Ohio General Assembly unanimously passes emergency legislation (House Bill 197)

The Ohio Senate and House swiftly gathered and passed emergency coronavirus legislation (HB197) earlier this week. The bill addressed a wide-ranging set of issues that needed attention in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Every element of the bill is effective immediately upon the governor’s signing, unlike most pieces of legislation that go into effect 90 days post-signing. Outlined below are the major health and human services issues in the bill. [1]

 Every element of the bill is effective immediately upon the governor’s signing, unlike most pieces of legislation that go into effect 90 days post-signing.

• Education  
• Permits school districts and charter schools to make up missed days with distance-learning options.  
• Waives some food processing requirements so that school districts can maintain food delivery.*  
• Allows for special education instructors to provide instruction via telehealth and electronic communication to students enrolled in special education programs.*  
• Waives state testing requirements and state report cards for the 2019-2020 school year.  
• Permits on-track seniors to graduate from high school.  
• Allows the State Superintendent and Chancellor of Higher Education to waive requirements and timeline for College Credit Plus (the state’s program where high school students can partake in college classes financed by the state/districts).  
• Freezes the number of EdChoice designated schools for 2020-2021 at 517 (the number for the current school year).

 Provides flexibility for the Medicaid director to address workforce needs through December 1, 2020.

• Medicaid  
• Provides flexibility for the Medicaid director to address workforce needs through December 1, 2020.
• Early care and education  
• Temporarily suspends student to teacher ratios. (The only day care centers currently operating in the state are operating under pandemic child care licenses to provide care for children of essential workers). *  
• Continues payments to publicly-funded child care centers through the closure period to sustain these centers.  
• Moves the requirement for publicly-funded child care centers to become rated in the Step Up to Quality (SUTQ) system from July 1, 2020 to September 1, 2020.
• Health care  
• Makes a permanent law change to grant authority in certain circumstances for certified nurse anesthetists to provide additional services related to anesthesia care.  
• Allows for recent nursing school graduates to obtain temporary licenses, prior to licensure exam, to provide care. These licenses expire 90 days after the end of the public health emergency or 90 days after December 1, 2020, whichever comes first.
• Election  
• Absentee voting by mail is extended to April 28, 2020 for the March 17, 2020 primary. Anyone registered to vote as of February 18, 2020 and who has not already voted (in-person or absentee) can submit a request for an absentee ballot by mail. Individuals who have a disability or who do not have the ability to receive mail can vote in-person at the county board of elections on April 28, 2020. In-person voting is only available for these select populations.

 Absentee voting by mail is extended to April 28, 2020 for the March 17, 2020 primary.

• Utilities  
• Prohibits water service disconnection due to nonpayment during the public health emergency and requires re-connection of any disconnected service and a waiver of all fees associated with the re-connection.
• Unemployment compensation  
• Codifies Governor DeWine’s executive order that:*
      * Waives the one-week waiting period.
      * Waives the job-search requirements.
      * Changes eligibility for compensation.  
• Tax filing
      * Aligns the state tax filing deadline to the new federal tax filing deadline of July 15, 2020.  
• Budget Stabilization Fund (BSF)
      * Otherwise known as the Rainy Day Fund, the bill authorizes a transfer from the BSF to stabilize the budget for state fiscal year 2020. This requires approval by two members controlling board members from the Senate and two controlling board members from the House of Representatives.* The provisions marked with an asterisk (*) above are only in place for the duration of the declared public health emergency or through December 1, 2020, whichever comes sooner.  

[1] Ohio General Assembly. House Bill 197. 133rd General Assembly (2020)