Legislative Update
HB 96 - 2026-2027 State Budget
The Catholic Conference of Ohio testified in the Senate Education Committee and the Finance Committee as an interested party for House Bill 96, the Operating Budget. CCO shared the pro-family benefits of school choice and statistics on Catholic schools, particularly enrollment increases among African American and Hispanic students, and that students on Jon Peterson and Autism Scholarships have doubled since 2014. CCO asked legislators to expand Disadvantaged Pupil Impact Aid (DPIA) to chartered nonpublic school students to allow students from low-income families to “receive specialized reading and math interventions, mental health support, and other areas of integral development, no matter where their parents choose to send them.”
Additionally, the CCO submitted interested party testimony to the Senate Finance Committee on social policy proposals. The testimony commended the support for organizations accompanying pregnant women in need and made requests to restore the $1,000 nonrefundable per-child tax credit and not repeal the provision that allows for continuous Medicaid coverage for children in need from birth through age three.
SB 197 - Legalization of Internet Gambling
The Catholic Conference of Ohio testified in opposition to Senate Bill 197 (R-Manning) to legalize internet gambling on personal devices. CCO wrote, "SB 197 would facilitate an unprecedented scope and capacity for enslavement to gambling by legalizing round-the-clock access to highly addictive platforms from any bedroom, dorm room, or workplace in Ohio" and noted, "the harmful effects of gambling disproportionately impact the poor, young men, and the lonely."
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SB 30 - Cash Payments
The Catholic Conference of Ohio testified in support of Senate Bill 30 (R-Blessing and D-Ingram), requiring retail merchants to give customers the option to pay cash. The CCO testified, “The indigent, the pennywise laborer, or the retiree who knows all too well the caprice of wealth exchanged or generated virtually –– these and many other Ohioans conduct their transactions by cash. SB 30 protects their place in our society. This bill will also help Christians and others of good will to give to God what is God’s, ensuring that an act of charity for the hungry in the form of a few dollars is not rendered useless in a market designed for expediency, not humanity.”
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"One Big Beautiful Bill" in the U.S. Congress
U.S. Bishops Encourage Lawmakers to Protect Human Life and Dignity and Uphold the Common Good in Reconciliation Legislation
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) sent a letter to the U.S. Congress "commending parts of the budget proposal that will support human life and dignity, while also strongly encouraging them to reconsider provisions that will harm the poor and disadvantaged, our immigrant brothers and sisters, and our environment," according to Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the USCCB. Several bishops across the country penned the letter below.
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