Last week House Bill 51, the Ohio House's version of agency sunset review legislation, passed out of the House State & Local Government
Committee. The bill is Rep. Keith Faber’s attempt to dismantle or "sunset" state agencies through unnecessary legislative review.
However, it appears the flawed and redundant bill didn't pass out of committee with full partisan support. Two Republican committee members voted with the union, voting "nay" against moving the bill to the full House. All committee Democrats also voted against moving forward with the bill, but it wasn't enough.
"It appears there's even dissension within the ranks on this piece of legislation, which just legitimizes our belief that this legislative review of state agencies is bad business for Ohio," said OCSEA President Chris Mabe. "We thank Rep. Marlene Anielski and Rep. Steve Arndt for putting party lines aside and, for whatever their reasons, voting in the interest of citizens who depend on critical state services."
Mabe says, as the bill heads to the full House floor, the union will continue to lobby against this superfluous bill and urge other Republicans to "do the right thing" and put Ohioans and the state services before all else.
