In his final State of the State speech, Gov. Mike DeWine called for legislation on artificial intelligence and seat belts. There are several bills on AI that have been introduced in this session, but the seat belt proposal has been rejected before.
DeWine spoke for more than an hour, highlighting some of the actions he and state lawmakers have taken since he became governor in 2019. The speech was heavy on policies and programs related to children, education and public safety.
"Our job is to do everything in our power to remove barriers and create opportunities so that every single Ohio citizen can live up to their God-given potential," DeWine began, using a phrase he's brought into most of his previous annual addresses.
DeWine talked up his mandate that the Science of Reading curriculum become the primary literacy program in Ohio, which happened in the budget in 2023. And as he did earlier this year, he reminded the one-third of Ohio colleges and universities teacher programs that aren't in compliance that they must be by the end of the year or they'll need to shutter their literacy education programs. He also said he'll direct the Department of Education and Workforce to create regional implementation teams to go to low-performing schools and to add 50 more reading coaches to the 97 already in place.
DeWine noted one in four students in Ohio is chronically absent - though that rate is higher in some districts. DeWine said DEW will launch a statewide attendance dashboard next month to providde parents and the public with "early information about the effectiveness of attendance strategies, so that schools, districts, and communities can take actionable steps to improve attendance."
DeWine praised the ban on cell phones in classrooms, put into last year's state budget. And he praised the OhioSEE program for kids who fail school vision screenings. He'd asked for $50 million in the budget for that pilot program; that was cut to $10 million.
"Every year, approximately 37,000 children in grades K-3 are referred for comprehensive eye exams. Yet shockingly, approximately 29,000 of them never actually receive an exam or glasses if needed," DeWine said.
DeWine got the biggest applause when he called on lawmakers to pass bills to rein in artificial intelligence. He mentioned three of them: to make it illegal to possess, create, or distribute child porn; to hold tech companies accountable for AI encouraging kids to hurt or kill themselves or others; and to require cell phone and tech companies to automatically implement parental control features.
"There are things that we, as public officials, can do to help parents protect their children. In fact, some of these things can’t be done without our actions," DeWine said.
He also renewed his call for a primary seat belt law, which he also spoke about in 2024. He said stats from the Ohio Insurance Institute show crashes involving unbelted drivers or passengers cost Ohioans $2.8 billion dollars a year through medical bills, lost productivity and property damage.
"Enacting a primary seat belt law is about so much more than economic losses or even the safety of those individuals who are okay with risking their own lives by not wearing a seat belt," DeWine said, addressing the argument that those who don't wear seat belts are only endangering themselves. "It is about protecting families, communities, and the people who depend on us every single day."
A primary seat belt bill was proposed by then-Rep. Jon Cross in 2024. But it went nowhere, as Republican leadership cited personal responsibility and freedom as their concerns.
