Women's Public Policy Network

Ohio

Stay engaged, involved, and up-to-date: 10/23/17 Week in Review

Saturday, October 28th, 2017

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!

 

JOIN OUR ADVOCACY EFFORTS
 
There is a lot happening at the Statehouse and on Capitol Hill directly effecting Ohio women. That’s why we need advocates like you to join us in our efforts to advance policy solutions that improve the lives of women and their families.

Sign up to be an advocate with us and help make a difference on the policy landscape! Learn more on the ‘Be an Advocate’ page of our website. 
WHAT’S NEW IN THE NEWS FROM THIS WEEK
Akron Beacon Journal, October 24, 2017

Undocumented Minor Jane Doe Finally Obtains Abortion “This Is My Life, My Decision. I Want a Better Future.”
Slate, October 25, 2017

Ohio House committee passes bill to ban abortions when child has Down Syndrome
NBC4, October 25, 2017

The GOP Just Announced When They’ll Be Discussing A Bill To Ban Abortion At 6 Weeks
Refinery29, October 25, 2017

Federal judge refuses to order the Trump administration to resume ACA payments/
The Washington Post, October 25, 2017

Federal funding ends for CHIP; what happens now?
10TV News, October 25, 2017

Fortune, October 25, 2017
The Washington Post, October 26, 2017
Slate, October 26, 2017
LOOKING AHEAD: PARTNER EVENTS THIS UPCOMING WEEK  

 The Women’s Fund of Central Ohio –  Latina Equal Pay Day Roundtable

Thursday, November 2nd
8:30 AM – 9:30 AM
YWCA Columbus – Wolfe Room 65 S. Fourth St.
Columbus, OH 43215
Hosted by: Columbus Women’s Commission, Columbus City Council, and The Women’s Fund of Central Ohio
Event Partners: Latina Mentoring Academy, WELD, and YWCA Columbus
Did you know that Latinas have to work 11 extra months to earn what a white male made the previous calendar year? November 2nd is Latina Equal Pay Day 2017, which marks the day in the calendar year that Latinas have earned as much as white men did in the previous year. Over the course of a 40-year career, Latinas will be denied an average of a million dollars in earnings because of the gender wage gap.
Please join us for a roundtable discussion on the Ohio’s gender wage gap, with a focus on the disparities caused by race and ethnicity. Learn more and register here.
Visit our Partner Events Calendar for more details on future events hosted by our coalition partners across the state. 
#OHLEG ALERT
We are tracking the progress of any state bills affecting women in the Ohio Legislature for the 132nd General Assembly. Here’s a quick overview of some key highlights from last week and looking ahead to this upcoming week:
  • HB 214 (LaTourette, Merrin) – The Down Syndrome abortion ban, which bans a doctor from performing an abortion if they have knowledge that a woman is seeking the abortion due to a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome. The House Health Committee held a fourth hearing this past week on Wednesday, October 25. The bill passed out of the Committee by a 12-5 vote along party lines.

  • HB 327 (Schaffer, Smith, K.) – Creates tougher penalties for anyone charged with importuning (soliciting sex over the internet.) The House Criminal Justice Committee held a third hearing for all testimony on Tuesday, October 24. You can find all testimony here (look for testimony and documents from October 24).

  • HB 234 (Howse, Lepore-Hagan) – Criminalizes the blocking of access to reproductive health care and provides the ability for legal action for harassment or intimidation at clinics. The Criminal Justice Committee will hold a first hearing for sponsor testimony on Wednesday, November 1. The Committee will meet at 3:00 PM in Room 121 of the Ohio Statehouse.

  • HB 383 (Carfagna) – Requires that child-care centers provide parental notice of any serious risks to health or safety of children while under their care. The House Community & Family Advancement Committee will hold a first hearing on the bill for sponsor testimony on Wednesday, November 1. The Committee will meet at 3:00 PM in Room 114 of the Ohio Statehouse.

  • SB 198 (Yuko) – This bill makes updates to Ohio’s marriage laws to set the legal age of marriage to 18 years, except in certain circumstances allowing for 16 and 17 year olds if they receive consent from the juvenile court and their parent or guardian. The bill was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday of this past week. It has not yet been scheduled for a hearing.

  • SB 201 (Bacon, O’Brien) – Known as the “Reagan Tokes Act”, this is a companion bill to HB 365, which would require released violent offenders wearing GPS monitors to have set geographic boundaries and would give law enforcement the ability to access the GPS data without a subpoena. The Senate Government Oversight & Reform Committee held a first hearing for sponsor testimony on Wednesday, October 25. You can find sponsor testimony here (look for Committee Documents from October 25). It will receive a second hearing for proponent testimony on Wednesday, November 1. The Committee will meet at 9:45 AM in the Senate Finance Hearing Room.

  • SB 207 (Kunze) – This bill expands the offense of felonious assault to include the acts of strangulation or suffocation. It was introduced at the beginning of this month and referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday of this past week.

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.

RAISE YOUR VOICE TO PROTECT CHIP BENEFITS
The deadline to reauthorize funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) was September 30th, but Congress failed to take action. A bi-partisan deal passed out of the Senate Finance Committee to extend CHIP funding for another 5 years faces challenges in the House as Democrats raise opposition to provisions in the bill that take away funding from other health programs to pay for CHIP.
Now, the program’s future remains largely unknown. Without a reauthorization of the funding, all states are expected to run out of money within the year – some even as early as this December. Congress must act to pass a ‘clean’ CHIP bill, meaning that for the funding re-authorization is not attached to other health care programs – like Medicaid or the ACA – or making structural changes to the program, such as rollbacks of funding or eligibility.

TAKE ACTION: Contact your members of Congress and urge them to take action immediately to reauthorize CHIP funding. Tell them that nearly nine million children – including over 200,000 Ohio children – and their families are depending on them to extend funding for the program. 

For more context about what’s at stake, read a guest blog on the Women’s Public Policy Network website from an Ohio mom and advocate who shared her family’s story using CHIP benefits. Read the full post here.