Legislative update

An overview of bills introduced in the 132nd General Assembly

In an effort to keep you more connected to your government and whats happening at your Statehouse, here is
a list of current bills in the House, including two of mine, that I thought you might find interesting.

As always, dont hesitate to contact me with ideas for legislation or ways of bettering our community. I value
and respect your input.

Rep. John Boccieri (D-Poland) HB 219 To clarify that a speed limit begins the moment a driver passes
the speed limit sign (right now Ohio law is vague on this issue, merely stating that drivers must abide by the
speed limit).

Reps. John Boccieri (D-Poland) & Michele Lepore-Hagan (D-Youngstown) HB 245 To list all
corporations who move call center jobs out of the US and disqualify them for state grants.

Reps. John Patterson (D-Jefferson) & Jack Cera (D-Bellaire) HB 243 To exempt firewood and other
heating fuels from state sales tax.

Reps. Emilia Sykes (D-Akron) & Jim Butler (R) HB 260 To automatically grant limited driving
privileges when a conviction is non-violent and unrelated to motor vehicle use.

Rep. Kathleen Clyde (D-Kent) HB 14 To create Automatic Voter Registration, which will require that
eligible Ohioans in state and school databases be automatically registered to vote and have their registrations
automatically updated unless they choose to opt out.

Boccieri bill to fund classroom facilities for students with

disabilities gets first hearing
Last month, House Bill 246, my legislation to open up to state money for school facilities.
state school facilities funding to classrooms for
students with developmental disabilities received its
first hearing in House Education
Committee. Joint-sponsored by my
colleague Rep. Jeffrey Rezabek (R-
Clayton), this bill allows crucial money for
school construction, renovation and
security from the Ohio Facilities
Construction Commission (OFCC) to be
dispersed to county boards of
developmental disabilities.
Unbelievably, the state is sitting on $600
million under the OFCC, and the Commission
is beginning to go back to schools they
renovated or constructed just 15 years ago to
offer a second round of funding. I find that
unacceptable and so do many of my
colleagues. We have great need in some
school districts and our DD schools have been
overlooked since the state first set up this
trust fund for schools.

Several county boards across the state

sponsor school programs, including
Mahoning County, but these classrooms are
unfortunately crumbling. This is because restrictive
language in Ohio law specifies that school districts
are the only entities that can receive OFCC funding,
and county boards are ineligible. HB 246 would open
up over 300 classrooms teaching over 2,000
students with developmental disabilities across Ohio
I believe it is important that we provide
students with developmental disabilities equitable
access to facility resources that will allow them to
learn and thrive alongside their counterparts in
traditional school settings. Given that there is
funding available and a dire need for it in places like
Mahoning County, there should be no barrier to the
passage of this noncontroversial, bipartisan bill.