Bills in Ohio go fast, slow

Lawmakers are, at times, inconsistent, and their actions are, at times, inexplicable.

This is certainly true when it comes to the legislation they pass.

Some issues catch lawmakers’ attention and become fast-track priorities. Other seemingly innocuous bills are buried below the black line, never to be seen or heard again.

Sometimes, big, complicated bills, like Ohio’s biennial budget, are amended at the last minute but still sent quickly to the governor for his signature and enactment.

Sometimes, little, less complicated bills sit on somebody’s desk for days or weeks before they’re forwarded, with little in the way of urgency.

And sometimes, lawmakers pick up a cause, declare their intentions to act quickly and then wait months before sealing the deal.

That was the case with recently passed legislation to defund Planned Parenthood. That bill was on an initial fast track, and then it wasn’t, and then it was again, and then it wasn’t again.

Lawmakers introduced companion legislation in the Ohio House and Senate.

The Senate version was introduced in September and passed in October. The House version was introduced in July and passed that chamber in November.

There was speculation that it would move quickly through the Senate, potentialy before the end of last year, given that senators already OK’d their version of the legislation.

But the Senate postponed action until late January, and the House waited until a couple of weeks later to concur on amendments.

And then it sat on legislative leaders’ desks for a week after it was finally passed by both chambers before the House speaker and Senate president signed off on the paperwork and sent it on to Gov. John Kasich.

By the time you read this, the bill may have the governor’s signature, with provisions taking effect in about 90 days.

ON THE FAST TRACK

Granted, Kasich has been mostly out of state this year, campaigning for president. But he’s still taken time to sign other legislation this month, including:

Senate Bill 2, a fairly routine bill that incorporates federal tax law changes that have taken effect in the past year into Ohio’s tax laws.

The legislation effectively aligns state and federal tax requirements, so Ohio filers don’t have to recompute their adjusted gross income when filing.

Senate Bill 60, which designates a stretch of I-670 in Columbus as the Dana G. ‘Buck’ Rinehart Memorial Highway, honoring the man who served as the city’s mayor from 1984-92.

House Bill 17, which would protect architects, engineers and others who volunteer their services in the aftermath of emergencies from civil lawsuits.

The protections would not apply to “wanton, willful and intentional misconduct,” according to an analysis by the state’s Legislative Service commission. And volunteer services generally would have to be provided within 90 days of an emergency.

House Bill 98, designating May 14 as “Childhood Apraxia of Speech Awareness Day” to draw attention to “a disorder in which a child has difficulty making accurate movements when speaking,” according to LSC.

House Bill 121, designating the last week of July as “Service Dog Awareness Week in recognition of the important role service dogs play in enhancing the lives of citizens with disabilities.”

Marc Kovac is The Vindicator’s Statehouse correspondent. Email him at mkovac@dixcom.com or on Twitter at OhioCapitalBlog.