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Ohio now allows concealed firearms at day cares, public universities
Kasich also signs puppy-mill bill into law
By Marc Kovac
COLUMBUS
Gov. John Kasich has signed into law legislation opening the door for concealed firearms at day care centers and public university campuses.
Ohio also has new laws blocking local restrictions on the sale of puppy-mill puppies and quashing local efforts to raise the minimum wage higher than the state level.
In total, the governor added his signature to 17 bills Monday, behind closed doors and without additional comment.
The list included:
Senate Bill 199, which was amended to include the contents of House Bill 48, is separate legislation allowing permitted individuals to carry concealed firearms into day care centers, on the campuses of public universities and in unsecured governmental buildings.
Universities’ governing bodies will have to authorize concealed carry, however. And the bill does not cover police stations and other secured facilities, including the Ohio Statehouse.
House Bill 580, which includes an amendment designating May 15 as All for the Kids Awareness Day, drawing attention to families with children suffering from chronic or life-threatening injuries.
Senate Minority Leader Joe Schiavoni of Boardman, D-33rd, offered companion legislation establishing All for the Kids Awareness Day at the request of the Hope Foundation of the Mahoning Valley.
Senate Bill 331 originally was informally called the Petland Bill, with language blocking local governments from passing ordinances that restricted the sale of puppy-mill puppies.
The bill was amended to include other measures to pre-empt local laws, including language blocking communities from establishing a minimum wage that is higher than the rate set by the Ohio Constitution and state law.
Cleveland voters were set to decide next year on a $15 minimum wage; the state’s rate, as of Jan. 1, will be $8.15 for nontipped employees, up from the current $8.10.
Other language added by the House outlaws bestiality and prohibits betting, attending or otherwise associating with cockfighting, bear-baiting or any other activities pitting one animal against another.
House Bill 185, which includes language allowing the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction to contract with private prisons to house inmates.
The provisions will enable the state to take advantage of inmate beds left vacant when the federal government ended contracts to house federal prisoners at the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center on Youngstown’s East Side.