February Newsletter 

The latest from CCO - Legislative Update, Upcoming Events, USCCB Action Alerts, Special Feature: Legislative Process, and Prayer.

Learn more about CCO: View our brochure or visit our website.

Legislative Update 

HB 72 - No State-Funded Death
Representatives Adam Mathews (R-Lebanon) and Jean Schmidt (R-Loveland) officially introduced House Bill 72 to prohibit state funding that intentionally terminates human life at any stage and circumstance in Ohio on February 10, 2025. The bill has been assigned to the House Judiciary Committee and awaits hearings in March. HB 72 and a forthcoming Senate bill reinforce current law banning state funding for abortion, prohibit the use of the death penalty, and expand protections against assisted suicide. These provisions are linked through a non-severability clause to ensure the judicial branch does not view these life issues separately.

SB 56 - Revise Medical and Adult-Use Marijuana Laws 
CCO supports Senate Bill 56, sponsored by Senator Steve Huffman (R-Tipp City), to consolidate the administration of the marijuana control program and revise the medical and adult-use marijuana laws. The bill serves the common good by enhancing protections for children by prohibiting youth-targeted marketing or products, implementing stricter regulations on underage access, and ensuring greater safety from impaired drivers. SB 56 passed the Ohio Senate this week and now goes to the Ohio House of Representatives for consideration.

2026-2027 Executive Budget
Governor DeWine introduced the 2026-2027 executive budget proposal on February 3, 2025. In response to the proposal, Brian Hickey, executive director of CCO, stated, "We commend Governor DeWine’s continued commitment to Ohio’s families and children through the Executive Budget, especially the proposed state child tax credit – a long-sought policy goal of the Catholic Conference for Ohio’s families. This would be a meaningful investment in recognizing Ohio’s families as the primary social institution of society and the foundation of Ohio’s future. We also commend the DeWine administration for identifying ways to use taxation for the common good, including recognizing the ongoing harms and addictive nature of sports gambling. Additionally, we thank Gov. DeWine for his commitment to educational options for Ohio’s families, and we look forward to sharing more about the life-changing difference Ohio’s school choice programs have had for children and parents in the budget deliberation process.”

Next Steps: The House Finance Committee and subcommittees will hold hearings and introduce the House’s proposed budget in early April. Then, the Senate Finance Committee will hold hearings and introduce the Senate version in late May. A Conference Committee of the House and Senate will convene in June to reconcile the differences in the House and Senate versions. Both the House and Senate must concur with the final changes. Finally, the budget bill goes back to Governor DeWine for final line-item vetoes before he signs it by July 1.

Upcoming Events 

Adoration at the Statehouse
Tuesday, March 11

The Catholic Conference of Ohio is excited to offer another opportunity to spend time with Jesus and pray for our nation, state, and government leaders in the Ohio Statehouse. 

Visit ohiocathconf.org/adoration for details >

Catholics at the Capitol
Tuesday, March 25

CCO is gathering Catholics from across Ohio to meet with our elected officials and advocate for policies that respect life, focus on the poor and vulnerable, and recognize families as the central social institution of society. Share this flyer with others to spread the news.

Click here for details >

USCCB Action Alerts 

Urge Congress to Protect the Persecuted
Today, no refugees are being resettled through U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP). This ban impacts thousands of refugees who had already been fully processed, undergone extensive security checks, and approved for refugee status by the federal government while outside of the United States. This includes many persecuted Christians, as well as Afghans who had been approved for special immigrant visas because of the assistance they provided to U.S. service members in Afghanistan. 

Ask your members of Congress to lift up their voice in support of upholding our nation’s bipartisan legacy of refugee resettlement.
Take Action >

Tell Congress to Prioritize Families and Protect Safety Net Programs in Budget Reconciliation
Congress is working on a budget deal called a reconciliation package. The package will include tax policies and other economic policies that affect everyone, including families. Deep cuts are being proposed to Medicaid and other important social safety net programs as Members of Congress debate how to pay for the package.  

Please urge your Representative to keep in mind how budget and tax decisions will impact families, especially the most vulnerable families, and use budget reconciliation to support the needs of children and families experiencing poverty. 
Take Action >
 
View all USCCB Action Alerts Here >

Special Feature
The next special feature series for the CCO newsletter will cover steps throughout the legislative process, detailing how a bill becomes a law in Ohio.

The Legislative Process - Committee Assignment (Second Consideration)

Last month, we covered the process of introducing a bill, or first consideration. Now, we look at the second consideration process, or committee assignment.

After a bill is filed, the House or Senate Rules and Reference Committee reports it back with a recommendation for assignment to a standing committee (view the Ohio Senate Committees and Ohio House Committees). "Following committee assignment, a bill may, but does not always, receive consideration by the standing committee to which it has been assigned," according to the Guidebook for Ohio Legislators. 

Senate and House committees hold meetings to consider each bill, often referred to as hearings, in which people with a direct interest in proposed bills provide testimony. The number of hearings varies based on interest, complexity, and timing. Typically, the first hearing is for the bill sponsor(s), the second hearing is for proponents of the bill, and the third hearing is for opponents of the bill. At times, there is a fourth hearing for all testimony, to include interested parties.

The guidebook provides an overview of the actions a committee may take on a bill: "It may report a bill favorably with no changes; adopt amendments and report the bill as an amended bill; redraft the bill or adopt numerous or lengthy amendments and report it as a substitute bill; combine two or more bills into one amended or substitute bill; indefinitely postpone the bill, thereby defeating it; or take no action at all. An affirmative vote of a majority of the committee members is necessary either to report a bill favorably or to postpone it indefinitely."

After deliberations on a bill are complete, the committee votes on the actions selected to take. If the legislation is reported back to the full membership, it issues a committee report which includes the signatures of all committee members who voted for or against the measure and details any changes made. This report is then filed with the Clerk and the bill goes to the Rules and Reference Committee to be considered for possible floor action - which we'll cover next month.

Read a more in-depth view of the introduction process here. 

Let Us Pray

Prayer for Pope Francis  
Please continue to keep Pope Francis in your prayers as he battles health issues.
Source: USCCB

O God, shepherd and ruler of all the faithful,
look favorably on your servant Francis,
whom you have set at the head of your Church as her shepherd;

Grant, we pray, that by word and example
he may be of service to those over whom he presides
so that, together with the flock entrusted to his care,
he may come to everlasting life.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the
unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.