seek the care that best meets their needs. By codifying community care access standards and requiring transparent eligibility and referral notifications, our veterans will have a better understanding of their rights, available options, and the process for resolving any issues that they run into. The online self-scheduling portals will also give veterans an accessible tool to manage their own care. The legislation establishes a three-year pilot program offering veterans access to outpatient mental health and substance abuse treatment through community care without a prior VA referral. This will expand critical access for some of our most vulnerable veterans. The bill also extends the deadline for community care providers to submit reimbursement claims from 180 days to one year, aligning the VA with most industry standards and helping ensure that community partners remain engaged and supportive in delivering care. In addition, the legislation requires the VA to discuss telehealth options with veterans, when telehealth is available and clinically appropriate, while ensuring that telehealth is not used to satisfy VA wait time targets for in-person care, but it also requires the VA to measure wait times from a veteran's date of request for an appointment to the date that the care is received, as already stipulated in the Mission Act regulations, but not necessarily always currently followed by the VA. The legislation also creates a standardized process to refer veterans for priority or routine admission for inpatient mental health care, ensuring that veterans are able to choose between VA and community care facilities based on existing eligibility and access standards. At its core, HCR 42 is about restoring trust, giving veterans real choices, and ensuring no one falls through the cracks and taking care of those who defended our country, like we say that we're going to do every day. So I urge your support of HCR 42. Look forward to continuing the work with members and Rep. Demetrio, all of you on the committee and the interested stakeholders in this legislation as it moves forward. Thank you again for time and consideration. I'll take any questions you might have.

Thank you, ma'am.

Thank you.

Welcome. Thank you, Madam Chair, members of the committee. I'd like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to come up here and testify today. My name is Gary Ward. I'm the Gold Star parent of Army Specialist Christian Ward. Christian was a crew chief on a UH-60 Black Hawk dust-off team. Unfortunately, Chris was killed in 2019 in an accident after his one-year deployment coming back home at Fort Carson. Some of my testimony would be, Today I'd like to express my strongest support in House Bill 632, a crucial piece of legislation that seeks to add Gold Star family and the next-to-kin identifier on Ohio driver's license and the state identification cards. This bill is far more than a simple matter of administrative updating, but deeply necessary to measure protect privacy, mental well-being, and dignity of our state's grieving families. Currently, when a Gold Star family non-dependent member attempts to access community recognitions of their fallen hero that they have earned, they frequently are used to carry and present a DD-1300 casualty report. Forcing a grieving parent, spouse, or sibling to carry that document is a heavy and unfair burden for several critical reasons. Emotional trauma carrying a DD-1300 is just a piece of paper. It is clinical stroke record of the worst day of our family's life. being forced to pull without a document detailing the exact manner, logic or logistics of the loved one's death to verify identity, to verify identity forces survivors to relive that trauma in a public routine settings. Privacy violations of the 1300 contains highly sensitive information, including social security numbers, home address and casualty details. Handling this document over to retail clerks, banks, employees, administrative staffs, families to identify them as a right to their privacy. The weight of the grief, our Gold Star families have already paid the ultimate sacrifice of our nation's freedom. They should be able to move through their daily lives with the community support, not in a consistent physical reminder of their loss tucked into wallets by passing House Bill 632, allowing the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to secure and verify that once in place is dignified, folded military burial symbol directly under the driver's license or Ohio State ID. Ohio can eliminate this unnecessary friction. This bill gives the family seamless, private, and respectful way to show their status without saying a word or unfolding that painful past. Our neighbors in Kentucky, West Virginia, and New Hampshire are already looking in to mirror this compassionate legislation. I urge you to champion this House Bill 632 and push for a swift passage. Thank you.

Thank you, Chairwoman. Mr. Ward, thank you for your testimony today.

And I echo what the Chairwoman says, that our committee is deeply sorry for the loss of your son, but grateful for his service to our nation. In reading and listening to your testimony, sir, you make a reference here under the section dealing about privacy violations. You gave some examples about bank employees, retail clerks, administrative staff, et cetera. How often are families engaging with these kind of individuals? What would those circumstances be when they currently request the DD1300?

Follow-up?

I was just curious to know how we came up with the burial flag as the signifier on the license. So your testimony indicated that that's how we would know a Gold Star family. Do you know what the background is to that or why we did that?

And do you know of any of the other states that are they doing anything similar to it?

That's what I thought, and I appreciate the clarification.

Thank you.

Good morning. Thank you. Thank you for having me, Chairwoman Richardson, members of the committee. This is my first time, so I appreciate the opportunity to come to you today.

The protocol for us is through the chair.

Okay. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. My name is Brittany McCall. I serve as an Ohio Survivor Outreach Services Coordinator, where I have the privilege of supporting Gold Star and Fallen Hero families across our state. Through this role, I work with families who have lost service members from every branch of service and from every manner of death, combat, training accidents, illness, suicide, and other service-connected circumstances. I am also a Gold Star widow. My husband, Sergeant Daniel Lee McCall, was killed in action October 30th of 2007 in Salman Pack, Iraq. Because of that, I come before you today with both professional and personal experience. I do not simply work alongside Gold Star and Fallen Hero families. I am one. Before discussing this bill itself, I think it's important to explain what it means to be a Gold Star or Fallen Hero family. I hope and think most people in here know that, but it's always important to point it out. Gold Star and Fallen Hero family members are the immediate surviving family members of military service members who died while serving our nation. While many Americans are familiar with the term veteran, fewer understand the meaning behind the Gold Star or Fallen Hero designation. Being a Gold Star Fallen Hero family member is not a benefit, it is not a privilege, it is not a title anyone seeks. It is a lifelong reality that begins on one of the worst days imaginable and continues long after casualty assistance ends, long after military honors are rendered and long after public attention fades The loss remains their service remains the sacrifice remains and for many families so does that desire to ensure their loved one service is remembered This is why House Bill 632 matters. At its core, this legislation is about three simple principles, recognition, remembrance, and choice. They want their loved one remembered. Recognition matters because acknowledgement matters. I've seen families become emotional when receiving a Gold Star license plate. I've watched surviving parents beam with pride when someone recognizes their child's military service. I've seen surviving spouses quietly thank a stranger who simply took a moment to acknowledge the sacrifice their family continues to carry. These moments do not erase grief. They remind families that their loved one's service still matters. Their sacrifice still matters, and they have not been forgotten. You know, I'm missing a page, and I was really confused by that.

I was handed this one because it was a better print, but I apologize. It was definitely missing a... I was really confused.

So this is why I'm going to back up a little bit to make it make more sense. This is why House Bill 632 matters. At its core, this legislation is about three simple principles, recognition, remembrance, and choice. First, recognition. Most people can identify a veteran through military service indicators already available on driver's licenses and identification cards. Veterans have a visible way to share their connection to military service if they chose. Gold Star and Fallen Hero families often carry their loss invisibly or with a DD-1300, a piece of paper. The parent who lost a son or daughter in combat, the spouse whose husband or wife never came home, the child growing up without a parent because of military service, the sibling left carrying the loss of a lifelong relationship. Most people would never know their story. House Bill 632 provides Gold Star and Fallen Hero family members the opportunity to be recognized if they chose to. It creates a simple, dignified way for eligible family members to carry that connection to their loved one's service and sacrifice. And I want to emphasize the word choose. It doesn't mandate or require them to have this designation on their driver's license. It doesn't force participation. It provides an opportunity for those who find meaning in that recognition. Second, remembrance. One of the most common things I hear from Gold Star and Fallen Hero families is not a request for benefits or services. It is a hope that their loved one will not be forgotten. As a Survivor Outreach Service Coordinator, along with four other coordinators, we currently support a population that includes more than 3,180 family members of fallen service members across Ohio, with over 2,100 active family members engaged in services and support. These families represent every manner of loss. The combat deaths, training incidences, illness, vehicle accidents, homicides, suicides, service-connected injuries that later resulted in death. Despite the difference in how their loved ones died, one common thread exists among nearly every family I serve. They want their loved one remembered. Recognition matters because acknowledgement matters. Sometimes the smallest gestures carry the greatest meaning. I've seen families—I did read this part, so I apologize. This is very repetitive. I've seen families become emotional when receiving the Gold Star license plate, watch surviving parents beam with pride when someone recognizes their child's military service, and I've seen surviving spouses quietly thank a stranger who simply took a moment to acknowledge the sacrifice their family continues to carry. Those moments do not erase grief, but they remind families that their loved one's service still matters. Their sacrifice still matters. They have not been forgotten. Third choice, House Bill 632 is good public policy because it is practical, voluntary, and respectful. The bill simply allows eligible Gold Star and Fallen Hero family members to request a designation on an Ohio driver's license or state identification card. It does not create a new entitlement program. It does not require significant government expansion. It does not mandate participation. It simply creates an optional method, identification and recognition for those who wish to utilize. it. The bill also provides practical benefits. Many Gold Star and Fallen Hero family members currently must carry sensitive documents containing personally identifiable information, as we've talked about, the DD-1300, in order to verify eligibility for certain programs, recognition opportunities, or services. Those documents can be lost, damaged, or exposed private information unnecessarily. This designation would provide a secure, dignified, and streamlined alternative while reducing paperwork and administrative barriers. Just as importantly, it affirms something surviving families already know, that their connection to their loved one's sacrifice does not end when the funeral is over. It is a lifelong connection and a lifelong legacy. I would like to close with a personal perspective. The knock on my door, October 30th of 2007, changed my life forever. Nearly 19 years later, I can tell you that grief never leaves. You learn to carry it. You learn to build a life around it. You learn to move forward while still honoring the person who should have been there beside you. What means the most to me after all these years is not special treatment. It is remembrance. It is knowing that Daniel's service mattered. It is hearing his name spoken. It is knowing that his sacrifice and the sacrifices of thousands of others others have not been forgotten. No designation on a driver's license can lessen the loss experienced by Gold Star and Fallen Hero families, but it can provide recognition, it can support remembrance, and most importantly, it can provide families with a choice to carry that recognition with them. It tells families, Ohio will not forget. House Bill 632 is not about creating a new benefit. It is about honoring sacrifice, remembering service, and ensuring that Ohio's Gold Star and Fallen Hero families have the opportunity to be recognized if they choose to. If you have any questions, I would be happy to answer them.

Thank you.

Oh, do you have one, Representative Gumbari?

Chair, I just maybe wanted to clarify one thing from the previous witness's testimony. Mr. Ward kind of threw me for a loop when he said the current driver's license already has a gold star on it, which made me think that, you know, if it already has it on there and now we're doing the flag, but the gold star is the real compliant ID gold star. So I just didn't want it's kind of a weird interchangeable way to describe it because we're hearing legislation about gold star families. And I just wanted to clarify that if anyone was had the same question I did. So thank you.

So thank you, Representative Gambari. Thank you all for your testimony. This concludes the third hearing on House Bill 632. I now bring forward HB 785 for its second hearing. and let's see, I'm going to invite up, oh yes, okay, I'm going to invite former Representative Lanise here now with the Inter-University Council to provide proponent testimony. Please proceed when you're ready, welcome. Thank you Chair and thank you so much for your testimony, that was very powerful.

In addition to clarifying governance, this bill modernizes several constraints that no longer reflect the realities of today's development environment. If approved by Controlling Board, the bill allows for longer-term lease agreements, which are often necessary to attract credible private partners and secure financing for projects of scale. It broadens the range of permissible uses, enabling universities to pursue a wide variety of projects that align with local economic needs and campus priorities. Furthermore, it removes requirements that can inadvertently delay otherwise viable projects, including rigid construction timelines that do not account for market conditions or projects complexity Taken together these changes bring Ohio framework more in line with how other states structure university real estate management while preserving transparency and institutional oversight. Strategic lease agreements enable universities to convert underutilized properties from a liability into an opportunity. Providing public universities with the authority to responsibly lease those assets allows them to reduce carrying unnecessary costs, expand business partnerships, generate new revenue, and reinvest in core academic and workforce priorities using existing resources. Ohio's public universities take their responsibilities as state assets seriously. They work every day to ensure student success, spend taxpayer dollars efficiently, and drive workforce development. They recognize that long-term sustainability requires discipline and adaptation and are working to reduce administrative costs, modernize facilities, and align course and program offerings with workforce demand. Those proactive efforts are supported by targeted policy changes that remove unnecessary red tape and allow institutions to execute those priorities, rather than by maintaining processes that slow decision-making and increase costs. House Bill 785 is an example of that kind of targeted reform by addressing a specific inefficiency in a manner consistent with principles of accountability, local governance, and fiscal prudence. For these reasons, the IUC respectfully urges this committee's favorable consideration of House Bill 785. We are especially grateful to Vice Chair Matthew's inclusion of universities and colleges in this bill. He has been a great partner for our universities on a variety of issues. And thank you, Chair and committee members, for the opportunity to provide testimony. I'm now going to turn it over to Casey Wyman, Bowling Green State University's Vice President for Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer and Air Force Veteran. Thank you so much for your testimony, and welcome to you, Mr. Wyman.

Thank you so much for your testimony. Are there any questions for the witness? Representative Gambari.

Of course. Through the chair to the representative, so we have about 1,300 acres at Bowling Green State University, So it's a large campus, and we do have some underutilized assets right now. So the way we would approach it is we would go to bid to be able to ensure that that competitive market has the opportunity to partner with us. And the reason why we don't want to sell it is because we want to still own the brand associated with it. We don't want the wrong partners to come into that space. We obviously care a lot about who has the interactions with our students to ensure that it's in line with our values and our culture. So I would say there is some opportunity there to better partner with industry as well as align to that workforce development piece, which is so critical to our community. We don't have a set agenda right now. All I know is that we are looking to expand this as an opportunity. As current legislation exists, it's just not advantageous for companies to come in and with that large investment. So this is really going to open the door for us to be able to enable to explore those in the future.

Through the chair to the representative, yes. So it's the speed of business. So for us to be able to enable these type of opportunities, we have to be able to move with industry. And so the current process is a little cumbersome. And as we looked to get decisions on lease land, whether that's size, scope, or the type of material that's coming into that area. Again, those would go through the state to the administrative DAS, excuse me, and so for approval, whereas this legislation allows the delegation down to the trustees to be able to enter into those agreements. So we'll be able to move much quicker, which is an advantageous position as we partner with industry.

To the Chair, ma'am. So not to my knowledge that they're vetoing anything. It's just the time at which it takes for them to approve. And so we have some examples where it's gone over a year for approval.

To the chair. So I'm a little bit of the new guy still. I've only been on the job for about eight months. And I can tell you through my experience while serving in the Air Force, in a similar nature, there's a lot of similarities between military bases and college campuses just naturally. And as you approach what we have to offer, right, and at Bowling Green State University, we have an amazing aviation program. We have an amazing, newly renovated through the support of the state, engineering building. Those are very lucrative for defense companies to come in and talk about whether it be drone capacity or capabilities or enhanced aviation analytics about how various programs work. I know with your background as well, you're very familiar with this. So while I don't have an example in Ohio, I can tell you we are looking at all of our colleges for these types of opportunities. I know that we have some interest just without solicitation, and we're really excited about what it will be when we start to formalize this and go to market.

Excellent. Thank you. Thank you.