COLUMBUS — Ohio lawmakers passed a package of major bills this week, sending measures on school discipline, village government, driver’s license suspensions and hospital security to the governor’s desk.
A bill to give school districts greater control over how to punish students who pose “imminent and severe endangerment” to others passed both chambers Wednesday night, despite Democrats’ concerns that it vests too much power in superintendents.
House Bill 331, carried by state Reps. Tom Young, R-Washington Twp., and Adam Mathews, R-Lebanon, sets up a once-a-decade county audit for villages. To survive, a village must provide at least five out of 10 essential services and produce at least one candidate for its elected offices — villages that fail would face a dissolution vote among residents. The bill passed with bipartisan approval.
On driver’s licenses, lawmakers compromised on a measure to limit the circumstances in which Ohioans can have their licenses suspended as punishment. Under House Bill 29, which passed both chambers with bipartisan support, Ohioans will be at significantly less risk of license suspension for drug offenses, failing to pay court fines, failing to pay child support, and school truancy.
Lawmakers also agreed on a measure to address hospital violence. House Bill 452, sponsored by state Rep. Andrea White, R-Kettering, and state Rep. Rachel Baker, D-Cincinnati, would require hospitals to establish a security plan for preventing workplace violence and managing aggressive behaviors, along with a workplace violence incident reporting system.
Separately, lawmakers approved a bill giving Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost new authority to reject statewide, citizen-proposed ballot initiatives based on their title. The power was folded into House Bill 74 and comes just months after the Ohio Supreme Court unanimously told Yost he overstepped his authority when he rejected a proposed citizen amendment to broaden voter rights based on its title.
The bills now await action from the governor.