(The Center Square) – Two Ohio lawmakers are leading a bipartisan effort to stop lame duck legislative sessions in the state.
A lame duck session comes after an election for new lawmakers but before those new members are sworn into office. This year, Ohio’s lame duck session ended this week with a flurry of activity that led to hundreds of bills being passed with last-minute additions or changes.
“As a new member of the General Assembly, this is my first lame duck session, and I am very concerned about the volume of legislation, speed and lack of transparency,” said Rep. Sean Parick Brennan, D-Parma, a co-sponsor of the proposal. “Not one colleague I have spoken to on either side of the aisle has anything good to say about this process. Being thrown multiple bills with multiple amendments on multiple complicated subjects hours before you have to make a decision is not a way to govern and not fair to the people we serve who have a right to be involved in the process and who can be negatively impacted by the things we do.”
Brennan was joined by Rep. Bill Dean, R-Xenia, in offering a plan that would end lame duck sessions following a general election, seat newly-elected lawmakers promptly and promote deliberative and transparent governance during nonelection years.
“The people of Ohio deserve a government that works for them year-round – not one that pushes through major decisions in a short, unaccountable window when trust is hardest to uphold,” Dean said. “By ending lame duck sessions, we ensure every vote reflects the clear voice of the electorate.”
The bill includes a bipartisan group of 15 co-sponsors in the House.
