Public Policy Priorities FALL 2024 – 135TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
1. WorkLearnOHIO (State Operating Budget Proposal – 136th General Assembly) Creation of a public–private partnership connecting Ohio college students with Ohio-based employers to facilitate Ohio-based internships, externships, and co-ops. Blueprint reference: Education & Workforce, Pg. 29, Recommendation 2.5 2. Ohio Manufacturing Technologies Assistance Program (House Bill 435) Adoption of a grant program targeting small and medium-sized manufacturers otherwise lacking the capital and capability to modernize their machinery and facilities. Blueprint reference: Innovation and Collaboration, Pg. 61, Recommendation 3.2 3. Certified Mental Health Assistant Program (Senate Bill 60/House Bill 97) New licensure concept to grow Ohio’s behavioral health workforce and improve access to behavioral health and recovery services. Certified Mental Health Assistants would have limited prescriptive authority, but not have the ability to diagnose. Blueprint reference: Sense of Place, Pg. 42, Recommendation 2.3 4. Enact Balanced and Comprehensive Data Privacy Legislation (House Bill 345) Equips Ohioans with consumer rights and recourse related to their personal data. Promotes a business environment that incentivizes implementation of cybersecurity protections of sensitive information with liability protections. Blueprint reference: Innovation & Collaboration, Pg. 60 and 62, Recommendation 4 5. Limiting Overnaming of Defendants in Asbestos Lawsuits (Senate Bill 63) Requires plaintiff attorneys to disclose the evidentiary basis for each claim against each defendant and provide supporting documentation about the connection between the plaintiff’s exposure and the named defendant. Stops businesses from incurring legal fees to remove themselves from asbestos lawsuits they never should have been brought into in the first place. Blueprint reference: Business Friendliness, Pg. 69, Recommendation 1.3 6. Third Party Litigation Financing (Senate Bill 19) Requires companies engaged in litigation financing to register with the Department of Commerce and obtain a corporate surety bond of at least $50,000. Restricts the fees allowed to be charged to 10% of the original amount provided to the consumer and cap annual interest,
protecting consumers from exorbitant fees and interest payments. Blueprint reference: Business Friendliness, Pg. 69, Recommendation 1.3 7. Authorize the Operation of Remote Dispensing Pharmacies (House Bill 136/Senate Bill 95)
Gives Ohioans the ability to fill their prescriptions at a pharmacy where the supervising pharmacist is operating remotely. Provides expanded access to pharmacies and pharmacists, which addresses health disparities and improves health outcomes.
Blueprint reference: Sense of Place, Pg. 41, Recommendation 2.1 8. Curtailing the Use of Public Nuisance Lawsuits (House Bill 555)
Prohibits public nuisance claims or causes of action at common law in which it is alleged that the design, manufacture, supply, marketing, distribution, promotion, advertising, labeling, or sale of a product unreasonably interferes with a right common to the general public. Blueprint reference: Business Friendliness, Pg. 69, Recommendation 1.3 9. Enabling Access and Affordability to Childcare (House Bills 484, 570, 576, 577, 578, 580, 610 and Senate Bill 273) Assorted bills that incentivize public-private partnerships, create tax credits for childcare expenses and philanthropic contributions to childcare programs, make childcare workers and kinship/foster caregivers eligible for publicly funded childcare benefits, and create a tri-share model dividing childcare expenses among willing employers, employees, and the state. Blueprint reference: Education & Workforce, Pg. 27, Recommendation 1.1 10. Employee Mobility Grant Program (House Bill 340) Incentivizes companies to provide transportation as an employee benefit by enabling an employer to offset the cost of chartering commuter vehicles for their employees. Promotes a voluntary mobility benefit that increase the value of jobs without increasing wages, improves workforce access, helps reduce roadway costs, and provides increased buying power for their employees. Blueprint reference: Infrastructure, Pg. 84, Recommendation 2.4
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