Ohio House of Representatives - 3-18-2026

The House will come to order. A quorum is present. I invite everyone to please rise and join our members in the opening prayer and to remain standing for the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag and to the Republic. The prayer will be offered today by Rabbi Scott Rowland from the congregation Shari Tikba in Beachwood, Ohio, where he has served for 10 years. He resides in Beachwood with his wife Aviva and their three daughters. Rabbi.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If you would join me in looking again to the West Gallery and take a look at a distinguished group of people from our Ohio American Legion, would you all stand? So I will highlight the fact... Thank you for that, and let's do it one more time in a minute. I want to highlight the fact that these are representatives from around the state, in the districts that you represent, who do the hard work of looking at the things that we are considering here in the legislature, and they come to us with Veterans Affairs, and they have their own legislative commission, which is this group of people who are highly adept at looking at these things that we're doing and looking at the effects of the veterans that they represent in the American Legion and others, because there's more than that that they do, realizing that each one of them is a veteran. Each one of them has stepped up to continue to serve in a volunteer capacity to make sure that our veterans are served in the best possible ways. I'm going to highlight the one in the center there. Suzette Heller happens to preside over this commission, and she does more than that on a daily basis. I can't express to you how much this lady pours her life into the life and life-giving things that we can do for our veterans. If you haven't seen her work at Sable Warrior, please visit it sometime. It will change your heart. Thank you all for what you do.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I rise to recognize a great group of individuals. I'm excited to have guests in the gallery today from the Ohio Scholars in Aging Program, class of 2026. As part of the Government and Policy Day, the scholars are here to observe the legislative process and learn more about state government. The Ohio Scholars Aging Program is offered through a partnership between the Ohio Department of Aging and the Ohio Association of Gerontology and Education to provide eligible students the chance to learn about aging policymaking establish career professional contacts and gain valuable career knowledge and skills in the field of aging. Scholars are selected from an array of Ohio colleges and universities, and the class of 2026 includes students from Case Western Reserve University, Lourdes University, Miami University, Ohio University, the Ohio State University, University of Cincinnati, and Youngstown State University. Past participants have gone on to successful careers within Ohio's aging network. Program alumni certainly currently hold positions at area agencies on aging across the state, regional long-term care ombudsman offices, and the Benjamin Rose Institute of Aging. They also serve as long-term care and nursing home administrators and social workers. I just want to say a shout-out from the Aging Caucus that we are so excited about the work of these young people. They're really digging into how do we help Ohioans age well, and we're looking forward to the work that they're doing, some of the research they're doing, and when they walk into the field. And as Ohio continues to age, this is an important area that we need to address. So I want to recognize you all and say thank you for being here today. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. As customary, when we have an aide leave us, we usually like to give them a good send-off. and it's with much regret that we are sending off Jack Erickson. Jack, can you stand up? I don't know where you're at. Over there. Okay, great. Jack likes things short and sweet, so I will keep it as such. But I really want to extend a heartfelt thanks for all that you did for our office. You were a partner. The people of the 60th District, you've respected them, and you've taken on this office as if it was your own. And I'm just really grateful for all the service and your partnership and for your friendship. And I wish you the best going forward. And you'll be hard to replace and you'll be missed. But I think one of the greatest qualities about you is the sense of ownership and the sense of pride that you brought to the 60th District every day and the numerous comments that I would receive constituents, business owners, or other colleagues on your efforts. Shouldn't understate your efforts. So thanks for all you do, Jack, and God bless and best of luck. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Colleagues, I've not looked forward to this day. Back in 2022, I was walking on a street on the west side of Cleveland in West Park, and I knocked on a door. Nobody came to the door that day But I knocked on a couple more doors Looked back and this young man came out of the house And I went back and we got to talking And he was a fine young man Found out he had graduated from my son at St Ignatius High School And I said you know I looking for a campaign manager and you a hard fine young man Do you have time to help me out He said well I don because I going back to law school soon but my sister is looking for a job. And he shared my contact information with his sister, and we met, and I knew the moment that I met McKenna Dugan that she would be an incredible aid for, an incredible campaign manager for me that election cycle. We won that difficult race handily, in large part thanks to her work. And after the election, I had to think about who my aide was going to be here at the Statehouse. And there was no other answer other than McKenna. I knew that in my heart, I knew that in my brain, and everyone that I asked said the same thing, that McKenna's a natural. So I think we met over coffee, and I said, I need you to come to Columbus with me. And I think she said, give me 24 hours. And she called me the next day and said, I want to do it. And I cried, because there was no one else that I would have rather had. Anybody that knows McKenna knows that she sees with the most important quality of any public servant, and that is empathy. And I knew that was a person I wanted answering the phones because when I was on Parma City Council and now here as a state representative, my number one priority, and I got this from my good friend Dennis Kucinich, who was my congressman for many years, is constituent services. Serving the people that we care about and that sent us here. And any time you walk by McKenna's office, you'll see her hard at work. In fact, one of the things I'm sad about is she's going to be leaving here with many, many hours of comp time because although she could have used some of that over the last few weeks, she chose not to. In fact, she's been staying after a little bit late despite the fact that she's leaving us on Friday. McKenna has done incredible work for our constituents. I brought some of the letters that I've received from constituents over the last several months, and I'll just read a couple of excerpts. Sean, I can't thank you enough for the concern and support you personally provided me as I was trying to reestablish my brother Paul's Medicaid. Paul is disabled and has been on Medicaid and Medicare for many years due to his disability. It was the beginning of February 2023 that I was notified that Paul was to lose his Medicaid due to a change in RSS, Residential Supplemental Services, income limit. It was not until I contacted your office I was able to get him the help to resolve the situation. I'm so grateful for the professional, compassionate, and knowledgeable help that your legislative aide, McKenna Dugan, she's to be commended. Your district constituents are lucky to have you and her working for us. Here's another one. This is from Nino. I just wanted to thank you in your office, especially McKenna Dugan, for the incredible help you provided my 90-year-old mother and me. McKenna was precise, sincere, and fully engaged from start to finish. She took the time to truly understand our situation and guide us every step of the way. Her kindness and professionalism really stood out. She represents exactly what it means to serve others. It means so much. Well, let's see here. You should be very proud of McKenna. She's an outstanding reflection of leadership and commitment to public service. This is from James. I just want to say thank you for your help throughout this process. It was just like magic when you guys got involved. And this is to McKenna. It's been resolved. and the deck cleared through ODJFS and OAG. I've got a 10-second clip from a resident. This one literally makes me cry every time I hear it. Let me see if I can get this up. I'm trying to be fast.

Can you shut that off? Sorry about that. you can't do this job alone. And McKenna, I love you like a daughter. And everybody tells me Michael Stenzioni is a good guy, so I know you're in good hands. I wish we could pay our aides more so we could hang on to them, but she has been with me for three years and three months now, and she's done a fine job, and I'm proud of her, and she's got a great opportunity. and I know someday she may be our first four-year female governor. We've had a female governor before, but never for all four years. She's joined today, Mr. Speaker, by her mom, Mary Lynn. McKenna will tell you that her mom has worked tirelessly to give her everything. She's also here with her brother, Connor. Unfortunately, her brother, Kellen, couldn't be here. She'd say that her brothers constantly challenge her to be her best self. She loves her sisters, Emma and Mia, and her niece, Ella. who give her hope for the future of this great state. She wanted me to say on her behalf, for the hard-working south-of-the-earth people of District 14, who have been so fortunate to learn from, listen to, and serve, she wanted to say for the senior staff and caucus staff who have shepherded her the last three years, she's going to miss them very much, and that she truly believes in the power of community, and she's wholly committed to creating accessible, supportive, and loving communities for all Ohio. Thank you so much for allowing me to speak. I've cried several times the last couple weeks. I made it through the speech, McKenna. Again, I love you like a daughter. Thank you so much for your service to the residents of the 14th House District and by extension all 11 million Ohioans. I'm always in your corner. Godspeed. Thank you, everybody.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I want to thank you, Mr. Speaker, and our clerk, Brad Young, for allowing me the opportunity to invite Rabbi Scott Roland, who gave our opening prayer today. And I want to take a moment and just recognize Rabbi Roland. He's much more than just a rabbi. He's a community leader. He builds bridges from the Jewish community throughout other communities in the Cleveland area. And most importantly he was sort of a hero last summer to my son and 26 other high school students many of whom were taking their first trip ever to Israel last June on a 10 trip that our Jewish Federation and some other organizations sponsor And on day four I know exactly what day it was because it was my son 17th birthday, June 13th, is when Israel began military operations against Iran. And so what happened is that the trip was interrupted and for the next five, six days, everybody had to basically We live in a three stories underground in the basement in a bomb shelter. And for 15, 16-year-old kids, that's a terrifying experience. And of course, the parents were all terrified. But Rabbi Scott and his other trip leaders, but mainly Rabbi Scott, I want to really emphasize that he was the main leader, the one that everybody was able to confide in, to speak with. He made it as fun as being in a bomb shelter can be for five days. and so I was telling my son this morning about it that I was going to be doing this and he gave me some advice and I mentioned one of my favorite artists, one of his lines, Dave Matthews, it's not where you are but who you're with that really matters and obviously a horrible situation but Rabbi took care of everybody and obviously everybody made it out safely and so Rabbi, thanks for everything you do but especially for last summer. Thank you.

Yeah, very quickly, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to recognize Will Fife in the South Gallery. Will is a lucky man because he has engaged my legislative aide, Chloe. So give him a round welcome to the Statehouse.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the North Gallery, I would like to recognize Sandusky County Auditor, Jerry Miller. And she has served our county for 11 years faithfully. She is well-loved, well-respected in Sandusky County and beyond. and she will be retiring at the end of her term this year. So please join me in acknowledging Jerry and thanking her for her great service.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I rise to provide a point of personal privilege honoring the life of Technical Sergeant Tyler Simmons. He was a part of the 121st Air Refueling Wing at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base. He lost his life supporting overseas operations just last week, March 12, 2026, at just 28 years of age. You all, he was one of ours, a proud member of the United States Air Force, a son of Columbus, a graduate of Columbus City Schools by way of Eastmore Academy. He played football and he was the star quarterback. But not only that, he was a man who truly loved his community. He was a man who was raised to love and respect his country so much so that he risked his life And y he was a man of faith And I believe I read somewhere in our good book I believe it was John 15 13 It says, no greater love than a man who loves his friend that he would lay his life down. And today, there's no better witness than to see that type of love. Technical Sergeant Simmons answered the call that required courage. It required discipline. It required faith. And y'all, so many times we say so often, thank you. Thank you for your service. But I just believe we must acknowledge the depth of what sacrifice really means. Because sometimes it means sacrificing that empty seat at the dinner table. Sometimes it means whispering those prayers during nightfall. And for his family, Cheryl and Milo Simmons, it means that no word that I can say today will ever fill the void that that family is filling. And to his family, I wanted them to know that they are not grieving alone today. they need to know that we are praying for them today they need to know that we are standing with them today they need to know that we are always lifting them up because we are ever so grateful for his service to this country he loved his country so very much and we are so grateful that his family raised him in a way to know that he had to love his country and if you didn't know He is the only child to Cheryl and Milo Simmons. He has no children. He was all that they had. And so I need them to know. I need you all to know. I need his family to know at home that we are thankful for his service. We are indebted to him for his service to this country. We are grateful. We are appreciative. And I just believe, I hope that they find silence in the words that I believe each and every one of us or most of us would like to hear at the end of our lives. Well done, thy good and faithful servant. Thank you so much, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you to my colleague, too. That was beautiful. In 1987, I took an oath to protect and defend the state of Ohio and the United States of America as a member of the Ohio Air National Guard. My unit, the 121st Tactical Fighter Wing. In 1991, I met my future husband, Jeff, on TDY. That's temporary duty for you non-military folk. and we were in that state up north, but he doesn't like to talk about that. His brother Scott, my brother-in-law, served as a crew chief in the same unit. We are family. Not long after, the 121st added the 160th Air Refueling Group to the unit and became the 121st Air Refueling Wing. My term of service ended January 1993 My husband was longer but our unit will always be family to us That's why today it is with deep grief, mixed with Ohio pride, that I rise to honor three airmen, three patriots who gave their lives in the fight against the terrorist regime of Iran and Operation Epic Fury. On March 12th, our state, my unit, and three amazing families lost Captain Seth Coble, Captain Curtis Angst, and Tech Sergeant, posthumously promoted to Master Sergeant Tyler Simmons, when their KC-135 crashed in Iraq. Their mission? To keep our planes flying. That's what refuelers do. They keep the fighters and the bombers in the air. They are essential to war planning and war fighting. These men were doing the job they volunteered to do, and they gave the ultimate sacrifice. Captain Covel had served 19 years Captain Angst, 10 Master Sergeant Simmons, 8 They leave behind families, friends and an entire Air National Guard unit who are mourning Today, they return to American soil and will eventually be transported back here home to Ohio. King Solomon wrote, there is a time to mourn. Now is that time. Mourn for their families. Keep them in your prayers and ask God to grant them and the 121st Air Refueling Wing comfort and peace now and in the days ahead. these three men made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Please join me in honoring them now. Mr. Speaker.

The clerk will read the journal of the previous day. of National Guard units in the state. Introduction of, excuse me, that stands as first consideration. We have no Senate amendments to consider or reports of conference committees, reports of standing in select committees and bills for second consideration. Representative Humphreys from the following court, the C-M-9 Governor, recite to which refer to House Bill 176. Representatives Fisher, Laurents and others, having the same material as a subspeel, recognize this passage. Representative Glassburn, sit at the following court, these standing on finance, which refer to House Bill 730. Representative Stewart, having the same material as a subspeel, recognize this passage. Representative Grimm, submit to the following report, the same meeting on transportation, which refer to Senate Bill 212. Senator Timkin and others having the same research and recommends this passage. Representative Sinneberg, Smith, the following point, this can be the same I work with American Mind only an Democrat. The seeming to have the but very high Gadgeist 협, Knowing government。 To defer in House Bill 396, Secondary Board has a governorlitرك uh... I feel a damning. ...by purpose of traffic. That собственно, does a blessing the 있습니다. ダンges! im... I re while I did a floatkey part ofoque... BY Reads. ... American Mindy! William Friedman.

Mr. Speaker, I move that Rules and Reference committee report on referrals be agreed to and the House bills and Senate bills contained therein be considered for the second time and referred as recommended.

Motions and resolutions. Representative Isaacs, Senator Report of the Rules and Reference Committee, recommending that the House concur resolution and House resolutions be averaged for the following committees for consideration. House Concur Resolution 38, Representative Fisher, to urge the creation of an interstate compact regarding competitively bid electric transmission projects. House Resolution 349, Representative Humphrey, to make clear that state elected officials have a right to tour, inspect, and assess any detention facilities owned by the state at any time. House Resolution 350, Representative Ritter Workman, to recognize June as Fidelity Month in Ohio for the purposes of rededicating the state to the values of faith, family, and patriotism.

Mr. Speaker, I move that Rules and Reference Committee report on resolutions be agreed to, and the House concurrent resolution and House resolutions contained therein be introduced and referred as recommended.

Motions and resolutions. Representative Isaacson, Report of the Rules and Office Committee, recommending the following House resolutions be around the tunnel and wide of her. House Resolution 351, Representative Hoops, honoring Callie Spangler, winning 26th Division II State Diving Championship. House Resolution 352, Representative Sweeney, honoring College Club Western's 100th anniversary. House Resolution 353, Representative White A. Brownlee, recognizing Ohio Child Abuse Prevention Month. April 2026, House Resolution 354, Representative Calendar, honoring the Rotary Club of Hainesville, once 100th anniversary. House Resolution 355, Representative White A, Lambton, honoring Brooklyn Talley, is the 26th Division 2 State Swimming Champion. House Resolution 356, Representative Everchurch, honoring the Glenville High School football team, is the 25th Division 4 State Champion.

Mr. Speaker, I move that Rules and Reverence Committee report on resolutions be agreed to, and the House resolution contained therein be approved.

Motions and resolutions.

Mr. Speaker, I move that House Resolution 348 be brought up for immediate adoption, read by title only, and spread upon the pages of the journal.

The clerk will read the resolution by title only. House Resolution 348, Speaker Huffman, Representative Isaacson, relative to travel allowance.

This normal procedure resolution providing for travel reimbursement for the member listed in the resolution based on their round-trip mileage from their home and the seat of government. Very good.

Shouldn't we?

so long as a written request is on file in the majority leadership offices.

Mr. Speaker, I move that minority party members asking leave to be absent or absent the week of Wednesday, March 18, 2026, be excused so long as a written request is on file in the minority leadership offices.

Mr. Speaker, I am directed to inform the House of Representatives that the Senate is concurrently passed with the following bill. Substance bill 229. Representative Dieter and others is a substitute will. as the concurrence of the House is requested.

Mr. Speaker, I move that Senate amendments to substitute House Bill 229 be taken up for immediate consideration.

Substitute House Bill 229, Representative Dieter and others to amend to an act or the revised code to establish a standalone licensing process and new contractual requirements for pharmacy benefit managers.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to recommend that the House concur on the Senate amendments to House Bill 229. This previously passed this chamber unanimously and also received unanimous support in the Ohio Senate. The bill creates licensing, transparency, and reporting requirements for pharmacy benefit managers operating in Ohio. I'd like to thank the Senate for their thoughtful review of the bill and their collaboration in moving it forward. The Senate amendments will make important improvements to the legislation at the recommendation of the Ohio Department of Insurance. Enforcement provisions were added to ensure that the policy changes in the bill can be implemented effectively and consistently. These additions do not change the core intent of House Bill 229, but instead strengthen the bill by providing clear oversight and accountability. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Senator Wilson and his staff for their collaboration on the substitute bill and for helping shepherd the legislation through the Senate process. I would also like to thank Senator Lang for his partnership and support, as well as the members of the Senate Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee for their swift and thoughtful consideration of the bill. House Bill 229 continues to advance the same goals that led to its unanimous passage in both chambers, providing clarity in statute, ensuring proper oversight, and improving how this policy functions for Ohioans. With those improvements now included, I respectfully ask for your concurrence with the Senate amendments to House Bill 229. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So today we are talking about pharmacy benefit management. And when I think about that, I think to myself, now we've added a different prescription or amendment, as we like to call it, to this order. A lot of this stuff is just real basic stuff that should be the standard no matter who you're talking about. We're talking about basicness of making sure somebody has a background check, a license, operating, making sure people don't operate with expired license. This is basic stuff. And no matter if you're talking about this bill or another form of operation, we should not have to amend something to make sure that basic things are being taken care of when it comes to order of operation within our state of Ohio. And even the whole thing of being underneath the Department of Insurance, another basic operation that now is having to be an amendment. I'm hoping that as we decide on what's best for Ohioans and what's best for operations, we don have to deal with these basic things that this should be the standard of how we handle all things the first time go around So yes for the Senate amendments But no Okay Very good

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just want to say a few thank yous first. First to Chairman Thad Claggett for always running a first-class operation in the Technology and Innovation Committee. I'd also like to thank Attorney General Dave Yost and his entire staff for being great advocates and leaders on this bill and helping us make it better. I also want to thank our policy team, specifically Mike McGuire, for being a great liaison and helping Representative Williams and I throughout this long process. I'd also like to thank our staff, my legislative aide, Haley Fisher, and my previous legislative aide, Brandon Agnew, for all their work over the last two general assemblies on this bill. and my co-sponsor or my joint sponsor, Josh Williams, for joining me this year and making this bill a lot better. Let's be clear about what the Innocence Act does. It's about what it's about. It's about protecting kids. Right now, a 13-year-old can get online via phone or some other device and access pornographic material in seconds. That's insane, and we shouldn't allow it. There's no barriers, no safeguards, and no accountability today. We would never allow this to happen in the real world, and we shouldn't allow it online. And this bill changes that. The Innocence Act says if you're publishing obscene content online, you need to verify that your users are adults. And once that verification is complete, that data needs to be deleted. It's simple, clear, and long overdue. This bill also has real enforcement behind it. The substitute bill creates the Innocence Act Enforcement Fund and gives the Ohio Attorney General the ability to pursue penalties up to $100,000 per day for violations. And to be clear, this fund is paid for by the bad actors violating the law, not by Ohio taxpayers. If big porn companies want to ignore the law and put profits ahead of our kids, they can fund the enforcement themselves. And this bill takes on another growing problem, deep fake pornography. If somebody takes your image without your consent and uses it to create fake sexual content, that is not a joke and it is not harmless. It's evil. And this bill makes that a felony and gives the victims the right to go after and pursue the people responsible. Ohio families are tired of watching big tech and big porn companies operate like the rules don't apply to them. This bill says the rules do apply. It says children matter. It says victims matter. And it says Ohio is not going to sit by and watch this garbage being pushed upon our kids. I ask for a yes vote. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of House Bill 84, the Innocence Act. First I want to say thank you to my joint sponsor, Representative Steve Dimitrio, on his leadership. When I watched that this legislation didn pass last General Assembly I reached out to him and asked if I could join in on the fight to protect our kids in the state of Ohio and he graciously accepted me as a joint sponsor I do wanna say thank you to not only our policy staff, but our individual staffs in each office. These were some long meetings, many drafts, many revisions, many opportunities to speak to the Attorney General's office about enforcement or lack of enforcement and non-cooperation by big pornography companies who want to continue to peddle obscenity to our children. But not long ago, if someone wanted to access explicit material in the state of Ohio, they had to go to a physical store. Those stores were required to check identification and restrict access to minors under the Ohio Revised Code. That's still in effect to this day. That safeguard reflected a very simple principle that all Ohioans agreed upon, that certain pornographic material is inappropriate for children. But the world has changed. Those video stores have disappeared and the smartphones have replaced it. Today, explicit content is often just a few clicks away from our children, available to everyone with an Internet connection regardless of their age. House Bill 84 updates Ohio law to reflect this new reality. If we require age verification in the physical world, it is only reasonable that we expect similar protections online to protect our children. Children today are encountering content online that previous generations were far less likely to encounter at such a young age. House Bill 84 establishes a common sense solution by requiring websites that distribute this explicit material to implement age verification safeguards before granting access. This legislation simply ensures that online distributors take reasonable steps to prevent minors from accessing content that is already illegal to provide them under Ohio law. The bill also addresses another growing concern, the rise of AI-generated deepfake pornography. Advances in artificial intelligence now allow someone to take an image of you and digitally place it on another individual's likeness and place it into explicit content without your consent. These fabricated images can spread online almost instantaneously and cause lasting damage to the victim's reputation and well-being. So members, the Innocence Act does not seek to regulate private behavior of adults. Its purpose is far simpler. It is to make sure that the protections we have long required in the physical world also apply to the digital one. And most importantly, it is to ensure that Ohio's children are not left unprotected in an online environment that changes faster than our laws can. For those reasons, I respectfully ask for your support of House Bill 84.

Speaker. All right. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of Substitute House Bill 84. Technology has changed the way we interact online. It has also led to, unfortunately, a lot of pornographic material being online, accessible by our youth. I think as Representative Williams was stating, unfortunately, if you go online, all you have to do is click that you're over 18. There's no additional verification that's provided. And unfortunately, that is leading to a lot of our youth having access to this information. This legislation works to strengthen protections for minors online by requiring reasonable age verification measures for whoever sites that distribute explicit contents. For years, access to these sites, again, have had very little protection. Second, the bill addresses a growing and troubling issue, the use of someone's image to create explicit material without their consent, including AI-generated deepfakes. Victims, many of whom are young people, don't have any legal recourse. And unfortunately, House Bill 84 helps change that by creating clear consequences and legal recourse. At the end of the day, this is about protecting our young people. I urge a yes vote. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I've always thought this bill to be common sense measure. When you go down to sign up for a utility or sign up for a bank loan or sign up for anything, car payment, unless you have a co-sponsor signing your name, it's your responsibility to pay that bill. It's not your boss's responsibility. It's not your landlord's responsibility. And it for sure isn't my responsibility. Since introducing House Bill 92, we have worked with interested parties and stakeholders to ensure the bill strikes the right balance between protecting landlords, tenants, and municipalities, while also making sure that those who are responsible for utility payments are ultimately held responsible. Too often landlords and new owners, new property owners are left paying for utility debts that they did not sign up for. At its core this bill addresses the issue of unpaid municipal utility charges, specifically water, sewer and other services. At rental properties and it ensures responsibility for those charges is placed where it belongs. This bill has gone through extensive committee process with multiple hearings and testimony from both proponents and opponents, allowing us to refine the language and improve the legislation. I would like to briefly highlight a few key provisions of the bill. The bill prohibits municipalities from placing liens on properties for unpaid water and sewer charges of those debts that was incurred by a tenant under a service contract. This ensures landlords are not unfairly burdened with the cost that they did not occur. It also prevents municipalities from refusing or disconnecting utility services to a landlord or a current tenant or a prospective tenant due to unpaid bills from a former tenant This protects new tenants from being penalized for someone else debt The bill strikes a reasonable balancing, protecting landlords and tenants while still allowing municipalities to pursue payment from those who are actually responsible. I'd like to thank Chair King and the members of the House Local Government Committee for their work on this legislation and thanks to Aidan Morris, the Majority Caucus Advisor, for his assistance in helping improve this bill. I also want to thank my joint sponsor, Representative McClain, for his partnership in this legislation and you, Mr. Speaker, for bringing this to the House floor today. I urge a yes vote.

chair recognizes Representative McLean. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. House Bill 92 is simple in principle. If you contract for a service and receive that service, you should be responsible for the payment of that service. And any unpaid balance should not be transferred to a third party out of convenience. Two years ago, my office received a call from a constituent about an issue. This constituent who owns rental property in district noticed an unexpected amount on his property tax bill. Come to find out, a tenant who had recently left, seemingly on good terms, had not paid their last few months of water and sewer bills. This lack of payment, unknown to him until now, was attached to this property tax. even though the signature on the water and sewer service agreement was not the landowners it was now his financial responsibility i found out afterwards that this is actually current practice for some municipalities in ohio an unpaid bill from water sewer is being sent to the county auditor for placement as a lien for the property owner to be responsible for we then heard testimony in committee from many other Ohioans who are having this same issue. Another one is Anna Mills, a 77 year old housing provider from Northwest Ohio who has provided affordable rental properties for more than 48 years. She testified to having multiple outstanding water bills in excess of $1,000 each, two excess water bills in excess of $5,000, and one nearly $19,000. Her tenants many times were paying their rent to her while leaving the water and sewer bill unpaid. The municipality provider continued to provide water and allowing the bill to rack up. All of this, again, unknown to her. This bill simply adds an affirmative prohibition to municipal corporations from certifying a property tax lien for contracts made with a tenant. There are many alternative options for municipal corporations to operate a system that is both efficient and holds their actual customers accountable without this option. Best practices such as security deposits, maximum outstanding balance limits before shutoff, and updates to their service contracts are just a few that have been discussed during this process. I want to be clear, this bill is not prescriptive on how the local municipalities determined to operate their system, but it is definitive in that using the nuclear option of placing a lien on the property is not an option. Opponents to this threaten that water rates will rise That not true and certainly does not have to be the case Implementing those best practices and operating a system that holds the responsible payer accountable rather than the convenient third party is both right and achievable Many other regulated entities serving these same tenants already accomplish this every day. I thank you all for your attention and I ask for support.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. arises this afternoon in opposition to House Bill 92. This legislation is framed as fairness for property owners. At its core, it removes financial responsibility from landlords with tenants that fail to pay for water, sewer, and trash services, shifting the burden onto our cities. But when cities absorb these losses, the cost doesn't disappear, they are placed back on to consumers. A vote to pass this bill is a vote to raise water and sewer rates for over millions of Ohioans. Experts have made it clear that this bill will force rate hikes requiring responsible renters, homeowners, and small businesses to subsidize unpaid bills. The act of a few bad apples should not result in the entire orchard being spoiled. This bill also leaves municipalities with their hands tied, forcing them to continue providing services even when significant debts are owed, straining systems that must still maintain infrastructure and deliver reliable services. The last thing our constituents need is higher utility costs and added strain on essential services. For these reasons, I urge a no on House Bill 92. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of amended House Bill 125, legislation aimed at supporting Ohio students who participate in 4-H and FFA programs. These are without a doubt the future leaders of Ohio's number one industry, agriculture. Colleagues, I think we can all agree that learning shouldn't be limited to a traditional classroom setting. 4-H and FFA are invaluable resources that focus on the development of our students through hands-on learning that can lead to lifelong skills. Currently in Ohio, official 4-H and FFA events are not considered sufficient for an excuse absence, and the decision whether to allow the excuse absence is at the discretion of the school House Bill 125 aims to change that by requiring schools to excuse students in kindergarten through 12th grade for an absence that comes as a result of a participation in a 4-H or FFA activity. Documentation proving a student's participation in the activity will be required. The school district must also provide the student with an opportunity to make up any work missed due to the program. Schools still have the ability, as administrators may deny a request under certain circumstances, such as conflicts with state testing. I wholeheartedly believe the goal of our education system is to give our students lifelong skills that allow them to achieve success in the future. 4-H and FFA strive to achieve the exact same goal. I'd like to thank my joint sponsor, Representative Creech, for not giving up on this idea. I'd like to thank Chairwoman Fowler-Arthur, Ranking Member Brennan, for the amendment that was added to the bill to make the bill better. I'd like to thank Marcus Benjamin for everything that he always does for all of our pieces of legislation, but specifically mine. And I'd like to thank Mr. Speaker, you, for bringing this to the floor today. I urge a yes vote.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak today on amended House Bill 125. I would like to begin by thanking you, Mr. Speaker, for your leadership, and Representative Thomas Hall for his partnership as joint sponsor on this legislation. Amended House Bill 125 addresses an important issue for many Ohio students by requiring excused absences for participation in 4-H and FFA activities. I'd like to give a shout-out to my friend and colleague, Representative Willis. as Clark County is where 4-H was founded, and that's very important to our state. Ohio has long been a leader in supporting the youth and development of our agricultural education. Today, more than 29,000 Ohio FFA members and over 150,000 4-H youth participate in these programs. Agriculture remains Ohio's number one industry, and these programs play a critical role in preparing the next generation of farmers, business leaders, and skilled professionals who will continue to drive our state's number one economy. These opportunities not only teach responsibility, leadership, and hard work, but can also open doors to scholarships and future paths. However, many of these events and competitions take place during the school year, forcing students to choose between attending school or participating in these important and valuable activities. House Bill 125 ensures that students no longer have to make that choice. This legislation also maintains important safeguards. It does not allow excused absences during state testing periods and ensures that participation does not interfere with disciplinary obligations. Amended House Bill 125 is a common-sense, clean, and simple piece of legislation. It supports students in pursuing opportunities that enrich their lives outside the classroom while helping develop skills that will benefit them and our state for years to come. I would like to thank Chairwoman Fowler-Arthur for her dedicated work and support on this bill. My joint sponsor, Representative Hall, thank you. And to you, Mr. Speaker, for bringing this bill to the floor. Members of the House, I respectfully ask that you support amended House Bill 125. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm happy to rise in support of this common sense bipartisan legislation. This is proof that when we work together, we can do great things for Ohio's children. This bill recognizes something educators, parents, and employers already know. Learning doesn't only happen inside the classroom. When a student participates in 4-H, FFA, an internship, a job shadow, an athletic tournament, or a field trip, they're not absent. They're engaged in real, meaningful education. Right now, our attendance system can actually penalize students in schools for these experiences. That sends the wrong message. We should be encouraging workforce development, hands-on learning, and student engagement, not discouraging it throughout dated attendance policies. This bill fixes that. It ensures students are counted as present when they're participating in district-approved, school-sponsored or workforce preparation activities. It protects their grades, it protects schools from distorted absenteeism data, and it still includes reasonable guardrails, like as the sponsor said, prohibiting participation during state testing or disciplinary periods. Most importantly, it aligns our policies with reality. Career readiness, leadership development, and experiential learning are not distractions from education. They're essential to it. So this is one of those moments where doing the right thing really is present before us. I urge a yes vote. Thank you. Thank you, Representative. The question

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Sub-metering. The word has sent shivers down many of our residents' backs for the past 15 years. For over 15 years, our renters, our citizens, have pled for protections, pled for oversight, and pled from this body for help with their utilities. Today, we are delivering on strong and needed reform and help for nearly a million of our renters across Ohio. In current law today, there is next to no protections, oversight, clarity, and help for the renters of Ohio who are sub-metering. A no vote on House Bill 173, despite however much you may want this to be stronger, a no vote will continue the status quo and leave many of our renters and our citizens in the dark. A yes vote today a yes vote on House Bill 173 adds lines and lines and lines of protections and help not only for our renters for our landowners and for our businesses as well These are things like adding in price caps to make sure that our renters are not paying more than what they would have been paying had their property not been sub-metered. Things like having the PUCO directly involved so that our renters have a place they can go if they have questions or concerns or complaints instead of needing to hire an attorney. are going through the Attorney General's office. These help include aspects of lease and rent disclosures pushed by Representative Fisher and his great help on this bill. These include bill transparency, disclosures, and heat protection through help and advocacy of Representative Brennan and many others on the committee as well. This bill has been long overdue for our citizens here in Ohio. It's much-needed protection. we have had 11 hearings on this legislation, much vetting, much discussion. My great thanks to Chair Holmes, members of the Energy Committee for their patience, their understanding, and their help to make this bill a strong and needed protection for Ohioans across the state. I urge a yes vote to fulfill the need and the buckets of certainty that our Energy Committee has helping property owners with property rights, helping free market and economic principles, and helping our ratepayers and our consumers have the protections that they so much desire and need. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for bringing this bill to the floor, and I urge a yes vote.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I rise in opposition to House Bill 173. Though I want to acknowledge that up front here that this was a split vote on our side of the aisle, and I understand why. The problem this bill seeks to address is real. Hundreds of people have filed complaints to the PUC and the Attorney General's office just in 2025 due to overbilling and utility shutoffs due to submetering companies. Ohioans are being hurt. And I want to credit Representative David Thomas here for actually I think it was over a dozen hearings that we had on this bill and also going out and spending some time with some of these sub-billion companies to really understand the gravity of what we're struggling with here. So I want to highlight a couple of things this bill gets right and we're made a lot better through the process in the Energy Committee. This creates regulations where there currently are none, and that matters. This caps the charges that these companies can charge to the standard service offer. It establishes a formal complaint process through the PUC and extends heat protections for the most vulnerable Ohioans in the state. Those are good things. I still am voting no, and I'll tell you here why. Here's a couple things where I think this bill falls far short. The actual regulation that we apply to, consume protections we apply to, our electric utilities, are far greater than those we're subjecting to the submetering companies through this bill. But that bar for utilities is very high, and some think that bar should be even higher. But this bill falls short in a couple different ways. So this explicitly allows for these submittering companies to exist, where under current law, it's a gray area. It allows them, it pretty much codifies their right for these companies to make profit off of utility customers as a middleman. So one of the core questions we should be asking ourselves is, who actually benefits? No additional electrons are being delivered. Third, some apartment owners who hold stakes in the very sub-metering companies that this bill intends to codify these practices into law intends to charge their very tenets of those companies through these sub laws So do these companies need to exist at all Our commitment in the Energy Committee, and the mission has been very clear, reliability and affordability for all Ohioans. Adopting this legislation as written, does it accomplish that? I think that's a question that is left open at this time still. There's one additional thing I want to bring to the House's attention, and that is the legal wildcard. For a longstanding legal fight over submetering, how it's being treated, there's actually a case now between NEP and AEP at this Ohio Supreme Court. And if the judge decides on this case, it could essentially allow these submetering companies to exist or allow them a very, very narrow path to exist. It could challenge the premise of the law that we're deciding here. So are we getting ahead of the Supreme Court? Is that what the industry intends for us to decide today? Another question that I think should be answered before we move forward with this legislation. So these questions give me pause and ultimately lead me to a no vote when I ask my colleagues to take pause with me as we keep understanding the issues here that are in front of us and allow the Supreme Court to decide so that we have some guidelines and some understanding of how they might weigh in and decide on this case. So I urge a no vote, and I appreciate your time, Mr. Speaker, on this issue.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As a retired state trooper, I have experienced firsthand the loss of fellow troopers in line of duty deaths, including an academy classmate. But I can only imagine the devastation that their family experiences with these tragic, unexpected losses. While we know that nothing will ever completely heal the emotional wounds, we, as a body, can ensure their legacy and sacrifice is never forgotten through the dedication of a memorial highway. That is why in this General Assembly, working with many of you, I made an effort to ensure every trooper who is killed in the line of duty has a highway designated in their honor. Today, I am honored to join sponsor House Bill 432 with my colleague from House District 29 to honor and recognize Patrolman Earl Casterline, who paid the ultimate sacrifice while serving the great state of Ohio in Hamilton County. Before I turn it over to my joint sponsor for further comments and details and introduction of the family, I like to thank her for partnering with me I also like to thank Chairman Willis for ushering this through your committee And I like to thank you Mr Speaker for bringing this to the floor for a vote today I respectfully ask for your support of House Bill 432.

Thank you, Speaker. And I'm coming from the great 28, just so you can remember. So I rise today in support of House Bill 432, which would designate the portion of East Kemper Road in Hamilton County between Tri-County Parkway and Lebanon Road as the Patrolman Earl W. Casterline Memorial Highway. State Highway Patrolman Casterline lived a short life, but a life served in duty to his country and his community. He was born and raised in Norwood, Ohio, and he joined the Navy right after his high school graduation. While in the Navy, he attended a graduation ceremony at his alma mater, Norwood High School, where his wife-to-be, Carol King, caught his eye as she delivered the valedictorian speech in 1948. Carol said that Earl also caught her eye as he was very handsome. Earl concluded his service with the Navy and then graduated from the 35th Academy class in May of 1952. Earl and Carol became the very proud parents of Lynn Casterline Harris in 1953. Sadly, Lynn did not have the chance to get to know her father as he passed away in the line of duty when she was only two months old. I would like to take a moment here to recognize Lynn, accompanied by her husband, Joe, in the West Gallery. And Lynn brought a photo and a portrait of her father. He was indeed extraordinarily handsome. Thank you. Thank you. Lynn's father, Earl, was chasing a fleeing car on Kemper Road in the northern suburbs of Cincinnati. As he drove down Kemper Road during the chase, he also crossed a railroad track, which at the time was completely unmarked and was obscured by trees and shrubs. Patrolman Casterline lost his life in the line of duty as a crossing train collided with his car just before his 26th birthday. And it's incredibly sad. Lynn's mother, Carol, who lived well into her 90s and who would have had a birthday tomorrow, she's no longer with us, so we're also honoring her memory with this bill. So it is my extreme honor to designate a portion of East Kemper Road in the northern suburbs of Hamilton County as the Patrolman Earl W. Casterline Memorial Highway to honor the legacy of one of Ohio's finest. I thank Rep. Kevin Miller so much for partnering on this, Chair Willis, Speaker, and it has also been an extreme honor for me to get to know Lynn throughout this process. I urge a yes vote. Thank you.

As many of you know, and you in particular, Mr. Speaker, the House Veterans and Military Development Committee has traveled across the state to various military installations with the goal of listening and determining how we can support them. While engaging with our largest active duty facility, Wright-Patterson Air Base, we learned that one of the most compelling needs is access to safe, affordable child care. We later discovered that in order to sustain our armed forces, access to child care in and around military installations is not a state issue. It's a nationwide priority. House Bill 464 seeks to reduce obstacles and eliminate unnecessary red tape in Ohio by reducing the requirement for dual child care licensing. Every two to three years, military families pack up their lives and relocate to a new community, often across state lines. Each move brings with it new schools, new employers, and new systems to navigate. For many military spouses, one of the most persistent challenges is finding meaningful work and reliable child care amidst the constant change. Developed in consultation with the Department of War and the Ohio Department of Children and Youth, House Bill 464 offers a small but meaningful solution to that challenge. Its purpose is simple, to exempt family child care providers who are already certified by any branch of the United States Armed Forces from having to obtain a duplicative state license in order to operate in Ohio. Currently, the Department of War certifies its family child care providers through a very comprehensive process that is both rigorous and continuous. These federal requirements not only meet, but in certain circumstances exceed the standards imposed by our Ohio's licensure system through our Department of Children and Youth. Despite these high standards, military certified providers who move to Ohio are often required to repeat our state licensing process. This duplication can delay or prevent qualified providers from offering care to families who need it most. House Bill 464 removes this barrier by adding Department of War certified family child care providers to the list of programs exempt from the state's licensure requirements. The exemption is narrow, carefully tailored, and ensures that only those who meet the rigorous DOW certification standards are eligible. Importantly, this bill does not reduce oversight or compromise child safety. With passage of House Bill 464 Ohio joins 21 other states that have already enacted this legislation I certainly would like to thank Chair White for her persistent and genuine assistance with this bill Truly, she's a rock star. And the members of the Children's Health and Services Committee for their unanimous vote in favor of it. I also want to really thank my aide, Jillian Ginley, and Joe Chinchillo from our policy team. Mr. Speaker, thank you for bringing House Bill 464 to the floor today. By supporting this bill, we send a clear message. Ohio welcomes our military families, values their contributions, and will continue to lead with policies that reflect gratitude and respect for their service. Thank you. I urge passage.

Today, I also rise in support of House Bill 464, a common-sense measure that supports families who serve our country. This bill simply recognizes that family child care providers who are already certified by the United States Armed Forces meet rigorous federal standards and should not be required to navigate a duplicative state licensure process. For military families, access to reliable, high-quality child care is not a luxury. It is a necessity. Frequent relocations and unique work demands make stability hard to come by. By removing unnecessary barriers, this bill helps expand child care options and supports military spouses who are often providers themselves, working to care for children while contributing to their household income. This legislation does not lower standards. It respects an existing comprehensive system of oversight. It is about efficiency, fairness, and meeting families where they are at. House Bill 464 is a thoughtful step towards strengthening our child care system while honoring the service and sacrifice of our military families. Thank you to Rep. Richardson for bringing this bill. Thank you to Chair White and the members of Children and Human Services Committee, and I respectfully urge passage. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. House Bill 533 is a very simple and straightforward piece of legislation that aims to update the vehicular homicide and vehicular assault statutes to include additional vehicles commonly found operating on Ohio's roadways. The need for this legislation was brought forward by prosecutors who found themselves unable to prosecute an individual who had caused the death of another person while operating a golf cart. golf carts while legally operated on municipal roadways around the state do not qualify under the current statute for vehicular homicide and assault Under current law these sections are primarily limited to motor vehicles, motorcycles, and a limited list of other vehicles. House Bill 533 corrects this deficiency by including vehicles such as golf carts, motorized bicycles and mopeds, motor scooters, and all-purpose vehicles under the definitions for vehicular homicide and vehicular assault. It's important to note that House Bill 533 does not create any additional offenses or increase penalties. It just ensures the Ohio Revised Code better reflects the range of modern modes of transportation. Anyone operating these vehicles has the obligation to do so in a safe and responsible manner. If they fail to do so and cause the injury or death of another, House Bill 533 ensures that they are held accountable for their actions. I'd like to thank Chair Abrams for expeditiously moving this through the Public Safety Committee, where it passed unanimously, to my aide, Faith Weiner, for her work, and to you, Mr. Speaker, for bringing this to the floor for a vote. I urge support of House Bill 533.

I rise in support of this bill. It's a common sense piece of legislation. Understanding that with today's technology, you can take a moped or a golf cart and you can modify it, which a vehicle that's supposed to remain at a speed limit under 20 miles per hour, you can, with today's technology, you can change some whatever, and before you know it, you've got a vehicle traveling a lot faster. And we've seen the scooters, and often sometimes you'll see these kids, they will modify these scooters and things of that nature. So this is a common sense piece of legislation. There was no opposition testimony, and as my good friend just stated, it was voted out of committee unanimously. So with that, I urge support to the passage of this particular bill. Thank you.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak on this bill today, Mr. Speaker. And I'd like to also thank Chairwoman Schmidt for her partnership as a joint sponsor on this legislation. Thank you so much for your hard work. House Bill 578 updates Ohio law to require the reporting of tick-related diseases and conditions, including alpha-gal syndrome and others, to the Ohio Department of Health. This bill simply adds these conditions to the list of diseases already reportable under Ohio Revised Code. This legislation is needed because tick-related diseases are becoming increasingly common in Ohio, and we currently lack reliable statewide data. Alpha-gal syndrome in particular is an emerging concern, especially in southern Ohio. It is caused by the lone star tick bite that can lead to severe allergic reactions to red meat and in rare cases can be life-threatening. Many patients struggle to receive a diagnosis because providers are not always familiar with this condition. Data from the CDC shows that indicators of alpha-gal syndrome are rising across large portions of the country including here in Ohio. I would also like to note that this legislation was brought to my office by a constituent from the district, Mr. Robert Worley. I believe he's on the Ohio channel today. Thank you for joining us, Robert. His experience in navigating alpha-gal syndrome highlighted the need for better reporting, awareness, and understanding of these conditions. House Bill 578 is a simple, straightforward, and not burdensome. It does not create new testing or new treatment requirements. It simply utilizes Ohio's existing reporting system to ensure we have accurate and timely information. Members of the House, this is a practical public health measure that will help us better understand the spread of these diseases, improve awareness, and support those affected. I respectfully ask that you support House Bill 578. Thank you

Speaker and I rise in support of this bill. First off I want to thank Representative Creech for bringing this to my attention because at the time I didn't know what alpha-gal was but when I introduced it I had a constituent friend of mine that said thank you so much I have this and my doctors don't don't know much about it. Alpha-gal is not a disease. It is actually an allergy. Alpha-gal is classified as a disease, but when somebody is bitten by a tick, mainly the Lone Star tick, but can be from other ticks as well, the alpha-gal molecule may be transferred into somebody's blood, causing an allergic reaction. The alpha-gal stays within that person, makes them allergic to red meat, and other products made from mammals. But this can not only include beef, pork, gelatin, but also some medical products, some medications that are coated with a protein substance, and some medical products such as heart valves. So this is a very serious allergy. And quite frankly, 40% of doctors in Ohio don't even know what this is. Serious allergic reactions can be harmful, if not fatal, and we know we've had at least one fatality in this state. It is a disease that has to be taken seriously, especially when the medical field may have products that will cause the allergic reaction to resurface. House Bill 578 will show the prevalence of the disease by reporting it. This reporting, along with reporting of the tick populations, is important in educating the public on the threat they face from tick-borne diseases, especially the alpha-gal. I want to thank Representative Creech for bringing this to my attention. I want to thank the members of our health committee for being very prompt and getting this across the finish line. I want to thank my staff member, Tyler Harmon, who never puts his name on these things, but I'm going to give him a shout-out on this. And finally, I want to thank you, Mr. Speaker, for being so quick on this. I urge your support. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Just like science, things evolve, things change. You know, we've seen biomarkers for cancer, and we see things like alpha-gal syndrome, which is new to many physicians, first diagnosed or first recognized in 2009. So it's important to follow the data, follow the science, and start to report these diseases. So I urge a yes vote on this bill. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move to amend with AM underscore 136 underscore 1960.

This is just a common sense amendment. It's very similar to the amendment that we adopted when we passed the Quantum Frontiers Technology Study Committee. And it simply says that the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate will consult with the minority leaders of each chamber when appointing the minority members to the Commission.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This bill arises out of the heart of Sandusky County, Ohio, in the 88th House District. I was recently invited to a meeting of the American Page, which is a local community group, and they specifically wanted me to attend this meeting to learn about data centers. I hadn't heard a lot about data centers. I was very interested to learn. And during that meeting, I heard from many constituents in Sandusky County who were worried about several things in a proposed or at least a potential data center coming to our neighborhood. And their concerns range from the use of agricultural land, the potential draining of the aquifers. Will the rate payers have to pay for the infrastructure that goes in to create these? Will their electric bills go up? And so many other concerns that they had. And they wanted to know what I was going to do about it. And I said, well, this is new information to me, and I don't understand all of this. And I began to talk to many of my colleagues here in the house on both sides of the aisle, and I began to realize this is a problem that is bigger than Sandusky County. This is a problem that spans into the entire state, the Buckeye State. And so I introduced legislation. I sent out a co-sponsor request for a data center study commission. And the purpose of that commission, because many times technology advances more rapidly than the regulatory structure around it. And so we need to put qualified people in place to answer all these questions. Each of our constituents deserves answers to their questions. And they deserve reasonable, rational, qualified answers. And I know from many of the conversations that I've had that there are some people who want a data center no matter what. On the other hand, there are other people who don't want a data center no matter what. And they heard a voice coming down from heaven and said, thou shalt build data centers. they'd say, no, Lord, you got this wrong, and let me explain why. And, of course, we want reasonable, rational answers. So there's going to be 13 members on this commission. They will be appointed by the Speaker of the House, by the President of the Senate, and by the Governor in the great state of Ohio. And they will have certain qualifications that they will be. Some will be members of this body right here. Others will be those who have experience in townships, those with agricultural experience. experience. One person said, tell Representative Click we need someone with agricultural experience. And I was happy to see him at a regional planning commission and say, hey, just so you know, we do. Agriculture is the number two thing on that list. And so we have people with broad expertise who are going to sit on the commission. They're going to answer many of the questions that we've listed in the legislation, the common questions from both sides of the debate on the data centers. They're going to produce a report that answers those questions. And then if they recommend legislation, they'll put that in there. If there's some legislation they think that we should pass, they would have statewide ramifications. And also a list of best practices. And the great thing about this list of best practices is that when villages, when cities, and when townships are considering accepting a data center into their territory, they can say, we are following best practices. But at the same time, the constituents can look at them and hold them accountable to the best practices for that data center And so I believe this is gonna put us in a great position to move forward and to say what is the best for Ohio when it comes to these data centers And each community will be able to make those decisions in an informed and a knowledgeable basis. And I'm so grateful for my joint sponsor, Representative Kelly Dieter, who's joined me to this and added so much. And I also want to say thank you to Chairman Claggett and to the House Technology and Innovation Committee for moving this bill through the committee process rapidly and expediting that so we can get answers to the people, and also for the great improvements they made to it through the committee process. I recommend passage of House Bill 646. Thank you.

I also rise in support of House Bill 646 today and thank my joint sponsor, Representative Click, With Ohio experiencing rapid growth in the digital economy, we felt this bill was important. Across our state, companies are building large-scale data centers to support their cloud computing, AI, financial systems, healthcare data, and technology infrastructure around our modern world depends on. These projects bring real opportunity. They bring jobs, investment, and innovation. But they also raise important questions about energy demand, infrastructure capacity, land use, water usage, and long-term planning. House Bill 646 takes a responsible and forward-looking approach, as described by my joint sponsor, and ensures a balanced and informed review of this rapidly expanding sector. This bill does not rush policy. It allows us to gather the facts first. Data centers are among the most energy-intensive facilities in the modern economy. Their growth has implications for our electric grid, our infrastructure, our economic development strategies, and the communities that host them. Rather than waiting to react after challenges arise, this legislation allows Ohio to study these issues now so that we can make smart, informed decisions for our future. Ohio has always been a leader in industry and innovation, from manufacturing to aerospace to advanced technology. With digital infrastructure economy being the next frontier, it is essential that we understand both the opportunities and responsibilities that come along with it. The passage of House Bill 646 ensures that Ohio takes a thoughtful, deliberate approach to planning for our future. For these reasons, I respectfully ask for your support of House Bill 646. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today in support of Substitute House Bill 646. Commissions are an important part of the legislative process. They allow lawmakers to bring together experts, stakeholders, and community members to study complex issues and give recommendations to the General Assembly. House Bill 646 takes that approach by creating this study commission and provide recommendations to the General Assembly. This bill also recognizes the importance of economic development and job creation in Ohio. As new industries are going, it's vital that we understand both the opportunities they bring and also understand the impact it may have on local communities as well. As this commission moves forward, the only ask that we have is to make sure that we have labor as part of that commission as well. Workers who help build and maintain the infrastructure that supports the economic development should be part of these discussions. This includes representation from organized labor and specifically the building trades whose members are often responsible for large-scale construction projects here in Ohio, including labor voices will help ensure the commission is well-balanced, informed, and reflective of the workforce in Ohio's growing economy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This amendment will require our governor to appoint one member representing labor and one member representing the building trades to the data study commission. For this commission to truly examine the impact of data centers in Ohio, then Ohio workers deserve a voice at the table. These workers know how these projects go from ground up. They know what it takes to build them, maintain them, and support the communities around them. Data centers just don't impact infrastructure. They impact jobs, training pipelines, workplace standards, and the economic future for Ohio and our communities. The people closest to the work bring the real experience, the real world experience and perspective that cannot afford to be overlooked. These workers, Ohio workers, labor unions, know the ins and outs of this work and will bring a well-rounded, broad perspective to this commission. If we want this study to be credible, balanced and complete, workers must be included. Mr. Speaker, thank you for letting me speak, and I urge an adoption of the amendment, and I ask to abide to stand with working people and the voices of labor by ensuring that they are not just affected by the decisions, but represented in them. Thank you. Thank you, Representative Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise in opposition to the amendment. Although I am a supporter of our labor unions, especially the building trade, this amendment was not raised in committee. There was no opportunity for discussion. There was no opportunity for those same members that we won't represent on the commission to come and talk about that in committee. We still have the Senate process of going through committees where we will be able to propose this amendment. Therefore, I believe it's inappropriate to accept this amendment at this time and I would encourage everyone to vote it down.

Mr. Speaker, I move to lay the motion up on the table.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. House Bill 30 is our capital reappropriations bill. Appropriations last for two years as a matter of law, but there are some projects that have not yet been completed by their recipients. So this is the way that we give them extra time to make sure that we finish those projects and keep those funds doing good work in our communities. I want to thank all of the members who have identified these redirects and capital reappropriations that needed to happen, thanks to the state agencies, all of our budget staff, and thank you to all of our folks who helped negotiate this in advance with our Senate counterparts. This bill also makes necessary adjustments to fund health insurance coverage for our state employees and includes an appropriation that will strengthen our ability to identify and claw back payments from JFS and Medicaid that may have been procured by fraud. This bill also appropriates $10 million from the General Revenue Fund, which will result in $12.5 million overall once you factor in the federal match that will be sent to our 88 counties to cover a portion of the county's share of the cost for administering our SNAP program. In the federal H.R. 1, the cost share for SNAP administration switched from being a 50-50 federal-state split to a 75-25 federal-state split. Now, the state has already spent the funds to cover our share of these extra costs, but the counties have for almost a year now been requesting that the state would also cover their $38 million share as well. I would point out, Mr. Speaker, that the individual cost or individual counties is actually pretty minuscule. But so while we're not willing to quite cover the whole $38 million of their share, we are willing to cover $10 million as a prelude to what I hope will be a far larger discussion about the administration of this program moving forward in the next budget. Under the bill's distribution formula, 59 counties are made fully whole compared to what their costs would be. And then the largest counties in Ohio then receive the largest overall amounts of the money. For this reason, the bill has the support of the County Commissioner's Association of Ohio, which we do appreciate. Mr. Speaker, this is good policy, and I urge a yes vote.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move to amend with Amendment 2027.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to urge support of this amendment and specifically to address how this bill responds to the coming shift in SNAP administrative costs into Ohio counties. Beginning this October, because of federal changes, Ohio's counties will be forced to absorb an additional share of SNAP administrative costs. In state fiscal year 2027 alone, that creates a loss of $38.2 million. And the ongoing annual loss is projected to exceed $50 million. Let that sink in. Because these are not abstract numbers. These are dollars that support workers who process food assistance, verify eligibility, enforce work requirements, and prevent fraud. They help make food more affordable for some of the poorest Ohioans. Over 45,000 Ohio veterans rely on SNAP benefits. We say we love them, we say we want to take care of them, we need to put our money where our mouth is. Plus over half a million Ohio children rely on SNAP benefits We talk about children a lot here too and taking care of them House Bill 730 provides million in fiscal year 2027 to fill one-third of what counties are expected to lose, but it distributes that funding in a way that doesn't make any practical sense. If you're in a cafeteria and there are 10 people who are hungry at one table and one person at the next table, and you have six sandwiches, you don't just give three and three just because that's the number of tables. Food doesn't feed tables or counties, it feeds human beings. So why pursue a policy that leaves more people hungry for no reason? The runs from LSC make that plain. Over 60% of the statewide SNAP caseload is concentrated in Ohio's dozen largest counties, but those counties would receive only about 20% of the funding under this approach. 58 counties will get 100% of their losses reimbursed, while Cuyahoga and Franklin get 3%. Hamilton, Lucas, and Montgomery get 8%. Summit gets 14%. Mahoning and Trumbull gets 27%. Lorraine, Butler, Stark, and Clark County get roughly 30%. Those numbers don't add up. That is not a needs-based approach. That is not an evidence-based approach. and it is the opposite of what we should be doing when the federal government is requiring us to keep our error rates down or face penalties. And this isn't county versus county. It's not urban versus rural. It's not Democrat versus Republican. It's about whether we fund public services based on real need and real caseloads or not. Simple as that. Instead of using the existing agreed-upon formula for distributing SNAP administrative cost funding, we have an existing agreed-upon formula. That makes sense. This bill would give every county up to a flat $226,000, which just so happens to take care of 58 Republican-majority counties and leaves an unnecessary amount of people hungry in counties like Montgomery, Stark, Cuyahoga, and all the others that I mentioned. Not only does hunger not discriminate by party, but people in those communities also have bipartisan representation. And there's a real financial risk in doing this. If SNAP error rates exceed 6%, Ohioans, Ohio could lose up to $350 million in federal funding. At a time when we should be strengthening capacity, this bill spreads resources in a way that ignores workloads, making errors, delays, layoffs, and even tax increases more likely. We have to be more fiscally responsible than this. We have to. It was said in a committee that these counties should just find the money between the couch cushions, that they can just draw from their rich carryovers. but Mr. Speaker, the cost of doing business is going up for everyone, including these counties. And we're not talking about an increase. We're talking about keeping them whole at funding levels from last year. Keeping them whole. Do we really think all of our counties are flush with cash and perfectly staffed JFS offices? Or in a dozen of our largest counties where over 55% of the state lives, are we risking layoffs of JFS workers, sales or property tax increases, longer wait times for constituents for SNAP, Medicaid, disability, children's services, child support, and of course a higher SNAP error rate. That could cost the state again up to 350 million dollars. That number is scary. This amendment doesn't add new money. It simply distributes its same 12 point million dollars using Ohio's existing formula, which already accounts for caseloads, unemployment, and poverty. If we cannot fill the entire 38 million dollar hold today, then the least we can do is distribute the limited dollars we have in a rational way We should not be setting up our largest counties to fail Colleagues is a question not only of fairness but also of fiscal responsibility If we want to avoid cost penalties lower error rates and have better service for our constituents, then we need to fund SNAP administration based on caseloads, not arbitrary numbers. The caseworkers in our county jobs and family services offices are a lifeline for our constituents. They are not only handling SNAP, again, they are supporting children's services, child support, job programs, Medicaid compliance, and a whole host of range of other essential services that help keep Ohio families afloat. These are the families that we serve. Their jobs are increasingly complex, their pay is modest, and their work is too important for us to shortchange them because of a flat distribution formula is politically easier than a fair one. I urge you to reject this flat, unfair model and support the existing formula grounded in evidence, workload, and the people we serve. We cannot afford to play politics. The people of Ohio cannot afford for us to play politics with their lives. I urge this amendment be accepted. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is the same amendment that was considered and rejected in committee yesterday, and it's still bad policy today. This bill treats all counties equally. You can look at the bill on your computers here, and you can look at the amendment. It starts out giving the same exact amount of money to every single county, but once a county is made whole, they don't get any more. We then take the remaining funds and distribute those to all the remaining counties equally until the money runs out. Our goal was to make as many counties whole as possible. And we do that. 59 counties made completely whole, and then those largest counties that we're talking about in this amendment get the largest overall amount of dollars. It's just not as many dollars as the minority party would prefer. In other words, it's a day ending in Y. Under Democrats' preferred distribution in this amendment, a handful of metro counties would get the overwhelming bulk of the money, and then the smallest rural counties would fight over the scraps. And it's right there in the amendment, Mr. Speaker. Delete equally to each county. Line one. The bill treats all counties equally. Their amendment treats counties unequally. Delete an equal split, insert this existing formula we're being told about that's in the administrative code that the bureaucrats came up with, not the folks here in this building. And let's be clear. These largest counties that we're clutching pearls over have the money. Period. Do we think the largest counties are flush with cash? Yes, we do. Absolutely. Cuyahoga County has $188 million sitting in the bank after they passed their entire budget for the year. That is a 31.5% carryover balance. Covering their remaining share of the SNAP expenses would cost them 3.8% of that carryover balance. Franklin County has $422 million in the bank, 58% carryover, covering their share is a whopping 1.2% of their carryover balance. Hamilton County, $231 million carryover balance in the bank, 59% carryover balance for them, covering their remaining share is exactly 1%. 1% of the cash sitting in the bank takes care of all of their remaining share. Mr. Speaker, the only counties that are not getting their absolute full expenses covered under this bill are the counties which have the greatest financial ability to pay those expenses So if someone wants to say that oh we going to lay off JFS employees and we going to artificially make service worse to show those state legislators who boss that is playing politics and that would be ridiculous The better formula treats counties equally. That's what's in this bill, and I urge that this motion be laid upon the table.

Mr. Speaker, I move to lay the motion on the table.

I'm just thinking that we can do better. I mean, we're talking about $38 million to basically hold all of the counties whole in the state. You know, many of you are county commissioners like I was. I was president of the association twice. And what I always used to say is that county governments are basically 88 branch offices of state government. A lot of county governments don't decide what they want to do. They are told what they have to do. It's all promulgated from the state of Ohio. So basically it's the responsibility of county government to carry out the Jobs and Family Service Department responsibilities. And a lot of that requires extensive work by the staff, not paid overly generously, but it's meticulous work. They have to determine who qualifies for Medicaid benefits. They have to determine who qualifies for staff benefits. That's not done by the state of Ohio. That's done in these branch offices. And I've seen, having witnessed over the years, how that meticulous and tough work, I mean, they have to be very confidential. They have to protect the confidentiality of the clients, et cetera. And it causes a lot of burnout. So basically by saying, well, you know, we know that we tell you what to do at the local level, the state government, we're not going to really be in a position to help you with what was laid on our plate by the federal government. They put this on our plate by the bill that reduced the administrative costs to administer this program. And so what these jobs and family service personnel have done magnificently is to get our error rate down to the fact where if they had not done that, we would have lost even more money under the provisions of the federal bill. So I just think it, you know, $38 million to basically help our branch offices do the job that we want them to do. I don't understand why, you know, why that becomes a problem. You know, again, you know, there are certain things that are troubling about this particular bill. Now, you know, one of the things that we've all been talking about, especially during the property tax reform debate, was that we want to see more discussion about shared services. We want to see more efficiencies. And actually, under this bill, we're penalized. South Central Jobs and Family Services, which serves Hocking, Ross, and Benton County, if they hadn't shared services, they would all be restored at 100%. But because they're a shared thing, there actually will be a reduction in the funding they get. So I think we've got to make sure we're not operating a double standard here, saying do what we want you to do, but we're possibly not going to help you do that and all that. So again, I think I want to get back to the fact that let's help our 88 branch offices do what we require them to do. The main thing is give them the tools. If we want them to get this done and do this thing right, then I think it's our responsibility as a general assembly. I mean, come on, I can look with 38 million, come on, that's a lot less than we're giving away to football stadiums, a lot less than we gave away by not decoupling from some of the things in the big, beautiful bill. This is, I think, it is a question of principle. Oh, don't you have money in your pocket? You could use that. We're making them do that. This is basically almost an unfunded mandate from the state government to our branch offices. We should fully fund them in this operation. And I would hope that we basically take a good, hard look at that because I just think this is not the way to go. Again, we're not running these operations. These things are all being run at those county levels and all that, and we certainly don't want to see more people burn out because they are overworked, because they don't have the administrative wherewithal to perform this function and all that. And by God, we do that, we'll probably end up starting below that error rate again, and that going to cost us more from the federal government So this is a relatively minor investment I think we should make And until we do that I don think we should support this bill Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I'll be brief. Sorry for the order confusion. I just wanted to rise to note that absent these last-minute issues with the SNAP changes, I believe that this bill would have been bipartisan. I believe it would have passed unanimously or close unanimously. My caucus also supports parks and colleges and schools and mental health and corrections facilities. We are grateful that we had the opportunity to work with the majority on the redirects and investigating these projects and making sure that they were moving along their way. I wanted to thank Chairman Stewart and Ranking Member Sweeney on our staff, Riley Alton, the majority staff, David Reedy, my aide, Emily Quallen, and ranking member Sweeney's aide, Victoria Rikoczewski. It's a challenging name if you haven't tried it before. For their help on the actual part of this, the primary purpose of this, which was the reappropriations. So I will just close with saying that, you know, I've learned the hard way that if you put a SNAP amendment together a day or two before a bill comes up, that wise folks might think that that's not a good idea. And I hope that the Senate continues to work on this bill. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you Mr Speaker You know during the budget last year we had similar speeches that says well we support schools we support higher ed we support communities we support parks We all going to vote against the budget but we support all those things And so here today, it's the same. We support all these reappropriations. We support these redirects. We think counties should get more money. The bill gives counties more money, but we're all going to vote against it again anyway. Mr. Speaker, it's not enough, apparently, that the state already spent $30 million to cover food state administration costs. They want us to pay the county's share too. It's not enough that we're contributing $10 million more towards doing exactly that. They want us to cover the full $38 million. And oh, by the way, let's do it with a formula that gives a handful of the largest metro counties all the money and leaves dozens of other counties holding the bag. Again, we should be clear about the math here. We're always talking about the state's rainy day fund. That's capped at statutorily 10%, 10% carryover. The counties have no such restrictions, and their carryover balances are flush. Only two of 88 counties have a carryover balance of less than 10%, like the state is statutorily mandated to maintain. The rest are routinely carrying 50% carryovers, 75% carryovers, 100% carryovers. A few have a 200% carryover balance. To one of the speaker's points, what is the money for if not to pay for things like this? This is the county's share. And I agree, this is a matter of principle, and we need to have more discussion about that, because if we're going to hoard money to the point that we have hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars in the bank and then throw a fit when we're asked to spend $100,000 to cover our share of SNAP expenses, that doesn't feel like much of a partnership. And I think you know my colleague kind of hit on the silliest part as well If we had not given any money to counties for snapping this budget it probably would have been a unanimous vote It usually is. This is a capital reappropriations bill, folks. This is basic stuff. But because we did extra money for counties, apparently the minority party is going to vote no. Mr. Speaker, this is a mountain being made out of a molehill. It is the legislative edition of The Boy Who Cried Wolf. I urge a yes vote.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Financial Institutions Committee will meet at 425 in room 116.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Energy meets at 430, 1630.

I now move that the House stand adjourned until Tuesday, March 24th, 2026 at 9 a.m.