Money, marijuana set for full Ohio legislative session

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Between both the Ohio House and Ohio Senate there will be around 50 bills that receive floor votes on Wednesday. Plus, there is some policy that could be amended into standing legislation.

MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR SPENDING BILL

Legislation that will definitely get a vote includes a $4.2 billion bill that will allocate money, across the state, for a number of projects. That includes a $700 million one-time fund of excess tax dollars.

That bill is expected to pass both the House and Senate on Wednesday with bipartisan support. As of now, it has an emergency clause attached, so will go into effect upon the governor’s signature.

ENERGY LEGISLATION

House Bill 79 is scheduled to be on the house floor tomorrow, more than a year after it was voted out of its House committee.

“Counting votes, I suspect it'll be a fairly tight vote, but it is certainly a priority for I know, many in my caucus as well as Republicans,” Ohio House Minority Leader Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington) said. “I think it's a good step forward in terms of energy efficiency. So, I am hopeful, but I'm sure we'll be counting every vote for now.”

“This is the time of year when policies on the power grid and electric and how do we power energy in Ohio really come to a head,” Speaker of the Ohio House Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) said.

The bill could, in theory, help save Ohioans money on their energy bills while promoting energy efficiency.

“What you don't want to see is rolling blackouts and all those kinds of things when it's really hot or when it's really cold,” Stephens said.

Though there is some bipartisan support for this bill, groups like Americans for Prosperity (AFP) Ohio have opposed it.

“Americans for Prosperity believes in the free market and allowing consumers to shop for the most cost-effective and efficient supply of energy, and House Bill 79 limits these options,” AFP-OH State Director Donovan O’Neil said in a May statement.  “The legislature has packaged this bill as an energy efficiency program, when in reality it will create a new and burdensome mandate for consumers.”

MARIJUANA-RELATED LEGISLATION

Lawmakers have been floating various adult-use marijuana bills since its legalization back in November. Though both chambers have worked on something, nothing has made it to the governor’s desk, largely due to Republican infighting. We are now likely just weeks away from the first legal sale in Ohio.

“There's still a lot of discussions on that bill that that issue's an extremely complicated issue,” Stephens said. “It's not even necessarily a partisan issue. It's almost regional.”

Stephens said it is a matter of striking a balance when it comes to marijuana legislation.

“We're trying to figure out what is the best that honors the voters’ intention and also does some other things that, you know, clean up some of the gaps that may have been an issue,” he said.

“My understanding is there will be something coming on the Senate side probably introduced and included as part of a House bill that's sitting over there,” Russo said. “I think that there are some good things in there, from what I know. I also have some big concerns about pieces. And, you know, it will be interesting to see how this evolves over the next couple of days.”

Stephens said what seems to have the most consensus between chambers and parties is regulation on Delta 8. Stephens said he would not be opposed to a standalone Delta 8 bill. He said it is about understanding what issues are “agreeable to a lot of parties.”

“Sometimes you have issues where you have these five parts are agreeable to everybody, then you got six or seven that are kind of a barnacle on to that bill, that may not be as agreeable,” Stephens said. “And, you know, the question is, are those barnacles a poison pill, if you will, for people to vote for the bill? So that's kind of what we're what we're finding out as we go through that process.”

“I'm hopeful that some conversations will continue, and we can get some of those things worked out so that everyone, Democrats and Republicans, feel comfortable voting on this bill,” Russo said.

Aside from Delta 8, Russo and Stephens are mostly aligned on policy points they think should end up in a marijuana bill.

“Whether it's the tax break down, whether it's the, you know, other things that have been talked about, whether it's Delta 8, which I think there is a lot of universal support for,” Stephens said.

Russo also listed Delta 8, and “more pathways of licensure,” as well as the tax breakdown.

“Our priority is making sure that [tax revenue] comes back, some portion of it, comes back to local governments so that they can invest in our communities,” she said.

Lawmakers are also eyeing a measure for automatic expungement of records for marijuana convictions.

“Automatic expungement is an issue that is very important to us,” Russo said.

“The question is not the expungement so much as how is it done,” Stephens said.

HIGHER EDUCATION

Senate Bill 83, or the Higher Education Enhancement Act, could also move through another bill. That legislation has brought out hundreds of opposers to the Ohio Statehouse.

“This is an unprecedented attack on organized labor, and it has some very concerning anti-labor provisions,” Russo said.

The bill has been dead for months, as Stephens has blocked it from coming to a House floor vote. Some Republican members are still urging its passage, calling the legislation necessary. 

When asked whether there might be a floor amendment to try and pass SB 83 on Wednesday, Stephens said, “I don’t know the answer to that.”

“It is something that we always keep an eye on, and I think is always a possibility no matter what session we're in,” Russo said.

OTHER BILLS

• Senate Bill 214, legislation to expunge certain criminal records for victims of human trafficking will likely head to the governor’s desk.

“Addressing concerns around human trafficking and especially the victims or survivors of human track trafficking has been a bipartisan, thankfully a bipartisan priority,” Russo said. “So, I suspect that we'll have support.”

• Senate Bill 117, which was enacted in the state’s operating budget, is being used for funding to help the State Board of Education.

“It does have funding in there to make sure that teachers don't have to pay to double or pay more for their teachers' license,” Stephens said. “So hopefully we can get that through.”

• House Bill 349 to incentivize the development of natural gas pipelines is also scheduled for a House floor vote.

• House Bill 379, which has to do with awareness for Alzheimer’s disease will also be on the floor.

Not all of the bills being voted on during this session will head to the governor yet; many still need to go through the other chamber. 

This is the last session of the summer; lawmakers will go on break, likely until November, after Wednesday, so whatever does not pass this week will have to wait until then to move forward.