COLUMBUS — The Ohio Capital Journal and States Newsroom are reporting that Republican lawmakers are hurriedly attempting to pass bills before the end of the year, but they are not disclosing their priorities.
Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman, R-Lima, gave a nonsensical response when asked about that, according to WEWS-TV 5 News in Cleveland.
Huffman and state Republicans are contending with three considerable changes next year after this lame-duck period for the Legislature ends: There is no GOP supermajority in the Ohio House of Representatives; the supermajority in the Ohio Senate is more narrow; and Dr. Amy Acton will be Ohio’s governor.
Democrats won about a dozen legislative seats, and the GOP will have a much greater challenge overriding the governor’s veto.
“We broke the supermajority in the Ohio House. What an incredible night for Ohio,” House Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn, D-Cincinnati, said after the election. “Voters came out by the millions to demand a government that serves the people, not the other way around.”
Isaacsohn said Huffman and his fellow Republicans will be returning to Columbus and a whole new set of circumstances to contend with.
“Now our new governor, Dr. Amy Acton, can move this state in a new direction,” he said.
But that remains to be seen. Isaacsohn said the election should mean a more bipartisan legislature in 2027, but some Republicans want to limit the powers of the governor before Acton takes office.
“There are a number of reforms; some of them have nothing to do with a new governor, but there’s a number of those things,” Huffman told WEWS. “But we’re sort of gathering those and deciding what is constitutional.”
Gov. Mike DeWine said he would not sign into law any proposals limiting the executive branch’s power.
But other lame-duck legislators are thinking seriously how they can handcuff Acton before time runs out. One proposal, House Joint Resolution 11, would make it easier for Republicans to override legislation that Gov.-elect Amy Acton vetoes by requiring a simple majority, versus a supermajority in the legislature.
Huffman and Senate President Rob McColley are not supporting the joint resolution, according to reports.
