Speaker Batchelder Releases Statement on Senate Introduction of Legislation to Repeal House Bill 194

Release:

COLUMBUS—Speaker of the Ohio House William G. Batchelder (R-Medina) today issued the following statement following the introduction of Senate Bill 295, which would repeal House Bill 194:

“Similar to the way my friends in the Senate were surprised to learn of the Secretary of State’s support for repeal of our election reform bill, I too was surprised to learn that the Senate is moving forward with legislation to repeal House Bill 194. While there have been ongoing discussions with the Senate leadership on this issue, there has been no consensus or agreement, from my perspective, on whether outright repeal of the legislation was the most prudent course of action.

“As I have previously made clear, there is no precedent for repeal of legislation that has not taken effect due to potential voter referendum. As such, it is possible that the passage of Senate Bill 295 may be unconstitutional.

“The goal of this caucus has always been protecting the integrity of our elections in Ohio and ensuring our boards of elections can operate in a streamlined, cost-effective way. Regardless of the final course of action on House Bill 194, the introduction of this new bill will not deter the members of the Ohio House of Representatives from further reviewing the next steps, and we look forward to doing just that with our friends and colleagues in the Ohio Senate.”