Sunday, December 23, 2012
Ohio legislature
Recent actions
Ohio lawmakers wrapped up their two-year session this month with a busy post-election lame-duck session. Here’s a look at how the bills passed in the second half of the year will affect people across Ohio.
If you are a public employee: The state has overhauled all five public-pension systems to address long-term solvency issues. The bills generally increase employee contributions, compute new final- average salaries, require longer service and reduce cost-of-living adjustments.
If you like your months to have meaning: November is now complex regional pain syndrome awareness month; September is craniofacial acceptance month; March is multiple system atrophy awareness month; and May is both melanoma and skin- cancer detection month and better hearing and speech month. And, Oct. 19 is now metastatic breast-cancer awareness day.
If your child competes in sports: The state now requires that coaches and others be trained in concussion symptoms and be responsible for pulling a child from a game if such symptoms are shown. The child cannot return to play unless cleared by a doctor.
If you run a bank: Many of you are getting a tax cut, thanks to the elimination of two current taxes and the creation of a new financial-institutions tax. The plan is to make some of the largest banks pay more by eliminating a major loophole.
If most schools in your county get high grades on the state report card: That could change soon. Ohio is implementing a tougher A-to-F grading system for districts based on six measures, such as how well students perform on state tests and how many elementary students are reading at grade level.
If you like acupuncture: Ohio will permit acupuncturists to use herbal therapies known as Chinese herbology to treat patients.
If you want to bring your gun to the Statehouse: It’s getting closer. Ohioans soon can bring guns to the Statehouse and Riffe Center parking garages, as long as they are kept locked in vehicles. Also, people can carry loaded magazines for high- powered rifles in vehicles as long as they’re in a separate compartment, and Ohioans no longer have to prove range proficiency when renewing a concealed-carry license.
If you care about Planned Parenthood: A proposal that would have eliminated public funding for the women’s health-care organization by moving it to the back of the line did not pass, though it could be revisited in 2013.
If you care about the abortion debate: A bill that would have given Ohio the most- restrictive anti-abortion law in the nation, and likely prompt an immediate court challenge, did not pass the Senate. It also could be revisited in 2013.
If you’re looking for a kindler, gentler divorce: The law now allows couples to avoid unpredictable and costly divorce proceedings by agreeing to a new collaborative process, in which each person agrees to negotiate a resolution with the assistance of lawyers.
If you like to set the place on fire (not in a cool way, but as in an actual fire): The state is developing a new arson- offender registry for use by law enforcement.
If you are concerned about teen suicide: Ohio law soon will require school districts and charter schools to train teachers and staff members in youth-suicide awareness and prevention.
If you ride a motorcycle: Ohio will prohibit handlebars from being higher than the rider’s shoulders when he or she is seated.
If you are concerned about child-custody issues: State law will encourage children services agencies to place children with family members and to keep siblings together whenever possible. It also expands who can be assigned power of attorney for the purposes of obtaining custody of a child.
If you carry minimum auto- insurance coverage: The state is doubling the minimum requirement.
If you love puppies: Large-scale dog breeders will be subject to annual inspections and new standards of care.
If you are a physician’s assistant: The state soon will allow you to pronounce time of death, insert and remove chest tubes, prescribe therapy and write Schedule II prescriptions.
If you’ve been exposed to asbestos at work: Ohio will require people filing asbestos lawsuits to disclose all the previous claims they’ve filed against company bankruptcy trusts. Supporters say it prevents litigants from double-dipping. Opponents say it’s the latest effort to make it harder for people sickened by asbestos to be compensated.
If you own a cellphone: Ohio is reducing the monthly wireless 911 charge from 28 cents a month to 25 cents. The state also will impose a new wireless 911 charge of 0.5 percent of the sale price of prepaid service.
If you are a nurse or a judge: Ohio is increasing penalties for assaulting nurses, other health-care professionals and court officials, allowing for a $5,000 fine on a first offense. Offenders with certain prior convictions would face a fifth-degree felony.
If you travel Ohio’s interstates or turnpike: The state will require that a POW/MIA flag be flown at each rest area.
If you plan to dig a hole in your yard: Ohio is updating the “call before you dig’’ notification system, aligning it with universal marking standards, increasing excavator training and creating a more-efficient one-call system.
If you plan to get pregnant: The General Assembly expressed support for increasing public awareness of the importance of folic acid in the diets of women of childbearing age, to reduce the risk of birth defects.
If you worry about drug abuse: Ohio will allow pharmacists and retailers to track sales of pseudophedrine, which can be used to manufacture methamphetamines, across state lines, in an effort to block questionable sales. The state also will allow the state Medical Board to inspect pain- management clinics suspected of operating without a license.
If you want more use out of your golf cart: Ohio in 2017 will start licensing golf carts and other low-speed vehicles for road use.
Source: Columbus Dispatch