The first numbered bills in this two-year general assembly have been filed. So far, there have been 29 filed in the House and 32 in the Senate, all with Republicans as main or joint sponsors.
Some are carryovers from previous sessions, and others are new.
Among the bills back for another attempt at passage are and . They include many of the same elements that were part of , the bill that conservatives sought to crack down on what they saw as liberal ideology and 鈥渋ndoctrination鈥� on public university campuses. This time it鈥檚 titled the 鈥淎dvance Ohio Higher Education Act鈥�, and it's a free speech higher education overhaul, which bans most university diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
The bill also shortens trustees' terms from nine to six years, requires performance reviews for faculty with tenure and mandates a civic course that includes American history, documents such as the constitution. A ban on faculty strikes that had been dropped in SB 83 has been brought back, as sponsor Sen. Jerry Cirino (R-Kirtland) promised it would be.
is also a reintroduction of two bills from the last General Assembly. They would prohibit foreign adversaries such as China from owning Ohio farmland.
and are also getting a second go-around. They seek to replace plans to build a limited access and exit ramp along I-71 in Medina County with a traffic study. That exit was part of the Ohio Department of Transportation budget in 2023.
Among the new proposals are bills in both chambers that would create the Child Care Cred Program for employers, employees and the state to equally share employees鈥� child care costs. There's also a $25 million school bus safety fund that would be created by . It comes after a after it was convened by Gov. Mike DeWine in 2023.
Both chambers have bills to establish a scholarship program for foster kids hoping to go to college - they are and .
Republican lawmakers are likely to push for tax cuts in the coming budget, but there鈥檚 also , which would lower the income tax rate to a flat 2.75%.
There are two property tax bills in the Senate. offers tax credits when property taxes hit 5% of a homeowner's or renter's income - what's been referred to as a "circuit breaker" in previous legislation and in a report on a joint committee that reviewed potential property tax law changes last session. There's also , which would impose a tax on high-volume landlords. In the other chamber, would authorize a homestead exemption for surviving military spouses, and would eliminate replacement property tax levies - another recommendation from that joint committee's report.
A bill to overhaul electric utility legislation was introduced as . Among other things, it would repeal part of 2019's House Bill 6, the sweeping energy law for two coal-fired power plants. The nuclear power plant subsidies that were a part of the initial law were repealed after Republican former House speaker Larry Householder and others were arrested in a scheme to pass the law.
The following are a few other bills:
- : a ban on "sanctuary cities" for immigrants without legal permission to be in the U.S., which Republican Attorney General Dave Yost has called on the legislature to pass though Ohio doesn't have any officially named "sanctuary cities"
- : a ban on paid leave for unionized public employees campaigning for a candidate or issue
- : a reintroduction of a how imitation meat and egg products are labeled
- : a prohibition on homeowners' associations passing restrictions on political yard signs
- : a ban on tanning beds for children under 16
- : a mandate that retailers give customers the opportunity to pay in cash instead of offering only a cashless option
- : a in employment contracts
- : the Ohio Strategic Cryptocurrency Reserve Act, which would allow the state treasurer to invest certain funds in "digital assets"
- : a crackdown on those who provide alcohol to underage people
There are also bills to raise awareness for stroke, ameloblastoma, Cardiovascular Health and stillbirth prevention, and days to honor President Rutherford B. Hayes, cowboy entertainer Roy Rogers and the first and only woman to serve as speaker of the Ohio House, the late Republican Jo Ann Davidson.
There were 1,052 bills proposed in the last session. A little over a hundred of them were signed into law, but other bills that weren't passed were added to measures that did.