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Leaders of the Ohio House review lame duck the last two years.

And what's ahead?

That's this weekend.

The state of Ohio.

Just.

Welcome to the state of Ohio.

I'm Karen, counselor.

The 135th General Assembly ended after a lame duck session in which lawmakers approved more than four dozen bills, including the so-called parents Bill of rights, which opponents say is a don't say gay bill, a measure to expand school policies on expelling students and some spending plans.

But there was no pay raise for elected officials, including those in the next General Assembly.

As has been the case since the pandemic, we weren't able to bring the House leaders together as the Senate leaders were on the show last month, with Speaker Jason Stephens in particular wanting a one on one conversation.

I spoke to Stevens this week as he ends his term as speaker.

When you look back on your two years of speaker, how do you feel like it went for you?

Yeah, I thought I actually thought it went really well and a lot of those priorities.

So for example, House Bill one, you know, there were a lot of concepts in the House Bill one that were in the operating budget.

You know, the income tax, the flat income tax.

You know, we almost got there were to two brackets.

Now, you know, we were able to finally get an inflation adjustment for the homestead exemption, you know, on the property tax front.

And a lot of the reason for House Bill one was to start the discussion on property taxes.

Now, mind you, this was two years ago.

And being a former county auditor, I could see what was coming.

And a lot of it was just getting people to understand how complex our property tax system is in Ohio.

And it's not an easy fix, like with the sales tax or the income tax, which you just change a number here or there or move the brackets around a little bit.

You know, property taxes are just a very complex, item that when you cut them, somebody loses out and it's a very direct, equation there, but but very complex.

So, you know, I felt like we did good on, on the economic front, you know, some of our other, priority bills was the adoption bill, House bill five, House Bill seven we got, which was our mommas and babies bill.

You know, we were able to do that, but our focus was really about the people and the people of Ohio.

And I think we were able to, focus on that and get a lot of those types of things, passed into law over the past two years.

Let's go back to the last night of lame duck.

You had told reporters that you were hopeful that we would be done by dinner.

Yeah, I dinner late.

I didn't really not what happened?

We were close.

Very close.

The two hold up be the pay raise and also, House Bill eight and the changes from the from the Senate.

I am I correct in saying I actually I don't know that the the the hold ups, the hold up, the thing that took the longest was the volume of bills.

If you if you look at what the what were on the agendas the Senate passed House bills.

We passed Senate bills.

Then we concurred on what we had passed each other.

So some of it was the discussions on what exactly is in this bill.

The Senate did the same to us.

And then really, we were done by 11:00.

As far as having having an agreement, because, that day, the conference committee had met throughout the day on the House Bill 315.

And that was the Christmas tree that was.

Yes.

And so what ended up happening is waiting on our friends at LSC to actually compile the bill.

Took about three hours or otherwise.

You know, we may not have been done by dinner, but we at least but able to, you know, be done before the news was over.

So the pay raise was not the holdup.

Oh, no, no, no, it was it was really just the volume of of a lot of those different, bills that were coming together and being rolled in and rolled out and all that.

There were some bills that didn't pass, for instance, changes to recreational marijuana.

That and also Delta eight, which governor Mike DeWine said he wants, Senate Bill 83, the higher education bill.

What happened with those two things?

Were you ready to move on either of those?

Yeah.

So the recreational marijuana, you know, I think, you know, I'm I'm not an expert on marijuana, but I'm an expert on voters and their voices.

And I think, you know, the voters spoke loud and clear.

Back in November of 2023.

And I felt it was very important that we have a consensus, and a bipartisan consensus on what any modifications to that law would be.

And the challenge was, once you would get, you know, in the house, it's there's 99 people.

So it's it's it's hard to get 50 people to agree, on a, on a big consensus bill.

And when you would do one change here or one particular item, you know, you might gain 30 votes, but you might lose 25 on the other side who didn't want to do that.

And you know, we have some members who were and this is just the the Republican caucus who were very much pro issue two.

We had some who were very anti issue too.

I didn't vote for it.

But they also didn't even want to vote on it again.

So they were a though regardless of what came through.

So it made the math challenging.

And I know we had a lot of different folks, working on that.

And sometimes and this is, you know, part of term limits, maybe when you when you have members who haven't been here very long, you know, they're a little more suspicious of what all is coming through.

And it makes those bigger compiled bills that kind of move back and forth a little more challenging to get to the votes on it.

So did you block Senate Bill 83?

No, I think it was a matter of a bill that was, you know, didn't have the votes in our caucus.

And part of the reason I think it was very, you know, very mandate oriented, it was very particular.

I mean, it it was going in and saying you had to universities had to within three clicks, get to the syllabus.

I mean, it was very particular on that.

There were some other, you know, carve outs for some special interests that didn't really, in my opinion, need to be in there.

And, you know, there was enough.

And it was interesting even within our caucus, you know, ideologically, whether you're a little more conservative or whatever, you know, there just wasn't the support for it.

So you mentioned this in our discussion earlier about House Bill one, but there were a lot of property tax reform bills that were proposed.

But no big ones got through.

Do you expect that to change?

And is there a reason that some of these some of these didn't get through at all?

Yeah.

So property taxes, they are complex.

But there's three basic pillars to property taxes.

There is the local entity who receives the taxes.

Your schools fire departments, libraries, whatever.

There is the property tax payer, which is anybody who owns property or rents property, you know, they pay those taxes and those taxes never leave the county line.

They go to the county courthouse.

You pay the treasurer, the county auditor distributes the checks.

The reason that there are less property taxes.

And the thing is, is those voters who live in that district have voted for those taxes.

The way that that goes lower is when the state comes in and pays and subsidize some of those taxes, whether it's the homestead exemption, the 10% rollback or whatever has been done over the last hundred years of incentives or whatnot.

And so whenever you take and say, I want to lower people's property taxes, well, all of a sudden the schools are not getting as much money and, or the state is coming in and lowering the property taxes for the people who, who voted for them.

So, you know, the economic principle of if you subsidize something, you're going to get more of it.

So if you subsidize property taxes, the chances of more levies passing goes up.

So it makes for a very challenging, math situation.

You know, in math, in property taxes is the number one thing, even though the politics are, you know, challenging.

It's, it's really interesting.

So we'll see what happens in the next year.

And it's understanding that when you lower a property taxpayer somewhere else is either going to get less money or the state is going to have to raise taxes somewhere else in order to subsidize that.

So it's a real math challenge.

I know there were a there was a flurry of bills that passed in lame duck, like four dozen bills that passed.

So pushing back on the idea of whether this was a productive legislature or not, because earlier it had been described as one of the most unproductive in half a century.

Right.

I want to ask you if that was specifically related to the split that was happening between the House and the Senate, between you and US Senate President Matt Huffman?

Yeah, I you know, I don't know what the the real reason I'm sure it's in the eye of the beholder on on what was causing one.

But when you look at probably the amount of, pages that were the revised code was revised during this.

G.A., I think you'll probably see a pretty, pretty comparable, thing.

But as far as, you know, different bills, some of them more complex, take a little longer to get through the process, whether it's, you know, more hearings or more, being done.

But, you know, I look at, you know, a lot of the things that were not done when the GA started, you know, the Department of Education, for example, was not done.

And we got that done right in the budget.

One of the important things, you know, was the, the men and women sports bill was not done.

Neither was, you know, some of the other things.

But we were able to get a lot of those done within the budget.

And so I feel like we've been very successful, we were able to have the largest transportation budget done on time.

The budget was done on time.

The largest capital budget, with the one time money on top of it that the state has ever seen.

But we also did those efficiently.

It wasn't boring, you know?

I mean, there were there were things for you guys to write about it and discussions, but but at the same time, from an efficient, standpoint, I felt like we did we did a really good job with that.

And also, I'm of the mindset that it's okay if the legislature doesn't, is a in every single thing, in our lives.

So the split amongst the Republicans in the House, it was that part of, keeping some of these things moving forward.

How frustrating was that to deal with?

I mean, it wasn't, I don't know, the frustrating was the word.

You know, when you look at the folks, you know, who, you know, two years ago supported Bill, were people like Bill cites and Scott Slager and Tom Patton.

I mean, these are folks who are legendary, legislators.

You know, they've been on both sides, and they understood how important it was to make the trains run on time and to make sure that committees were meeting and that we had, good common sense as far as just making sure that, you know, you have staff that are supported and supportive and, you know, when I look back and, and see that we were able to navigate, you know, it's the legislature, it's politics in 2024, there's always going to be noise.

You know, with social media and the ability for, politicians to be able to communicate directly.

So you're always going to have that kind of noise.

But, you know, I tried not to let it bother me, you know, and just say, what is our what are our principles?

How do we help people?

And by staying focused on that, I think the, the, the GA is going to age very well.

I think the time will look very kindly on what we've done.

We we're doing these year end interviews with you and House Minority Leader Allison Russo separately, same as last year.

You were elected speaker of the House help of House Democrats.

So what is your relationship been like with Democrats and with Peter Russo?

You know, I think it's been really good.

We've, you know, I said there at the end of the lame duck, you know, we were a very conservative Republican caucus, but we also listened to our friends on the other side of the aisle.

And there are and when there are times when our interests align or we have things that we agree with, it's okay to do that.

And the only way you're going to know if you agree with the other side is if you have conversations and, you know, a lot of, you know, just from a regional standpoint, you know, me being from Appalachia, you know, some of the social, economic, problems that we have in rural Ohio and Appalachia, Ohio is very similar to our urban friends, poverty.

Our poverty is a little more, spread out.

But we have a lot of similar similarities.

And you find those similarities by having those conversations and talking to people who are from a different background, and you can actually get a lot more done that way.

But it doesn't mean you have to compromise your principles either.

And I think that's what we've been able to show.

And finally, real quickly, you won't be speaker as you decided not to run again and that you will be a House GOP caucus member.

Yes.

Will that be strange?

I think it'll be fun.

You know what?

Well, you know, having said in the chair, you know, there's not been very many people who've been speaker of the House and had that honor.

And it's it's been, you know, life changing and a wonderful experience.

But, you know, I am looking forward to, you know, representing my district.

You know, I love, love our counties and love our people there, but also doing it with a perspective to, understand that it's there's a lot of things that come into play when it comes into leadership and what bills get on the floor and all that kind of thing.

So I'm looking forward to being a productive member.

And, you know, standing for what I believe in.

And then and, you know, trying to help people throughout the whole state.

And then, of course, our district Allison Russo is the leader of the House.

31 Democrats who have chosen her to continue in that leadership position in the next General Assembly.

We spoke before the end of Lame Duck.

A lot of the things we talked about this time last year did not pass.

Changes to recreational marijuana.

I didn't pass changes to abortion legislation following the approval of the Reproductive Rights Amendment.

Senate Bill 83, the higher education bill that was targeted at what Republicans think is and say is, liberal ideology on college campuses.

So at the end of this two year session, what did get done?

What didn't get done?

What are you looking at as being, let's say, the positive that got done?

Well, I think, you know, for me, a couple of those things not passing, it is positive we minimize damage.

You know, the people spoke on the issue of adult use cannabis, that, those new provisions have rolled out, and that's now available, to Ohioans.

Senate Bill 83, which I think is very damaging to higher education in the state.

You know, we've held that at bay so far.

You know, the anti abortion legislation, you know, I, I think we probably will start to see more of that again, but, have been able to hold some of that stuff at bay.

So from my perspective, that is not a bad thing.

But, you know, in terms of what did get done, I mean, I will remind you, we passed, just, hundreds of millions of dollars going out to our communities for those large transformational projects and as part of the capital budget.

That was huge.

Saw lots of good stuff get, funded in communities.

And, you know, is there more work to be done?

I can list all kinds of things that need to be done and should be done for everyday Ohioans.

Yes.

And we're still pushing those things.

this has been called the most unproductive legislature in half a century in terms of the number of bills that have passed.

Is that fair?

Do you agree with that assessment?

Well, I think, Karen, we have to look at, you know, as being unproductive.

Again, you're stopping a lot of bad things.

I think that's actually pretty productive.

But also, I think we're seeing more and more, pieces of legislation that maybe didn't make it across the finish line in the previous GA, being added to the operating budget.

The operating budget is becoming more and more of a policy, document that more so than it probably has ever.

And so in that respect, you know, are we comparing apples and an apples to apples here?

I don't know, certainly the division, especially amongst the majority caucuses and the division between the Senate and the House, has created some obstacles.

But, you know, it's, I think we've gotten some good things done, still some damaging things that I wish had not passed.

And some things we've held at bay.

What are the issues that you would like to have seen go forward?

I mean, Democrats have talked about issues related to families to to women.

Some of these issues.

What were you hoping would happen in this two year session that you plan to potentially bring back?

Well, at the top of our list, and we've been talking about this for months, is real property tax relief, for residents in our communities.

I mean, there's not a single legislative legislature, in the General Assembly, both sides of the aisle that does not hear directly from constituents about this issue.

And so, you know, we we got something pretty small done this past week.

It's good, but not enough.

There's definitely more work that could be done.

So we would like to see progress there.

We would like to see more progress in the space of making sure that we have, quality child care, affordable child care that is available.

We continue to hear about that not only from parents, working parents, but also from businesses who know that that, impedes productivity, or the ability for, especially working parents to be able to come back fully in, to the workforce.

And so, we think that there's a lot more that can be done there.

Of course, we are always, pushing and on the watch, for our public education funding, particularly for our disadvantaged students, and making sure that our schools and our students have the resources that they need to be good learning environments to build the future of Ohio.

I think reporters tend to focus on the things that you disagree on.

The, individual lawmakers disagree on and the bills that sparked the most controversy.

But, representative Bill Seitz, who's on his way out the door, said on the show last week that there are more things that there is agreement on.

Do you agree with that?

There are there plenty of things that Republicans and Democrats actually do agree?

I do, I do I fully agree with, Representative sites on that.

And you know, from my perspective that, yes, there are certainly a lot more that we that we can find compromise and agreement on.

That actually does good things for everyday Ohioans.

Our perspective, my perspective is it doesn't matter if it's Democrat or Republican idea.

If it's a good idea, we should move forward with it.

And we you know, I think we're up to 600 something bills just in the house.

A lot of those are bipartisan.

What I get really frustrated with, and I think the public rightfully so, gets very frustrated with, is there is a tremendous amount of time in this body that is spent on those things that are incredibly divisive, and that at the end of the day, do absolutely nothing to improve the lives of everyday Ohioans.

We're doing these year end interviews, with you and Speaker Jason Stephen.

Separately, he became speaker in January 2023 with Democratic support and has fought with Republicans, the House Republican caucus ever since.

House Democrats, though, haven't been thrilled with a lot of the things that have come forward under his speakership.

What's your relationship been like with him over the last two years?

Well, listen, Speaker Steve and I have a very cordial, good working relationship.

All, you know, I remind people I will be going into my third speaker as minority leader, this next General Assembly.

But, you know, I mean, listen, what we ask, we understand we're in the minority.

It's going to be incredibly difficult to get some of our ideas across the finish line doesn't mean that we don't keep trying and working again to find common ground and compromise.

But, you know, we simply ask, that there's open lines of communication, mutual professional respect, because we do think, as we talked about earlier, lots of opportunities for agreement, good ideas that are coming from both sides of the aisle.

And, you know, for us that that is for me at least, that is what matters most, when we're trying to serve our communities.

And really what the people sent us here to do, and that is to do good things for our communities and for people.

Do you think the speaker hears democratic ideas?

Here's your members as you're proposing different bills and ideas.

Well, the current speaker has been incredibly respectful.

Again, lots of things we disagree about.

You know, things that I have been very unhappy, that have gone across the finish line.

But where we can find common ground, for example, on school funding, for example, or, you know, getting, infrastructure projects in our communities.

You know, he, he has always been very receptive to that.

And, and I think that that's a good thing.

Again, that's what most people want us to do.

They want us to be, functional adults and professionals here, because that's what we were elected to do.

As you look forward, what's your hope next year?

Under likely incoming Speaker Matt Hoffman, he and his replacement as Senate president, Rob McCauley, seem very closely aligned on a lot of things.

So it feels like it's going to be a different environment moving forward than Stevens and Hoffman, who seem to be kind of blocking one or the other every now and then.

Well, I mean, listen, from my perspective, I'm going to approach, President Hoffman, incoming, speaker elect Hoffman.

In the same way that, you know, I would any time I'm working with individuals and colleagues across the aisle.

I still think that there are opportunities, for certainly bipartisanship, for progress on the UN areas that we align on.

So, for example, you know, President Hoffman has been very good on the issue of criminal justice reform.

We have several members who have interest in that space.

I'm sure we will have lots of, disagreement, on, public education and school funding, on that issue.

But I think that there are still opportunities and, you know, I expect to continue to have a good working relationship regardless of who is speaker.

Do you or any of your members fear that because of this relationship, between the House and Senate next year, that whatever likely Speaker Hoffman wants, he's going to get?

There's nothing you can do about it?

Well, without a doubt.

You know, I think, President Hoffman will come into the house in a very powerful position.

And, listen, also, you know, we just got through an election and, Republicans were had a lot of wins in that election.

And I'm sure they feel coming into this next General Assembly in particular, that they have a mandate to do all kinds of things.

And I'm sure we are going to disagree with, but, you know, I think, many of us who have been successful in these roles, you know, we understand we can disagree on policy.

We can have good debate, in disagreement on those issues, but you can still find common ground on some other things and have good working relationships with people.

You mentioned the election voters rejected the issue that would have created this 15 member Citizens Commission to draw statehouse and congressional maps, because the current maps passed the Ohio Redistricting Commission unanimously, including with your vote.

It seems those maps will stay in place until 2031 after the next census.

I think that's still being discussed because it's never happened before.

Of course.

You said you were hopeful that issue one would pass, and here we are.

Well, what are your thoughts going forward on redistricting?

So a couple of things just to clarify, the the maps that were passed, last year, only applied to the state legislative districts.

So there is still this question of what to do with the congressional districts, which I anticipate or probably, we're going to be back at the table again, for the congressional maps.

So that remains to be seen.

It will be under the current rules that are in the Constitution.

I mean, listen, regarding issue one, I feel wholeheartedly that, most people, if they really understood and were not confused by the description, that they saw in the ballot box, supported that issue.

And in fact, we know that there were many people who intended to vote yes, but the language was confusing and that was intentional.

And so, you know, many of the Republicans who were in positions, to impact, that vote that did they use that power.

And it was effective and it confused voters.

So I think, you know, it I think it probably will at some point come back up again.

We'll see.

That remains to be seen.

In terms of timing, do you expect anything to come up in the legislature?

Governor Mike DeWine has talked about this Iowa like plan.

Do you expect something to happen in the legislature?

Well, that will be interesting.

You know, I think there are a lot of people, including Republicans who, are dissatisfied with the current process.

Is it dissatisfaction enough.

Now, that issue one failed, to go back and change it?

I don't know.

And that is it for this week for my colleagues at the statehouse News Bureau of Ohio Public Media.

Thanks for watching.

Please check out our website at State news.org or find us online by searching State of Ohio Show.

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Thanks for watching.

Happy New Year and please join us again next time for the State of Ohio.

Just.

Support for the Statehouse News Bureau comes from Medical Mutual, dedicated to the health and well-being of Ohioans, offering health insurance plans, as well as dental, vision and wellness programs to help people achieve their goals and remain healthy.

More at Med mutual.com.

The law offices of Porter, right, Morris and Arthur LLP.

Porter Wright is dedicated to bringing inspired legal outcomes to the Ohio business community.

More at porterwright.com.

Porter Wright inspired Every day in Ohio Education Association, representing 120,000 educators who are united in their mission to create the excellent public schools.

Every child deserves more at OHEA.org.