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2020 Ohio legislative session

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Some states made changes to 2020 state legislative sessions and legislative activity in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
For a full list of changes, visit: Changes to state legislative session dates in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020.
Ohio: The Ohio State Legislature suspended its session on an uncertain date. The House reconvened on May 6, 2020. The Senate is scheduled to reconvene on May 13, 2020.
Ohio General Assembly

Seal of Ohio.svg.png
General information
Type:   State legislature
Term limits:   2 terms (8 years) in Senate, 4 terms (8 years) in House
Session start:   January 6, 2020
Website:   Official General Assembly Page
Leadership
Senate President:  
Larry Obhof (R)
House Speaker:  Larry Householder (R)
Majority Leader:   Senate: Vacant
House: Bill Seitz (R)
Minority Leader:   Senate: Kenny Yuko (D)
House: Emilia Sykes (D)
Structure
Members:  33 (Senate), 99 (House)
Length of term:   4 years (Senate), 2 years (House)
Authority:   Art II, Ohio Constitution
Salary:   $60,584/year
Elections
Last election:  November 6, 2018
Next election:  November 3, 2020
Redistricting:  Ohio Redistricting Commission has control

In 2020, the Ohio State Legislature was scheduled to convene on January 6 and adjourn on December 31.

Several state legislatures suspended their sessions or otherwise limited legislative activity in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The Ohio State Legislature suspended legislative activity on an uncertain date. The House reconvened on May 6, 2020. The Senate reconvened on May 13, 2020.[1][2]

Republicans had a veto-proof supermajority this legislative session, just as they did in 2019. Following the 2018 election, Republicans had a 24-9 supermajority in the Senate and a 61-38 supermajority in the House. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Republican state government trifecta.

At the beginning of the 2020 legislative session:
  • Republicans held a veto-proof supermajority in the Ohio state House and state Senate.
  • Ohio was one of 21 Republican state government trifectas.
  • Ohio’s governor was Republican Mike DeWine.

    • Black.png Click the links to read more about the 2020 state Senate and state House elections.
    Black.png Click the links to read more about the 2018 state Senate and state House elections.

    Partisan control in 2020

    See also: State government trifectas

    Ohio was one of 21 Republican state government trifectas at the start of 2020 legislative sessions. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.

    Ohio was also one of 22 state legislatures where one party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.

    The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the Ohio State Legislature in the 2020 legislative session.

    Ohio State Senate

    Party As of January 2020
         Democratic Party 9
         Republican Party 24
    Total 33

    Between 1992 and 2020, partisan control of the Ohio State Senate would shift in favor of the Republican Party. Republicans held a 20-13 majority as a result of the 1992 elections. As a result of the 2018 elections, the Republican majority moved to 24-9. The table below shows the partisan history of the Ohio State Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2018. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    Ohio State Senate election results: 1992-2018

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18
    Democrats 13 13 12 12 12 11 11 12 12 10 10 10 9 9
    Republicans 20 20 21 21 21 22 22 21 21 23 23 23 24 24

    There were few movements in the partisan balance of the state Senate between 1992 and 2020. There was one election, held in 2010, in which Republicans gained two seats. The only gains made by Democrats occurred as a result of the 2006 elections, when they gained one seat. All other election cycles saw either Republicans picking up one seat or there being no change in the partisan balance of the chamber.

    Ohio House of Representatives

    Party As of January 2020
         Democratic Party 38
         Republican Party 61
    Total 99

    Between 1992 and 2020, partisan control of the Ohio House of Representatives shifted in favor of the Republican Party. As a result of the 1992 elections, Democrats held a 53-46 majority. After the 2018 elections, Republicans maintained a 61-38 majority. The table below shows the partisan history of the Ohio House of Representatives following every general election from 1992 to 2018. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    Ohio House of Representatives election results: 1992-2018

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18
    Democrats 53 43 39 40 39 37 40 46 53 40 39 34 33 38
    Republicans 46 56 60 59 60 62 59 53 46 59 60 65 66 61

    There were three significant changes to the partisan balance of the state House between 1992 and 2020. The first was in 1994, when Republicans picked up 10 seats and gained control of the chamber. Between 2002 and 2008, Democrats went from being a 37-62 minority to holding a 53-46 majority. That Democratic majority ended as a result of the 2010 elections, when Republicans gained 13 seats and retook control of the chamber.

    Republicans expanded their majorities between 2010 and 2016. As a result of the 2016 elections, Republicans held a 66-33 majority, up from the 59-40 majority the GOP gained in 2010. Most of the Republicans' gains between 2010 and 2016 occurred as a result of the 2014 elections, when they gained five seats.

    Leadership in 2020

    Ohio State Senate

    Ohio House of Representatives

    Regular session

    The following widget shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2020 legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation met these criteria in 2020. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

    Standing legislative committees

    See also: Standing committee and List of committees in Ohio state government


    A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.

    At the beginning of the 2020 legislative session, there were 36 standing committees in Ohio's state government, including five joint legislative committees, 14 state Senate committees, and 17 state House committees.

    Joint legislative committees


    Senate committees


    House committees


    Legislatively referred constitutional amendments

    In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.

    The methods by which the Ohio Constitution can be amended:

    See also: Section 1a, Article II and Article XVI of the Ohio Constitution and Laws governing ballot measures in Ohio

    The Ohio Constitution provides three mechanisms for amending the state's constitution—a citizen-initiated process, a legislative process, and a state constitutional convention. Ohio requires a simple majority vote (50% plus 1) for voters to approve constitutional amendments.

    Initiative

    See also: Initiated constitutional amendment

    According to Section 1a of Article II, citizens have the power to initiate constitutional amendments in Ohio. An initiated constitutional amendment is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that amends a state's constitution. Eighteen (18) states allow citizens to initiate constitutional amendments.

    In Ohio, the number of signatures required for an initiated constitutional amendment is equal to 10% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. A simple majority vote is required for voter approval.

    Ohio also requires initiative sponsors to submit 1,000 signatures with the initial petition application. Ohio has a signature distribution requirement, which requires that signatures be gathered from at least 44 of Ohio's 88 counties. Petitioners must gather signatures equal to a minimum of half the total required percentage of the gubernatorial vote in each of the 44 counties. Petitions are allowed to circulate for an indefinite period of time. Signatures are due 125 days prior to the general election that proponents want the initiative on.

    Legislature

    See also: Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

    According to Article XVI, the state Legislature can refer constitutional amendments to the ballot for voters to decide. A 60% vote is required during one legislative session for the Ohio State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 60 votes in the Ohio House of Representatives and 20 votes in the Ohio State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

    Convention

    See also: Convention-referred constitutional amendment

    According to Section 3 of Article XVI of the Ohio Constitution, a question about whether to hold a state constitutional convention is to automatically appear on the state's ballot every 20 years starting in 1932. Ohio is one of 14 states that provides for an automatic constitutional convention question.

    The table below shows the last and next automatic constitutional convention question election years:

    State Interval Last question on the ballot Next question on the ballot
    Ohio 20 years 2012 2032


    Historical context: Between 1995 and 2018, the following occurred:

    • A total of 45 measures appeared on statewide ballots.
    • An average of two measures appeared on the ballot during even-numbered election years.
    • An average of between one and two measures appeared on the ballot during odd-numbered election years.
    • The number of measures appearing on statewide ballots ranged from zero to five.
    • Voters approved 53.3 percent (24 of 45) and rejected 46.7 percent (21 of 45) of the statewide ballot measures.
    Ohio statewide ballot measures, 1995-2018
    Years Total number Approved Percent approved Defeated Percent defeated Even-year average Even-year median Even-year minimum Even-year maximum
    All measures 45 24 53.3% 21 46.7% 1.9 1.5 0 5
    Initiatives 20 7 35.0% 13 65.0% 0.9 1.0 0 4
    Veto referendums 3 1 33.3% 2 66.7% 0.1 0.0 0 1
    Legislative amendments 20 16 80.0% 4 20.0% 0.75 0.5 0 3

    Noteworthy events

    Arrest of House Speaker Larry Householder

    See also: Removal of Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder from office, 2020-2021

    On July 21, 2020, Larry Householder was arrested and charged with conspiracy to participate in a racketeering scheme.[3][4] A federal jury found Householder guilty on March 9, 2023, and he was sentenced to 20 years in prison on June 29, 2023.[5][6] Householder filed an appeal on July 13, 2023.[7]

    He filed an additional appeal on February 26, 2024, with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Householder's attorneys "cited insufficient evidence, inaccurate jury instructions, and a violation of Householder's rights related to the makeup of the jury as several reasons for the appeal."[8] They further argued that Householder did not accept a bribe, saying, "The government needed to show an explicit and unambiguous quid pro quo, but it presented little firsthand evidence of Householder’s direct communications with FirstEnergy executives."[8]

    Householder was accused of collecting more than $60 million in exchange for legislation that would bail out two nuclear plants.[9] The bailout was valued at $1.5 billion.[10] Four other people, including former Ohio Republican Party Chairman Matt Borges, were also arrested.[3]


    Historical partisan control

    The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of Ohio.

    Ohio Party Control: 1992-2025
    No Democratic trifectas  •  Twenty-seven years of Republican trifectas
    Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

    Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
    Governor R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
    Senate R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
    House D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R

    See also

    Elections Ohio State Government State Legislatures State Politics
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    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Multistate, "2020 Legislative Session Dates," accessed March 20, 2020
    2. ↑ The Ohio Legislature, "Session Schedule," accessed April 28, 2020
    3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Hill, "Ohio House Speaker arrested on bribery charges: report," July 21, 2020
    4. ↑ Dayton Daily News, "NEW DETAILS: Larry Householder, four others face racketeering conspiracy charges in federal court," July 21, 2020
    5. ↑ The Columbus Dispatch, "Ex-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, former Ohio GOP leader Matt Borges found guilty," March 9, 2023
    6. ↑ Courthouse News, "Former Ohio Speaker Larry Householder sentenced to 20 years in bribery case," June 29, 2023
    7. ↑ Ohio Capital Journal, "Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder files appeal while in second week of 20 year sentence," July 13, 2023
    8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 WKYC Studios, "Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder appeals conviction in $60 million HB 6 scandal," February 27, 2024
    9. ↑ Cincinnati Enquirer, "Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, other top Republicans call on Speaker Larry Householder to resign," July 21, 2020
    10. ↑ WHIO, "Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, 4 others arrested in $60 million federal racketeering conspiracy," July 21, 2020
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