COLUMBUS — Knowing that last week's election built on their super-majorities in both chambers, lawmakers return to the Ohio Statehouse on Wednesday with a plate of lame duck to serve up before the current session draws to a close.
Anti-abortion rights groups want to see a bill sent to Gov. Mike DeWine's desk to restrict access further.
With two years before the 2024 presidential election, lame duck could prove the time for lawmakers to try to enact voting reforms that would trim the early voting calendar, restrict the use of absentee ballot drop boxes, and possibly mandate photo ID.
And a bill to ban athletes who were not born female from participating in girls' sports could see a final push.
The House of Representatives must also decide who will lead it over the next two years as current Speaker Bob Cupp (R., Lima) runs up against term limits for a second time.
The two chambers have both scheduled five session days starting on Wednesday and continuing until Dec. 21. Any legislation not passed and sent to the governor's desk by the time the 134th General Assembly is gaveled to a close before the end of the year must start the entire legislative process over next year.
ABORTION
The abortion landscape in Ohio remains in flux after the U.S. Supreme Court undid its 1973 recognition of an abortion-access constitutional right and handed regulation back to states.
Ohio's most recent law prohibiting most abortions after about six weeks of gestation briefly went into effect but has since been placed on hold by a Hamilton County judge. He has ruled that opponents of the law are likely to prevail in their argument that the law violates the Ohio Constitution. The decision has been appealed to the 10th District Court of Appeals.
Prior law banning most abortions after about 20 weeks kicked back in and applies today.
Ohio Right to Life Chief Executive Officer Peter Range said a lame duck session is the time to pass a bill nearly outlawing abortion in Ohio at any time in a pregnancy.
“Ohio, now is our time,” he said. “It is time to save preborn children who are in danger of being aborted. It is our time to help moms, dads, and babies in need. It is our time to educate the state on the dignity of the human person, and it is our time to rebuild the family for a thriving society.”
Hearings have already been held in Columbus on bills that would make it a felony for anyone to induce an abortion if the procedure isn't considered necessary to save the life of the mother or prevent serious and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function. They contain no exceptions for rape and incest.
Another bill has been introduced that would recognize a fetus at any stage of development to be a person with constitutional rights.
There seemed to be mixed messages on this front on Tuesday. Ohio voters overwhelmingly re-elected Mr. DeWine and built on the Republican legislative majorities that passed such laws. This was in spite of attempts by challengers to make abortion a centerpiece of their campaigns.
But the momentum was in the other direction in some other states. Michigan, Vermont, and California all etched rights to abortion access into their constitutions while Kentucky voters blocked an attempt to cement a near-total ban in that state.
This follows Kansas voters' overwhelming rejection of a ban in that state over the summer.
“Anti-choice politicians are planning to once again ban abortion and impose the cruelty of forced birth on Ohioans, despite witnessing the way we suffered before a court temporarily blocked the six-week ban,” said Kellie Copeland, executive director of ProChoice Ohio. “We are working to mobilize pro-choice Ohioans to tell their state legislators, ‘We will not go back, not now, and never again.’”
Days before the election the ardently anti-abortion rights Mr. DeWine advised that lawmakers must keep in mind that Ohioans have the ability to challenge any law via voter referendum.
“So whatever the legislature ends up with,...it should be something, in my opinion, that is sustainable, something that will have a long-term impact, something that recognizes that the people themselves have the ability to go to the polls,” the governor said. He also called for lawmakers to provide doctors with more clarity about the application of current law.
Meanwhile, abortion rights advocates are talking about asking voters to etch protection for abortion access into the Ohio Constitution, although it's unclear what that would look like.
VOTING RIGHTS
A Republican-backed bill has been pending in the General Assembly that would, among other things, eliminate in-person early voting on the Monday immediately preceding Election Day and limit the number and operation of drop boxes for absentee ballots.
There is also talk of potentially adding a requirement for photo identification for in-person voting, generally opposed by Democrats. Current law provides a menu of acceptable identification but does not mandate a photo ID.
TRANS ATHLETES
Just before recessing for the summer and election, the Ohio House with Republican votes only added a last-minute amendment to an otherwise uncontroversial bill to bar those born biologically male from competing in female-only sports.
Democrats argued that it could subject young athletes to genital inspections if someone challenges their gender.
The bill has been sitting in the Senate for some five months. Senate President Matt Huffman (R., Lima) has said members objected to the language being added to another bill at the last minute, but the chamber may consider its own version of the bill—without medical inspection language.
LEADERSHIP
Still undecided as the House moves into its final weeks of the 134th General Assembly is who will lead the chamber in the 135th.
The next speaker is virtually guaranteed to be a Republican. While all returning and new representatives will vote with the new year, Republicans will have an even larger super-majority at that time.
But the decision is likely to be hammered out behind closed doors during the upcoming lame duck session.
Among the names mentioned are Reps. Derek Merrin (R., Monclova Township), a former Waterville mayor; Phil Plummer (R., Dayton), former Montgomery County sheriff; Jason Stephens (R., Kitts Hill), former Lawrence County auditor, and Brian Baldridge (R., Winchester), former Adams County commissioner.
First Published November 12, 2022, 3:30 p.m.
