Ohio’s lawmakers busy at last

COLUMBUS

In a rare showing of legislative cooperation, the Republican-controlled Ohio Senate and Democrat-controlled Ohio House managed to send a few bills to Gov. Ted Strickland last week — and not all of them were budget bills, either.

In total, the two chambers passed more than a dozen bills. That hasn’t happened too many times since Democrats took control of the House, and it’s probably not going to happen again for at least the next month, as lawmakers headed home for a prolonged spring break and pre-primary campaigning.

Though some committees may meet (emphasis on “may”), there likely won’t be another voting session of the House or Senate until sometime in May. There won’t be too much time for action then, either, as lawmakers will be itching to hit the campaign trail again for the summer and fall.

In the meantime, let us bask in the legislative progress made on the last session day of March. Here are the bills awaiting the governor’s signature:

Substitute Senate Bill 77: The legislation outlines provisions for the collection, storage and testing of DNA samples from certain criminals. It also requires law enforcement agencies to adopt specific procedures for conducting live or photo lineups.

Sub. SB 165: A lengthy bill that makes changes to Ohio’s oil and gas drilling laws.

Sub. SB 155: Among other changes, the bill reallocates tire fees to the Soil and Water Conservation District Assistance Fund and increases the maximum soil and water conservation district subsidy to $40,000 from $30,000.

Sub. House Bill 48: The legislation will allow two weeks of unpaid leave for spouses or parents of military men and women who are being deployed or wounded while on active duty. It also includes the implementing language for the voter-approved bonuses for individuals who have served in recent military conflicts in the Middle East.

Sub. HB 102: A bill requires the Ohio Department of Health to provide information to doctors, nurses and physicians assistants about umbilical cord blood banking and encourages those individuals to provide the information to pregnant women.

Sub. HB 313: Expands a pilot land banking program to include any county with more than 60,000 people. The program, currently in use in Cuyahoga County, authorizes the creation of county land reutilization corporations, which work to accommodate the redevelopment of foreclosed properties.

Sub. HB 414: The implementing language for the new Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board, which was authorized by voters in November.

Sub. HB 462: The capital reappropriations bill, providing continuing spending authority for public works and other projects already approved by lawmakers but not expected to be completed by the end of the fiscal year.

Marc Kovac is The Vindicator’s Statehouse correspondent. E-mail him at mkovac@dixcom.com or on Twitter at Ohio Capital Blog.