This bill, the Senate version of the FY 2024-2025 appropriations bill, includes The Ohio Education Enhancement Act, which prohibits public institutions of higher education (colleges and universities) from requiring programs or training on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), as well as providing or requiring training for any employee which conveys that one race is inherently superior to another, or that a person is responsible for past actions of others due to their sex or race. The bill also prohibits asking current faculty or students or prospective job or student applicants to provide a statement on "a given ideology or political stance" or providing an "advantage or disadvantage to faculty, staff, or students on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, or sex in admissions, hiring, promotion, tenuring, or workplace conditions." Additionally, the bill prohibits public institution of higher education employees from striking. Finally, the bill also prohibits local governments from imposing additional regulations or bans on tobacco and alternative nicotine products. Support is The Club For Growth Foundation''s position as this bill helps combat politicalization and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives across the state''s institutions of higher education.

This bill prohibits municipal charters and ordinances from authorizing "People''s Budgets", which allow municipal legislatures to appropriate money "to instead be distributed or otherwise disbursed by a vote of residents." Existing law requires municipal appropriations to be made by the municipal legislature. This bill follows an effort in Cleveland to implement a "People''s Budget" that would allow individuals as young as 13 to vote on how to spend 2% of the budget (about $14 million). Support is The Club For Growth Foundation''s position as these initiatives weaken government accountability and grow spending and corruption.

This bill allows an individual to request an expedited appeal of a building official''s order by a before the state or local board of appeals. If an expedited appeal is requested the board must commence the appeal within one day after the request is made (excluding weekends and holidays) and hold a hearing within five days after receiving the request. The cost for a person to request an expedited appeal is between $500 and $1,000. Support is The Club For Growth Foundation''s position as permitting delays can result in substantial additional costs imposed on builders and property owners. A system of swift oversight of government building officials is necessary as they do not bear any financial cost for their actions. This is especially critical in the permitting process where cases of government overreach run rampant.

This bill prohibits requiring a firearm owner to obtain liability insurance for "losses resulting from the use of a firearm owned by the person covered by the policy." The bill also prohibits any fee to possess a firearm, ammunition, or a knife. Support is The Club For Growth Foundation''s position as James Madison and our nation''s other founding fathers understood that the right to keep and bear arms is a crucial individual liberty and protects the citizenry against a tyrannical government. This measure provides an additional layer of protection for individuals to exercise their Second Amendment rights without being unduly restricted by government.

This bill, the Data Analysis Transparency Archive (DATA) Act, establishes the Office of Data Analytics and Archives within the Office of the Secretary of State to manage voter and election data. The bill specifies the data that must be maintained for each voter in the statewide voter registration database and requires the database to be publicly available online. Additionally, the bill requires the Board of Elections to maintain all used and unused ballots for state elections for at least 81 days (previously 60 days). Support is The Club For Growth Foundation''s position as maintaining strong safeguards against voter fraud is a critical aspect of ensuring free and fair elections.

This resolution amends the state Constitution to require signatures from at least 5% of the electorate in each county for a citizen-led initiative to amend the state Constitution. Current law only requires signatures to be collected from 5% of the electorate residing within 44 of any of the state''s 88 counties. Additionally, any proposed constitutional amendment must be approved by 60% of voters. Current law only requires a majority of voters approve a proposed amendment. Support is The Club For Growth Foundation''s position as this measure helps protect the constitutional amendment process from abuse by special interests and other groups that seek to grow the size and scope of government.

This resolution urges citizens to vote against a proposed amendment to the state Constitution, "The Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety" (Issue 1). The proposed amendment provides, in part, that "every individual has a right to make and carry out one''s own reproductive decisions." Support is The Club For Growth Foundation''s position as all abortions are tragedies and every child deserves the right to life.

This bill enacts the Saving Ohio Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act and the Save Women''s Sports Act. The SAFE Act prohibits children under 18 years of age from receiving sex-reassignment procedures or puberty blockers until they reach the age of consent and prohibits Medicaid (government-provided healthcare) from covering such services for minors. The Save Women''s Sports Act requires schools to designate athletic teams as either male, female, or co-ed. The bill defines "sex" as the biological distinction between male and female based on reproductive biology and genetic make-up and requires all participants of a female team to be of the same sex. Finally, the bill prohibits courts from denying or limiting "a parents'' parental rights and responsibilities or parenting time" because the parent chooses to "raise the child in a manner consistent with the child''s biological sex" or does not consent to the child receiving gender transition services or counseling to affirm the child''s gender dysphoria. Support is The Club For Growth Foundation''s position as it is a role of government to protect children from abuse and physical harm. Irreversible decisions such as sex-reassignments should not be made until an individual reaches the age of consent. Additionally, this measure protects the competitiveness of women''s sports by ensuring females are not forced to compete against biological men. This requirement represents one of many restrictions (including height, weight, and age requirements) to ensure fair competition between public and private schools competing across the state. Furthermore, strong parental rights are a critical element of a free society.

This bill contains several provisions generally deregulating the public K-12 education system. Most notably, the bill allows school districts to hire unlicensed teachers if they hold a master''s degree and pass an examination. The bill also allows school districts to establish their own teacher evaluation frameworks, rather than using the framework established by the state Board of Education. Finally, degree requirements for certain licenses are also reduced. Support is The Club For Growth Foundation''s position as this bill helps reduce teacher shortages by providing licensing flexibility for schools to fill vacant teacher positions.