Legislative Update
Janice Lanier JD RN
Liaison Public Policy Committee

The 136th General Assembly gets underway—Who are the leaders?
One of the first things newly sworn-in legislators in both the Ohio Senate and House of Representatives do is to formally elect their leadership teams. These individuals, particularly the senate president and speaker of the house, make many key decisions that affect the operation of the general assembly, particularly when it comes to processes and priorities.

In the previous general assembly, the early schism within the house republican majority over who would wield the speaker’s gavel continued throughout the two-year session and affected legislative “productivity”. That same discord is not evident in the 136th general assembly. It is generally conceded that the newly elected speaker of the house, Rep. Matt Huffman (R-Lima) holds unprecedented power on Capital Square. Formerly the senate president, Huffman is the first outgoing president to leave the senate floor and walk directly into the house as the new speaker. Because of his likely broad influence over the state’s legislative policy making, it is important to have some idea as to who Huffman is and what he is likely to prioritize in the next two years.