Larry Obhof

There’s now a dual front in the battle over what to do with the state’s private school voucher program – two conference committees dealing with two versions of vouchers. A resolution needs to happen before April 1, when the process to apply for those vouchers opens up after lawmakers delayed it.

With just hours to go before families could submit applications for the state’s EdChoice private school voucher program on February 1, lawmakers delayed that window till April 1 till they could work out a compromise. And those chambers’ Republican leaders are holding fast to their different proposals.

As Ohio prisons officials work on a way to continue carrying out executions, House and Senate leaders are considering having deeper discussions on the future of the death penalty.

The House has voted on a plan to move the start of Ohio's private school voucher application process ahead to April 1, just hours before the EdChoice program is supposed to start accepting applications on Saturday. It now has to go to the Senate this morning, and a statement suggests the vote there may run into problems.

Ohio lawmakers are taking the rest of the year off before coming back to the Statehouse in 2020. Some of the top leaders in the House and Senate say they have some New Year's resolutions when they return.

Abortion was a big issue in Ohio in 2019, as it has been for several years.  A strict abortion ban was one of the 21 bills that passed, and more bills are still under consideration. 

Gov. Mike DeWine says one of his top priorities in 2020 will be to push the package of gun and mental health law changes that he put forward after the mass shooting in Dayton in August. But the leaders of the Ohio Senate are suggesting that might be an uphill battle.

Senate President Larry Obhof (R-Medina) says the plan to change drug sentencing laws is one of the most important pieces of legislation they'll have during this two-year session.

A small nativity, complete with a figure representing newborn Jesus, is on display at the Ohio Statehouse right now. And the private group and lawmakers who want it there say it’s perfectly constitutional.

One of the Ohio House’s top agenda items known as priority bills was passed in the Senate on Wednesday. But Speaker Larry Householder (R-Glenford) said he’s still frustrated with the pace of legislation moving from his chamber through to the other one.

Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder (R-Glenford) is throwing shots at the Ohio Senate, claiming they're taking too much time to pass bills that are priority issues in the House. Householder says his fellow Republicans in the Senate need to pick up the pace on issues that could help Ohioans.

It's been more than six weeks since Gov. Mike DeWine unveiled a 17-point approach to reducing gun violence, which included expanded background checks and a version of the red flag confiscation law. But so far lawmakers have yet to see those specific plans in the form of proposed legislation. 

Finally, Ohio has a new two-year operating budget. Gov. Mike DeWine signed it into law this morning.

FirstEnergy Solutions says it will continue its plans to deactivate and decommission Ohio's two nuclear power plants since lawmakers were not able to pass a bail out measure before the June 30 deadline. However, the energy company says there’s still time to reverse course.

Ohio lawmakers failed to reach a state budget agreement by the midnight deadline, missing the mark for a spending deal for the new two-year cycle. Because the House and Senate couldn’t reach a compromise, both chambers passed a temporary budget extension to keep the government running. 

Among the changes the Senate made to the House version of the budget was a $5 million boost to a program that funds centers that counsel pregnant women against abortion.

State lawmakers have been advised by their economic researchers to cut the spending in Gov. Mike DeWine’s budget. And they may try to add something into the House version of the budget set to be released on Wednesday that DeWine deliberately left out.

It’s taken eight years and many hours of testimony, but the so-called “Heartbeat Bill” has been signed into law. Gov. Mike DeWine delivered on his campaign promise to sign the controversial legislation that bans abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected. But where does it go from here?

For the third time, a bill that bans abortion from the point a fetal heartbeat is detected has passed the Ohio House and Senate.  But this time will likely be the last for what's been called the "Heartbeat Bill", because Gov. Mike DeWine says he’ll sign it into law. 

The deadline for a new state transportation budget with a gas tax hike came and went at midnight – without a new spending plan being signed. Lawmakers are coming back to the Statehouse this week hoping to work it out.

As lawmakers are working out differences in their transportation budgets, there’s one thing in the Senate’s version that doesn’t seem to have anything to do with transportation – a change in a tax credit designed for low-income people. But it’s being tied to the increase in the gas tax.

The president of the Ohio Senate doesn’t think lawmakers infringed on cities’ rights with legislation that supersedes local gun ordinances and gives citizens the right to challenge those local laws in court. 

Gov. Mike DeWine’s proposed 18-cent hike in the gas tax is still before state lawmakers. They would have to approve it as part of the transportation budget, which must be signed into law by March 31.

State lawmakers are now considering Gov. Mike DeWine’s 18-cent gas tax increase, to plug a hole of more than a billion dollars in the Department of Transportation’s budget. But one legislative leader says they’re also looking for ways to cut taxes – again.

The so-called Heartbeat Bill abortion ban is on its fifth try through the legislature, after being passed and vetoed in the lame duck session.

The leader of the Ohio Senate says the so-called Heartbeat Bill, which would ban abortion when a fetal heartbeat is detected, is one of his chamber’s priorities, but that it’s not at the top of the list. 

Ohio Senate President Larry Obhof (R-Medina) said he's open to discussing two high-profile gun laws when the General Assembly returns next year, the "Stand Your Ground" bill and the "red flag law." These two issues caused a rift among members of the House and Senate, along with Gov. John Kasich.

As state lawmakers race toward the end of this lame duck legislative session, they’ve been considering two bills that Gov. John Kasich opposes – the six-week “Heartbeat Bill” abortion ban and the “Stand Your Ground” self-defense bill.  And if he vetoes them as promised, lawmakers would have to come back to vote on them again during the holiday break.

The Ohio House and Senate are preparing for a busy week of legislating in Columbus with a couple of controversial measures up for debate.