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Republicans introduce legislation in state House, outline priorities in Senate
GOP caucus provided few specifics or details about their initial legislation
By Marc Kovac
COLUMBUS
Charter-school accountability, water-quality improvements and incentives for earning degrees for in-demand jobs are among the issues covered in the first round of bills offered by Republicans in the Ohio House on Wednesday.
More than 20 bills were introduced during the chamber’s afternoon session, which followed a late- morning press conference where Republican leaders outlined their priorities.
The GOP caucus provided few specifics or details about their initial bills, however, with House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger, R-Clarksville, cautioning against assigning significance to legislation based on the order of introduction.
The chambers, in the past, have designated their initial bills as top priorities.
Instead, Rosenberger said House Republicans would focus on four broad areas — education, energy, competitiveness and health care — and developing a six-year strategy for improving the state.
Reps. Kristina Roegner, R-Hudson, and Mike Dovilla, R-Berea, are carrying HB 2, which would prohibit poor-performing charter schools from regularly switching sponsors, require contracts between schools and management companies to be filed with the state and posted online, and push for increased information about charter-school performance to be easier to access by the public.
Roegner said members were still considering other mechanics of the legislation, including whether existing charters or others would be exempt from the new requirements.
Gov. John Kasich and other Statehouse Republicans have indicated that they would offer charter school reform during coming deliberations on the biennial state budget.
Wednesday’s bill introduction in the House provided the first firm details of what GOP members in that chamber want to accomplish.
The House bill drew quick praise from Republican state Auditor Dave Yost, who earlier this week released a study questioning attendance rates at some charter schools.
In the state Senate, Republicans say they plan to pursue welfare reform and a reduction in higher education costs, among other priorities for the coming session.
Senate President Keith Faber, R-Celina, and other GOP senators announced the legislative initiatives Wednesday during a press conference at the Statehouse.
They plan to begin introducing bills early next month.
Welfare reform is at the top of the list.
Faber said the majority caucus wants to better coordinate work force training and related programs for needy Ohioans, providing them a means of exiting public assistance.
Another priority frequently mentioned by Faber in recent months and reiterated Wednesday is what he’s calling the “deregulation” of education, allowing high-performing schools to operate outside of the confines of different state mandates.