Women's Public Policy Network

Ohio

Stay engaged, involved, and up-to-date: 02/26/2018 Weekly Review

Monday, March 5th, 2018

Stay engaged, involved, and up-to-date: In the weekly reviews from the Women’s Public Policy Network, we look back on last week’s highlights from the WPPN, share updates on bills affecting women that are moving at the Statehouse, showcase weekly news clips, and provide calls to action on bills pending in the Legislature. Sign up for our emails to receive these updates in your inbox every week!

MAKING HERSTORY: FIND YOUR VOICE, TELL YOUR STORY
To kick off Women’s History Month, we joined nearly 400 advocates for women and girls at the Ohio Statehouse for the Women’s Fund of Central Ohio’s Statehouse Day.

Keynote speaker, Lilly Ledbetter, shared her own story and journey in finding her voice to become an advocate and champion for equal pay for all women. During her remarks, Lilly said, “It’s not what happens to you along the way, it’s what you do about it.” She inspired the crowd to tell their own story and take action to create change.

If you missed the event last week, you can watch the video of the morning panel sessions and Lilly Ledbetter’s remarks, available online here. Then, learn more about the Women’s Fund work to ignite social change in the community and how you can get involved on their website here.

In 2014, the Department of Health used medically unnecessary regulations to revoke the license for Toledo’s only abortion clinic, Capital Care Network, in an effort to obstruct abortion access. As a result, a legal battle ensued.

Last month, after pressure from advocates, health care professionals, and activists, ProMedica signed a transfer agreement with Capital Care. The signed transfer agreement satisfies Governor Kasich’s medically unnecessary demands.

Now, the Ohio Department of Health must restore Capital Care’s license, or people in Northwest Ohio may not be able to access abortion care in their community. Take action here.

#OHLEG ALERT
We are tracking the progress of any state bills affecting women in the Ohio Legislature for the 132nd General Assembly. The legislature is back in session for 2018. Here are some updates from this past week and a look ahead at activity to watch for in the House and Senate:
  • HB 1 (Sykes, Manning) – Dating Protection Orders: Updates Ohio’s domestic violence laws by extending victims of dating violence access to DV protections, such as civil protection orders. The Ohio Senate had passed a substitute version of the bill on February 20 with a unanimous vote. Then, last week, the Ohio House concurred in Senate Amendments with a 93-0 vote. The bil now heads to the Governor. 
  • HB 96 (Hughes) – Sex Offenses: Increases the penalty for sexual imposition if an offender has previously been convicted or pleaded guilty three or more times to any of the several specified sex offenses. The bill passed in the House on February 28 with a vote of 85-0. 
  • HB 240 (Barnes) – Month Designation: Designates the month of April as “Respect Your Date Month” to raise awareness on the issue of partner violence. The bill would also require state colleges and universities to adopt a policy regarding dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and rape on campus, and to declare an emergency. The House Higher Education & Workforce Development Committee will hold a fourth hearing on the bill for all testimony on Wednesday, March 7. The Committee will meet at 11:00 AM in Statehouse Room 115.
  • HB 468 (Perales, Boyd) – Military Leave: Grants full-time state employees paid leave for the purpose of attending medical examinations and appointments provided through the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. The House Armed Services, Veterans Affairs & Homeland Security Committee held a second hearing on the bill for proponent testimony on February 28. You can find all testimony from that hearing here (look under hearings for February 28). 
  • HB 492 (Gonzales) – State Procurement: Establishes the women-owned business enterprise program, which would require state agencies to establish goals for procurement of women-owned businesses. The House State & Local Government Committee held a first hearing on the bill for sponsor testimony on February 27. You can find testimony from that hearing here(look under hearings for February 27). 
  • HB 497 (Rogers, Manning) – Private Images: Prohibits the nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images, and creates certain legal rights and employment protections for a victim of such a crime. The Community & Family Advancement Committee held a first hearing on the bill for sponsor testimony on February 28. You can find testimony from that hearing here (look under hearings for February 28). 
  • HB 511 (Lanese, Rogers) – Marriage Age: Makes changes to the state laws governing marriage ages by requiring both males and females to be aged 18, with exceptions for 17 year olds to marry with court approval. Legislation was prompted after a Dayton Daily News story investigated the prevalence of minors marrying in Ohio. The House Community & Family Advancement Committee held a first hearing on the bill for sponsor testimony on February 28. You can find testimony from that hearing here (look under hearings for February 28). 
  • HB 520 (Miller, Hughes) – Human Trafficking: Increases the penalty for solicitation from a third degree to a first degree misdemeanor. The bill was referred to the House Criminal Justice Committee on February 27 and awaits hearings. 
  • HB 532 (Galonski, Fedor) – Sexual Harassment: Requires all state officials, state employees, and employees of state contractors and vendors to complete training on the prevention and elimination of sexual harassment. Establishes a Commission on Sexual Harassment within the Ohio Attorney General’s office to study and make recommendations to eliminate workplace sexual harassment. The bill was introduced in the House on February 28. 
  • SB 28 (Uecker) – Abortion: Would require fetal remains from a surgical abortion at an abortion facility to be disposed of by cremation or burial. The House Health Committee held a third hearing on the bill for all testimony on February 28, and voted the bill out of Committee. It now heads to the full House for consideration. You can find all testimony from that hearing here (look under hearings for February 28).
  • SB 171 (Hottinger) – Protection Orders: Increases the penalty for violating a protection order under certain circumstances. The bill would then require those that have violated their protection orders to be electronically monitored by probation agencies. The Senate Judiciary Committee held a third hearing on the bill for all testimony on February 27. You can find all testimony from that hearing here (look under Committee Documents for February 27). 
  • SB 244 (Dolan, Manning) – Prostitution: Increases penalties for soliciting and promoting prostitution. The Senate Judiciary Committee held a second hearing on the bill for proponent testimony on February 27. You can find testimony from that hearing here (look under Committee Documents for February 27).
We will keep tracking any new updates and will be sharing timely legislative updates on these and other women-centric legislation on Twitter using the #OHLeg hashtag. Follow us to stay up-to-date on what’s happening at the Statehouse.
To celebrate the start of Women’s History Month, we’re taking action to support paid family leave, a critical policy for women and their families. Despite the benefits of the policy, the United States is the only industrialized county in the world without some form of guaranteed paid leave.

In the absence of a national standard, state legislators are taking action! State Representatives Kristin Boggs and Janine Boyd recently announced that they will be introducing statewide paid family and medical leave legislation in the Ohio House.

TAKE ACTION: Contact your State Representative and urge them to sign on as a co-sponsor of the Ohio Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program that will be introduced in the Ohio House by Representatives Boggs and Boyd. The co-sponsor request will close at the end of this week.
Nearly everyone will need time off from work at some point throughout their life to care for a new child or aging or ill family member or address their own medical emergency. Paid leave means that workers can take that time they need away from work without risking their economic security.

Visit the Paid Leave landing page on our website to learn more about paid family leave and how you can make a difference.