Lawmakersmove to remove Householder from ethics group
State lawmakers on Wednesday took action to remove former Ohio House Speaker LarryHouseholder, who pleaded not guilty to a federal racketeering charge, fromthe JointLegislative Ethics Committee.
JLEC is a bipartisan panel thatoverseesandinvestigates ethical issues involving lawmakers, legislative staff and registered lobbyists.
A last-minute change to House Bill 66 includes a provision to boot Householder fromJLEC and allowthe new speaker, BobCupp, R-Lima, to removeHouseholderfromthe boardthatoversees the Statehouseanditsgrounds. Householderjoinedhiscolleaguesin unanimous agreement to the Senate amendments.
The Senate also voted in favor of:
■ Senate Bill 311, which would block the state health department from issuing statewide quarantine orders toinclude peoplewho aren’t sick or haven’t been exposed to infectious diseases. Itwould undercut the authority of the state health director and give lawmakers more oversight. Proponents of the measure say Ohioans have endured unprecedented government overreach through the COVID19 pandemic.Opponentsargued that the bill would hamper Ohio’s ability to respond swiftly to public health crises. The bill, which cleared
the Senate 20-12, nowgoes to theHouse for consideration.
■ Senate Bill 34, which seeks to ban “pass the trash” practices. If there is reasonable cause to believe a school employee committed a sex offense involving a student, district officials would be barred fromhelping thatperson find another school job.
■ Senate Bill 256, which would prohibit life without parole sentences for offenders who were younger than 18 at the time of the crime.
“Life without hope may be one of the cruelest punishmentsimaginable,” said state Sen. Peggy Lehner, R-Kettering, sponsor of the bill.
Both chambers are considering bills to repealHouse Bill 6, the controversial energy bailout bill at the center of an alleged $60 million bribery scheme, but so far nothing has gained the necessary momentum.
Nineweeks ago, FBI agents arrestedHouseholder, R-Glenford, andfour othermenand
U.S. Attorney David DeVillers detailed what he called the largest public corruption scandal in Ohio history.
Since the case was made public, calls for repealofHB6 have been broad and persistent. House Democrats have tried unsuccessfully to insert repeal language into multiple bills receiving floor votes.