On December 14, over a dozen bills, including an omnibus spending bill, were passed by the state legislature and sent to the governor. The flurry of legislative activity after several silent months is part and parcel of a "lame duck" season, or the end of a legislative biennium. Here is some of the highlighted legislation from the end of the 134th General Assembly:
HB 45, sponsored by Representatives Thomas West and Bill Roemer. The legislation, which would establish temporary tax amnesty program, became a “Christmas Tree”, and included many amendments, including one allocating $85M from ARPA HCBS to MHAS and ODHE for behavioral health programming, and other initiatives to recruit, train and retain a robust BH workforce.
SB 131, sponsored by Senators Roegner and McColley. The legislation would allow out-of-state licensees in good standing to obtain an Ohio license to practice their profession. It would require applicable licensure boards, including the CSWMFT Board, to grant a license to an applicant with an existing out-of-state license if certain conditions are met.
SB 202, sponsored by Senators Robert Hackett and Nickie Antonio. This bill would prohibit a person's disability from being the basis to deny or limit custody, parenting time, visitation, adoption, or service as a guardian or foster caregiver, regarding a minor.
House Bill 509, sponsored by Representatives Sarah Fowler and Marylin John. This legislation would make revisions to the policies of 19 State Licensure Boards and revise or eliminate 29 state licenses. The CSWMFT Board, the Board of Nursing, the DODD Board, and the Board of Psychology were among the state boards affected by the legislation. The bill also contained general provisions applying to every Board.
You can find summaries of all of these bills at https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/.
Comments