With the change, most House session agendas will likely be set the day of session, adding a layer of uncertainty to what legislation might be considered during the week.
Democratic Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, told reporters shortly after the vote that the rules create transparency issues and argued that giving legislators and the public more time to digest legislative information before a vote is critical.
Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman, R-Lima, told reporters that the rules pave the way to a more efficient House. With the agenda now able to be set the day of, the House can more quickly act on legislation that was more recently passed out of committees.
“If you have to set the calendar 24 hours in advance, a lot happens when everybody shows up to town; people make up their minds. So, you lose another week potentially of getting something done,” Huffman said, noting that he’d communicate with the minority party to ensure they aren’t blindsided on session days.
The new rules revert the Ohio House back to long-held standards, but it marks a significant shift in direction under Huffman. It was the former House speaker, Rep. Jason Stephens, R-Kitts Hill, that modernized much of the chamber’s rules with a focus on allowing more time to consider legislation.
“Going back in time to where we had less transparency in this institution is not good,” Russo said. “I think now more than ever, people want more transparency from government, and unfortunately what we saw today with the rules takes that backwards.”
Another approved rule bumped Russo’s superminority caucus down a peg by removing a previous standard giving Democrats outsized representation on committees. The new rule requires committees to be proportional to the makeup of the House.
Additionally, the new Ohio House rules create the leadership position of assistant pro tempore, to which Rep. Phil Plummer, R-Butler Twp., was elected by his peers. With it, he’ll be third in a line of succession if Huffman and Pro Tempore Gayle Manning, R-North Ridgeville, are unable to preside over session.
Leadership positions are granted yearly stipends under the Ohio Revised Code, but that section makes no mention of a House assistant pro tempore. Plummer told this news organization that he is not currently aware of what his stipend will be, if any.
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Avery Kreemer can be reached at 614-981-1422, on X, via email, or you can drop him a comment/tip with the survey below.
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