March 10, 2026 · General Government Committee · 1,922 words · 5 speakers · 23 segments
This meeting of the Senate General Government Committee will now come to order. I'd like to take a minute and just welcome everyone that's here today in person. We're glad you're here. Welcome to those of you watching online. As we do with every committee here, I start by honoring God and country. So I'll start with a prayer and then we'll go to the pledge. If you'd please join me. Heavenly Father, Lord, you are awesome, you are mighty. Father, your mercies are new every morning and your steadfast love endures forever. We praise your holy name. We thank you for today. Ask a blessing upon all the committee members here today that you'd grant us wisdom and discernment for all that you placed before us. Ask a blessing upon everyone gathered in this room and those watching online that you'd keep them and their families safe and just pour out your abundant blessings. Thank you for this incredible nation that we are blessed to live in, that we have the freedom to worship, we have the freedom to speak, and we are just eternally grateful. It's your name I pray, Jesus. Amen. Please raise the Pledge of Allegiance. 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. All right, thank you. With that, just a reminder for everyone to silence your cell phones if you haven't already done so, and with the clerk, please call the roll. Chair Roden here Vice Chair Gowler here Senator Huffman here Senator Reineken here Senator Timken here Senator DeMora here Ranked Member Black here All right, very good with that. We do have a quorum, so I'd ask the committee to take a minute Look at their iPads. You'll find the February 17th meeting minutes there Are there any additions, subtractions, or changes to those minutes? Seeing none, the question is, shall the minutes be agreed to? And without objection, the minutes are agreed to. All right, our first two agenda items, we're going to be Senate Joint Resolution 3 and then Senate Bill 112. They were originally starred for a possible amendment. The sponsors of the bill have withdrawn their amendment, so we will not be taking any action on these today. Next on our agenda is a second hearing of Senate Bill 90 to create a regulatory relief division and establish a regulatory sandbox. And this was sponsored by Senator Katrona and Senator Lange. This bill was indicated to receive proponent testimony today, and I will now call up those here in person to offer proponent testimony. We'll start with Tony Long from the Ohio Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Long, welcome to committee. You may begin whenever you're ready.
Thank you, Chair Rogner, Vice Chair Gaviron, Ranking Member Blackshear, and members of the General Government Committee. Thank you for the opportunity to present the Proponent Testimony in Senate Bill 90 My name is Tony Long General Counsel and Director of Energy and Environmental Policy at the Ohio Chamber of Commerce testifying on behalf of the members of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce This legislation creates a general regulatory sandbox program for novel products and services in Ohio with a few listed exceptions. In the 134th General Assembly, the legislature passed Senate Bill 249 that created a more limited sandbox for financial service products. And as of early 2026, 14 states have enacted regulatory sandbox legislation, some on specific sectors and others more universal in scope. While use of the program is still being developed, Utah has become the gold standard of activity with usage by entities providing legal services, an AI pilot, title insurance, water management, and health care. Senate Bill 90 extends the Ohio regulatory test program to a wider scope of general goods and services. Senate Bill 90 places the program inside the Common Sense Initiative Office and also creates a regulatory relief office within CSI. Senate Bill 90 also permits the Regulatory Relief Division to examine current state laws and regulations to determine if the regulations inhibit the creation and success of new companies or industries in Ohio. The Division can make recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly regarding modifying these laws and regulations. The Regulatory Relief Division can also propose reciprocity agreements between states that use or are proposing to use similar sandbox programs. In closing, the Ohio Chamber supports Senate Bill 90 and thanks to sponsors, Senators Katrona and Senator Lang, for introducing this universal sandbox legislation. The Ohio Chamber looks forward to working with this committee and the Ohio Senate to move Senate Bill 90 forward. Thank you for the opportunity to testify in support of Senate Bill 90, and I'll try to now answer any questions you may have.
Very good. Mr. Long, thank you for your testimony. Are there any questions?
Senator DeMora. Thank you, Madam Chair. Mr. Long, this bill treats sandbox applications as confidential records. So how are us as a legislator and the public to evaluate whether the exceptions are being granted responsibly if the application is largely shielded from public scrutiny?
Through the chair to the senator, if it's the will of this committee to widen and examine and take that confidentiality away, then we'd be open to look at those amendments. But I would think this advisory committee that is working with NCSI to develop these programs that are representatives of the governor and the House and the Senate would have the capability to look at those applications.
Follow Thank you Madam Chair So along those lines why should we give the power to an office inside the governor instead of having it as the General Assembly Thank you To the chair to the senator I would think these deal with regulations outside of the
scope of legislation itself. So you're looking at regulatory programs that may need novel applications or could be overturned eventually either through JCAR or withdrawn through the JCAR process. So we would think it's inside of the governor's and the executive branch that continue to look at a program on existing regulatory functions that they are administering.
Thank you. Any additional questions? All right, seeing none, thank you for your testimony today. Next, I'd like to call Hannah Cubbins, Americans for Prosperity, Ohio.
Welcome to committee. Good afternoon, Chair Rogner, Vice Chair Gaviron, Ranking Member Blackshear, and members of the Senate General Government Committee. My name is Hannah Cubbins. I'm the Legislative Director for Americans for Prosperity Ohio. AFP believes that individuals are capable of extraordinary things when given the freedom and opportunity to do so. Accordingly, I urge your support for Senate Bill 90, which would provide additional freedom and opportunity for entrepreneurs in Ohio. AFP Ohio supported Senate Bill 249 of the 134th General Assembly, which is a very similar idea, much more limited in scope. of a FinTech or sandbox for financial products and services. Senate Bill 90 takes this idea even further by creating a universal regulatory sandbox program that would apply to any new product or service across all industries. A regulatory sandbox is a legal classification which creates spaces where participating businesses will not be subject to burdensome regulations. These sandbox programs allow businesses to play alongside regulators so that innovators and entrepreneurs are not inhibited while waiting for regulatory approval. The bill also establishes a regulatory relief office under the Common Sense Initiative to administer the program and serve as a liaison between state agencies and private businesses. The regulatory relief office will work with businesses to identify state laws and regulations that may be waived while the businesses participate in the sandbox. However, Senate Bill 90 is not a free-for-all. We think the bill strikes a balance between encouraging innovation and protecting consumers by detailing guidelines of the program, record-keeping requirements, and requiring certain disclosures to consumers. The sandbox program will be beneficial in allowing companies to experiment and deploy new services and products that may not otherwise be possible under current regulatory structures. AFP Ohio believes Senate Bill 90 is another significant step forward in the regulatory reform space to empower innovation in the Buckeye State. Thank you for the opportunity to express support for the bill, and I'm happy to answer questions.
All right. Thank you for your testimony. Senator Gaviron.
Thank you very much for your testimony. Just kind of getting more familiar with this a company applies through the Sandbox program Who do they apply to Who decides whether or not that application is accepted? How exactly does that work?
Through the chair to the vice chair. Don't quote me on this, but I imagine it's through that Common Sense Initiative in the Regulatory Relief Office.
Senator DeMora.
Thank you, Madam Chair. What specific categories of state law regulations could be waived under this sandbox, and are any of them excluded from being waived?
Excuse me, which categories?
Yes.
Through the chair to Senator DeMora.
I'm not sure which category. I'm sorry, can you explain what you mean?
So what state laws or regulations are going to be waived potentially if this sandbox occurs? And are there any of them that are off limits, such as health or some of those things, from being waived at any time?
Sure. Through the chair to the member. I would imagine the categories that could be waived are things like licensure requirements or, you know, applying for, I don't know, a brick and mortar space to get their business up and running. I apologize. I'm not familiar with all of the regulations that businesses have to comply with when they're trying to start something up in Ohio. So I'm not going to be able to give you a specific list, but I do think there are considerations for health and safety. the bill does establish that liaison or that office between the consumers and the private industry to make sure that health and safety are upheld. But I'm certainly open to, if there needs to be something more specific in the bill to outline or address those concerns that you're expressing, very open to that.
Senator Reineke. Okay, are there any additional questions? Seeing none, thank you for your testimony today.
Thank you.
There were no other witnesses received. Witness slips received by my office. Is there anyone else here in person wishing to testify on this bill? Okay. Seeing none, I'd like to direct the members' attention to their iPads, where you'll find a written-only testimony from Jacob Flowers from the National Federation of Independent Business. Is there any discussion? Hearing none, this will conclude the second hearing of Senate Bill 90. Our fourth and final item on the agenda today is the second hearing of Senate Bill 268, which regards the regulatory-focused NGOs and model administrative rules sponsored by Senator Lange and Senator Katrona. This bill was indicated to receive proponent testimony and interested party testimony today, but we received no in-person testimony. Is there anyone here today wishing to testify on that bill? Seeing none, I would like to direct the members' attention to their iPads, where there is written only proponent testimony from Grover Norquist from the Americans for Tax Reform. Is there any discussion on this bill? Okay. Hearing none, this will conclude the second hearing of Senate Bill 268. Is there any additional business to be brought before committee today? Seeing none, we are adjourned.