On Wednesday, March 19, the House Workforce & Higher Education Committee voted SB 1 out of committee along party lines with amendments adopted putting the bill closer in line with the last version of SB 83. Unfortunately, the amendments introduced by Ranking Minority Member Beryl Brown Piccolantonio (D) that would remove the anti-union and anti-tenure provisions of the bill were tabled. Later that afternoon, the full House of Representatives debated and ultimately passed SB 1 by a vote of 59 to 34. Joining the Democrats in opposition were Republican representatives Cindy Abrams, Scott Oelslager, and Jason Stephens.
Next week SB 1 will return to the Senate for concurrence on the changes made by the House (this is expected to occur on Wednesday, March 26). After this, the bill will be sent to Governor Dewine to either sign or veto.
We encourage you to contact Governor Dewine (https://governor.ohio.gov/contact) / 614-644-4357 and urge him to veto the bill!
When voicing your concerns and arguing against this damaging bill, you may find Deb's op ed in the Akron Beacon Journal and this joint statement from Faculty Associations across Ohio helpful. But remember to use your own wording. Cutting and pasting language from another source will radically reduce the weight that your argument carries.
