Kettering Representative opens first term with seven legislative proposals

Kettering, Ohio – Andrea White (R) was elected to represent Ohio House District 41 in November 2020. White took the Oath of Office on January 4, 2021. White represents the communities of Kettering, Oakwood, and Centerville. White also represents portions of Dayton and Riverside. At the time she was sworn in, White said, “I will be actively working to listen and advocate for the issues most important to our region…”

In the 2020 General Election, White defeated Democrat Cate Berger to win the 41st district seat in the House. According to Ballotpedia White received 37,172 votes (56.8%) and Berger received 28,314 votes (43.2%).

Ballotpedia also says that during the 2020 campaign, White raised $363,129 from 255 donors. But records show that the campaign only spent less than a third of the money raised, $91,447. Campaign expenditures were spread out among 75 unique payees.

White’s campaign received contributions exceeding $10,000 from 3 donors. The Ohio Republican Party State Candidate was by far the largest donor contributing $159,932 to the White campaign. The Ohio Republican Party was the second-largest donor with contributions totaling $83,379. Thomas J. Beckner was White’s largest individual donor contributing $13,000 to the campaign.

The Ohio Republican Party State Candidate Fund was also Whites largest expenditure. The campaign paid the fund a total of $80,585 during the campaign.

Since being elected to office, White has sponsored 7 bills in the House. Those bills and their current status as of October 1, 2021, are:

House Bills:

H.B. 145:

This legislation would require that the Department of Job and Family Services to set the maximum amount of income a family can have for initial and continued eligibility for publicly funded child care at less than 200% of the Federal Poverty Line. The bill would also increase the maximum income for transitional child care to 200% of the Federal Poverty Line. The bill is intended to increase the number of people eligible for subsidized child care.

The Ohio Legislative Service Commission said that increasing eligibility to 150% of the Federal Poverty Level was estimated to increase the State’s costs by $36.4 Million in 2022 and $43.4 Million in 2023. The Legislative Service Commission said that the cost of increasing eligibility from 150% to 200% of the Federal Poverty Level “is indeterminate but would cost millions of dollars per year.”

H.B. 145 was assigned to the Families, Aging, and Human Services Committee. The Committee received sponsor testimony on March 11, 2021, and Proponent testimony on April 15, 2021. All of the testimony can be read at https://ohiohouse.gov/committees/families-aging-and-human-services/bills/hb145. The Committee has not scheduled H.B. 145 for any further hearings yet.

H.B. 244:

H.B.244 was introduced to ensure that children of military families are given access to remote education options when their parents are transitioning for one duty station to another. The Legislative Service Commission initially estimated that the new requirement would cost school districts between $2,400 and $4,200 per semester when a student elected this option.

The bill initially received broad bipartisan support. On May 12, 2021, H.B. 244 passed the House Primary and Secondary Education Committee 14-0. On May 19, 2021, the full house passed the legislation on a 97-0 vote. The Senate Primary and Secondary Education Committee then passed H.B. 244 7-0 and sent the bill to the Senate Floor.

By the time H.B. 244 reached the Floor several amendments were made. In addition to providing technology-based educational opportunities to transitioning military families, H.B. 244 required school districts to permit children of active duty uniformed services members who relocate to Ohio, who are not district residents, to apply for enrollment in the same manner and at the same time as resident students. H.B. 244 also prohibited a K-12 school or state college from requiring a vaccine that is not yet fully approved by the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The legislation also proposed prohibiting discrimination against students who have not yet received a vaccine.

H.B. 244 also proposed permitting the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) to quarantine and isolate individuals arriving from another country that pose a high risk of communicable disease. But the bill said that when the ODH exercised this option, the Department would be responsible for the cost of the individual’s transportation, lodging, food, and any necessary medical care.

The changes to H.B. 244 eliminated the bill’s previous bi-partisan support. On the Senate Floor H.B. 244 was passed on a 25-8 vote. The June 28, 2021, vote was split along party lines with 28 Republicans voting yes, and 8 Democrats voting no. Since the bill had been amended from its format in the House, it required House confirmation to be approved. The House confirmation vote also occurred on June 28, 2021. In that vote, the House approved the legislation 62-34. This vote was also split along party lines with 62 Republicans voting yes and 34 Democrats voting no. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed the bill into law on July 14, 2021.

H.B. 252:

White introduced H.B. 252 to improve access to audiology and speech-language pathology services for Ohio residents. In a press release, White said, “Ohio is facing a critical shortage of speech and hearing professionals, especially in schools and nursing homes…”.

The legislation called upon Ohio to join the Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Interstate Compact. The compact is intended to allow audiologists and speech-language pathologists to practice in all member States, subject to the States’ laws.

According to the Ohio Legislative Services Commission, as of April 2021 10 States had joined the Compacts. Those states were Alabama, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Nebraska, North Carolina, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming. In addition, as of April 2021 12 States had active legislation proposing to join the Compact. Those states were Ohio, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, and Washington.

The 10 state Compact member threshold permitted the establishment of the Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Compact Commission. The Commission will administer the Compact.

H.B. 252 received broad bipartisan support in Ohio. The House Health Committee passed H.B. 252 14-0 on May 4, 2021. The full House voted 96-0 on May 6, 2021, to approve the legislation. In the Senate, the Senate Health Committee approved the bill 7-0 on June 2, 2021. The full Senate approved H.B. 252 on June 23, 2021, on a 33-0 vote. Governor DeWine signed H.B. 252 into law on July 1, 2021.

H.B. 333:

H.B. 333 would require the Department of Education to recommend school counselor job descriptions. The Department would have 120 days from the legislation’s enactment to make their recommendations. The Department of Education’s recommendations must be based on the State Board of Education’s standards for school counselors. Under those standards, 80% of a counselor’s work must involve direct services to students. The remaining 20% of a counselor’s work would involve program planning and social development.

H.B. 333 would also require public schools to consider using the recommendations. The legislation also proposed having the Superintendent of Public Instruction appoint at least one Department employee to act as a liaison for school counselors throughout the State.

H.B. 333 has been referred to the House Committee on Primary and Secondary Education.

H.B. 343:

H.B. 343 is a crime victims’ rights bill. The proposed legislation would create a victims’ rights request/waiver form and accompanying pamphlet, would add victims’ rights representatives to the State Victims Assistance Advisory Council, would increase victims’ right to participate and be notified of proceedings in the criminal justice process, and would make other changes to law that would enhance victims’ rights and protections. H.B. 343 has been assigned to House Criminal Justice Committee.

H.B. 427:

H.B. 427 would increase the ability of prosecutors to prosecute incidents of human trafficking. The bill would amend the Ohio Revised Code to change the definition of the word “compel” to include using a controlled substance and/or manipulation of a controlled substance addiction as forms of control used by human traffickers that can be prosecuted as a crime. In a press release, White said “Human trafficking is a problem we’re seeing right here in our own back yards. We need to fight for these victims fight for the safety of all Ohioans”. White indicated that the legislation is specifically intended to address the issue of traffickers using drugs and drug addiction to force victims into the sex industry. The legislative proposal has been assigned to the House Criminal Justice Committee.

H.B. 440:

White’s latest legislative proposal (H.B. 440) would expand the Agricultural Linked Deposit Program (Ag-LINK) and the types of programs in which the Treasurer may invest interim funds. The Ag-LINK program helps Ohio farmers offset the high cost of operating funds. The program accomplishes its goal by offering interest rate reductions on loans or lines of credit up to $150,000. H.B. 440 to expand the Ag-Link program was introduced on September 30, 2021, and had not been assigned to a House committee at the time this article was written.