Ohio’s legislative process in Ohio is driven by committees. Committees are where bills are considered and give people an opportunity to testify.
The majority party chairs committees, and committee membership is lopsided in favor of the majority party. Thus, for most bills requiring only a simple majority vote, no Democrat votes are needed.
Committee hearings are held Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Committees are generally required to hold at least three hearings before voting on legislation. Those three hearings are typically organized this way:
- 1st hearing = sponsor testimony
- 2nd hearing = proponent testimony
- 3rd hearing = opponent and interested party testimony
- Sometimes there is a hearing for “all testimony.”
There is no limit on how many hearings a committee may conduct. Many bills receive more than three hearings. If a bill passes committee, it will then proceed to the full chamber floor, and if successful, repeat the process in the other chamber.