COLUMBUS, Ohio — The countdown until summer recess is on at the Ohio statehouse.

What You Need To Know

  • Ohio senators voted to approve six bills Wednesday, sending them to the Ohio house for consideration

  • An amended version of House Bill 49 would help take steps toward greater price transparency in health care bills, but some lawmakers expressed concerns about some of the language added to the measure

  • June 26 is the final full senate session before legislators break until after the November election

There is one more full state senate session scheduled this month before the legislature takes a break from the statehouse for a hiatus until after the November general election. But that does not mean work is slowing down.

Wednesday’s session in the Ohio senate chamber was jam-packed as lawmakers passed six bills over to the Ohio House.

Senate Bill 237 would help prevent SLAPP lawsuits, or strategic litigation against public participation, aimed at silencing free speech, according to the bill’s sponsor Senate Majority Whip Theresa Gavaronne, R-Bowling Green.

According to the Legal Information Institute, SLAPP lawsuits are filed by someone with the intent of intimidating or silencing their critics from making public statements, by burdening them with legal defense costs.

Senate Bill 206 was also approved and would establish a process to sell abandoned aircraft. Senate Bill 186 would require property taxes and assessments be paid at the time a lot is split or transferred to a new owner. Senate Bill 176 would allow child support for disabled children over age 18.

An amended version of House Bill 49 would help take steps toward greater price transparency in healthcare bills.

Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, said her “no” vote was to send a message some issues in the measure need to be addressed.

“Some of my members have used the word ‘gutted’ in terms of the effectiveness of the bill because of what was changed here in the senate,” she said. “So we’d like to see some of the good things that were put in the house bill originally come back.”

State Sen. Michael Rulli, R-Salem, spoke in favor of Senate Bill 112, a measure he says he sponsored to help improve student safety at school. It’s called the Ohio Childhood Safety Act and would require school buildings to install safety doors to help keep kids safer.

He said he proposed the bill after learning about a fire at a school and discovering school buildings weren’t held to the same safety standards as hospitals, courts and other facilities that provide an emergency exit through a locked door from the outside.

Rulli was also honored with a tribute from Gavaronne and round of applause at Wednesday’s session, after he won Tuesday’s special election in Ohio’s Sixth Congressional District. Rulli will now move from the state capitol to the nation’s capitol to serve out the remainder of former Republican Rep. Bill Johnson’s term after he resigned from the office in January.

Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima, said he’s preparing for the next and final session of June to be a long, busy day. He said he has no doubts at this time the allocations for the capital budget and any additional onetime funds will be settled and passed by June 26.

“Not only the capital budget, but you know, we’re going to try to get a number of other things done,” he said. “I spoke today with some house members about getting, finally getting the marijuana thing done, which is very complex.”