Mar. 17, 2023 at 2:01 am

Abortion ballot gets OK, higher Ed bill drops

March 17, 2023no commentNo tags

Amber Decker, a volunteer with Indivisible Central Ohio, helps register an Ohio State University student for the midterm elections on Oct. 4, 2022. Decker and other volunteers came out to help register students during Students for Life of American President Kristan Hawkins' "Make Abortion Illegal Again" college tour.

Signature gathering for a state amendment protecting abortion got underway this week. Republicans proposed far-reaching changes for higher education, and Ohio’s pension plans lost millions when two major banks failed.

We break down what it all means In this week’s episode of Ohio Politics Explained. A podcast created by the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau to catch you up on the state’s political news in 15 minutes or less.

This week, host Anna Staver was joined by reporter Jessie Balmert.

1) Comprehensive college reform

A Republican state senator wants to make sweeping changes to student and staff life at Ohio’s public colleges and universities.

Senate Bill 83 would create new rules aimed at eliminating any classroom bias, end all diversity training mandates, ban academic and financial partnerships with Chinese universities, require American history classes for graduation, ban faculty from striking during labor negotiations and compel institutions to rewrite their mission statements.

“I like to think of this bill as a course correction, so we don’t end up in Ohio with our institutions more focused on social change than true intellectual diversity,” said bill sponsor Sen. Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland.

But opponents worry this legislation could have the opposite effect and chill speech on campuses.

2) Abortion questions move forward

Abortion access advocates got permission to start collecting signatures this week to put a constitutional amendment before voters that would protect the procedure up until viability (about 22 weeks gestation).

They have until July 5 to collect 413,446 valid signatures from at least 44 counties.

At the same time, Ohio’s Supreme Court announced it would hear arguments on whether abortion clinics can challenge the state’s heartbeat law, which bans abortion around the six-week mark. But the court declined to decide whether Ohio’s Constitution creates a right to abortion.

3) Ohio sues over East Palestine crash

Ohio filed a lawsuit against Norfolk Southern Railway this week, demanding the company pay all costs incurred by the state for its response to the train derailment in East Palestine that released hazardous chemicals into the air, water and soil.

“This was an epic disaster,” Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said. “The cleanup is going to be expensive, and it’s going to take some significant dollars to put the people of East Palestine back as close as possible to the position they were before Feb. 3.”

About two dozen civil lawsuits have also been filed by residents and businesses who say the derailment harmed them.

4) Pension funds lose millions in bank collapse

Ohio’s public pension systems lost tens of millions of dollars when two major banks, Silicon Valley Bank of California and Signature Bank of New York, collapsed.

Ohio’s State Teachers Retirement System lost about $27.2 million. Ohio Public Employees Retirement System lost about $5.4 million. And the Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund wasn’t invested in either bank but had indirect exposure to the crisis and lost about $320,000.

Listen to “Ohio Politics Explained” on Spotify, Apple, Google Podcasts and TuneIn Radio. The episode is also available by clicking the link in this article.

The USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau serves The Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

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Abortion ballot gets OK, higher Ed bill drops

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