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Leader Sykes: Unprecedented bipartisanship so far this General Assembly

Says Dems elevated role benefits working people and families
December 12, 2019
Democratic Newsroom

With the end of the 2019 legislative term, House Minority Leader Emilia Strong Sykes (D-Akron) today issued a statement on the historic levels of bipartisanship during the 133rd General Assembly, which, through the first year, has seen the percentage of bills clearing the House sponsored by Democrats double over the previous two General Assemblies.

“When House Democrats say ‘we work for you’, we aren’t talking about working for lobbyists or special interest groups, we mean we work for YOU, the Ohio taxpayer,” said Leader Sykes. “As we close out the first half of the 133rd General Assembly, we know Ohioans want us to work across the aisle on the issues that matter most to them. That’s why we are proud to have passed more Democrat-sponsored bills halfway through this GA than in either of the previous two complete GAs. As we head into 2020, we will continue to work across the aisle to deliver results that put people first.”  

Some key Democratic priorities passed in 2019 include:

  • House Bill (HB) 1 (Hicks-Hudson/Plummer): Criminal justice reform prioritizing rehabilitation in lieu of conviction.
  • HB 2 (Lepore-Hagan/Cross): TechCred job training for Ohio workers.
  • HB 4 (Robinson/Richardson): Cut red tape for credentials and certificates for Ohio workers.
  • HB 5 (Leland/Hillyer): To create Public Defender Loan Repayment Program.
  • HB 7: (Patterson/Ghanbari): Create H2Ohio Advisory Council to help protect Ohio waterways, ensure clean drinking water.
  • HB 8 (Galonski/Manchester): To support foster caregivers.
  • HB 9 (Sweeney/Jones): To streamline college credit transfers and ensure more students graduate on time.
  • HB 10 (Brown/Stoltzfus): Create Governor’s Office of Drug Policy to help combat opioid crisis.
  • HB 11 (Howse/Manning): To improve prenatal and maternal health outcomes.
  • HB 12 (West/Manning): To create Children’s Behavioral Health Prevention Network to support social, emotions, behavioral health of Ohio children.
  • HB 14 (Boyd/Baldridge): Create Kinship Care Navigators Program.

As of Thursday, more than 40 percent of bills that have passed the House in 2019 had at least one Democratic sponsor, compared to just over 20 percent throughout the entire 13st and 132nd General Assemblies.