As is the case in many even numbered years, the period between the November election and the end of the two-year legislative term on Dec. 31 featured a flurry of bills and marathon committee and floor sessions. A freshman lawmaker who lived through his first lame duck session has partnered with a veteran legislator in trying to ban all future ones.
Rep. Sean Brennan (D-Parma) said the rush to pass bills before they die at the end of the session can result in controversial ones that aren’t fully examined, so he’s joint sponsoring a bill to shoot down lame ducks in the future.
"it's not good for us as legislators to be a good voice for our constituents if we can't fully vet the bills that are coming before us - these bills come with us, on multiple subjects, with multiple multiple amendments," Brennan said. "You really don't know what's in all of these things. It's a lot to read and just a very short period of time. And anybody that's honest would tell you, you don't know what you're voting on entirely. You count on your colleagues, you count on your leadership to kind of give you guidance on how the caucus is voting on it."
“I think by eliminating lame duck, it would be, we'd better be better voices. It'd be better for our constituents. It would give them again, more time to contact us, let us know. Hey, this is a great idea. It's not a good idea. Or here's some things to think about.”
Brennan sponsored the bill with Rep. Bill Dean (D-Xenia)
The bill was introduced so late it didn’t even get a hearing, but Brennan says he’ll bring it up again next year with conservative Republican Rep. Jennifer Gross. The bill has 15 bipartisan co-sponsors, including nine other freshmen. A similar bill was proposed in 2016.
Brennan – why talk about this bill now CUT 14 seconds
“It's timely, and I think it's important that our constituents know about this, this unwise practice, in hopes that they'll contact their legislators and say, you know, I don't like this. this is not a way to govern.”
Ohio is one of just seven states that does lame duck legislating.
Other sponsors: Rep. Jennifer Gross (R-West Chester), Rep. Scott Lipps (R-Franklin), Rep. Tex Fischer (R-Boardman), Rep. Bernie Willis (R-Springfield), Rep. Anita Somani (D-Dublin), Rep. Willis Blackshear (D-Dayton), Rep. Dani Isaacsohn (D-Cincinnati), Rep. Beth Liston (D-Dublin), Rep. Jodi Whitted (D-Madeira), Rep. Rachel Baker (D-Cincinnati), Rep. Casey Weinstein (D-Hudson), Rep. Beryl Brown Piccolantonio (D-Gahanna), Rep. Munira Abdullahi (D-Columbus), Rep. Darnell Brewer (D-Cleveland), and Rep. Elgin Rogers (D-Toledo)
A similar bill was proposed in 2016 but failed to pass.
