Lawmakers sign off on COVID extensions
County commissioners, city councils, township trustees, school boards and other public panels would be allowed to continue meeting electronically through next July, under legislation approved by lawmakers Wednesday.
House Bill 404 also would extend the timeframe for required evaluations of teachers, principals and other school employees; the deadlines for renewing various state-issued licenses; and the administration of state academic testing and student health screenings at schools, among other provisions.
The legislation passed the Ohio Senate Wednesday on a unanimous vote, with a concurrence vote scheduled in the Ohio House Thursday afternoon. With an included emergency clause, the law changes would take effect as soon as Gov. Mike Dewine adds his signature.
“We don’t have 90 days to wait for this law to take effect,” said Sen. Bill Coley, R-liberty Township in southwestern Ohio. “The governor doesn’t have 10 days for this law to take effect. Certain provisions of this bill expires in days. We need to act on this quickly, and the law needs to take effect immediately.”
HB 404 initially focused solely on allowing college and university trustees to meet electronically but was amended Wednesday by the Ohio Senate’s Government Oversight and Reform Committee to include a number of coronavirus-related law provisions enacted earlier this year but set to expire at the end of the month, including the virtual meeting extension.
The County Commissioners Association of Ohio and other groups have urged approval of the latter to ensure public meetings can continue to be held electronically. All three Franklin County commissioners voiced support Thursday for the move, too, and have urged lawmakers to consider extending virtual meeting allowances beyond the present pandemic.
“We have the stay-at-home advisory on at the moment, we have numbers that have gone through the roof over just the last couple of weeks, we’re asking people to do everything we possibly can to help us curb these numbers,” said Franklin County Commissioner John O’grady. “… We’ve had more people that have attended our general sessions because we’ve done them virtually… This is something that the public really likes, that they want to see continue.”
The larger amendment to HB 404 included a few provisions from separate school-related legislation. Backers of that bill urged additional law changes to help schools through the pandemic.
“We will continue to fight for what schools need to get through this pandemic this school year,” said Sen. Teresa Fedor, D-toledo. “And there’s much more to address by the end of this school year, especially the ability for the superintendent to request a waiver for spring testing and adjusting the graduation requirements… We need to monitor this every day, every week, every month.”
Senators also OK’D HB 151, which initially focused on chiropractic care but was amended to include other COVIDrelated amendments.
The latter included a clarification to earlier law changes providing temporary immunity from civil action for COVid-related injuries or infections and authorizes emergency responders, in certain instances, to provide services in hospital emergency departments, among other provisions related to coronavirus care.
HB 151 also was passed with an emergency clause, meaning it would take effect immediately after the governor signs it. The bill awaits House concurrence on Senate amendments.
The governor’s office has indicated that Dewine supports both moves and would sign them into law. mkovac@dispatch.com @Ohiocapitalblog