Health Related Bills Sent to Governor's Desk

The Ohio Senate approved the following bills and sent them to the Governor for action, after concurrence by the House:

HB 104 Background Checks (Core) This bill requires applicants for most licensed professions in Ohio to obtain a criminal background check from the Bureau of Criminal Investigation to determine eligibility for licensure. After passing the House, the legislation became politicized during debate in the Senate, December 11. Democrats proposed an amendment that would have subjected legislators and candidates for elective office to the same requirements. The amendment was rejected on a party-line vote by the Republicans. Two Republicans, Steve Stivers and Kurt Schuring, joined the Democrats in supporting background checks for state lawmakers.

HB 149 Optometry (Daniels, Strahorn) This bill eliminates the statutory specifications of the types and dosages of drugs that may be administered or prescribed by optometrists. After months of debate, the ophthalmologists and optometrists negotiated a compromise version, which passed the Senate unanimously.

SB 144 Shaken Baby Syndrome Education Strickland signed the bill into law, which establishes the education program at the Ohio Department of Health (ODH). The bill requires ODH to convene a work group to develop education materials for parents, and requires hospitals that operate maternity units, obstetricians, pediatricians and others to download the materials from the ODH website to provide to new parents. The bill also establishes a tracking system to monitor the effectiveness of the program.