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Ohio Lawmakers Have a Busy Week Ahead in Columbus

photo of Ohio Statehouse cupola
STATEHOUSE NEWS BUREAU

State lawmakers will be busy again this week with two major pieces of legislation and lots of other bills.

Hearings continue in the Senate on the capital bill, which earmarks $2.6 billion for construction and improvements at universities and schools and for local roads, bridges, water supply systems and other projects. Lawmakers want that signed by the end of the month.

And the members of a committee created to hear a bill legalizing medical use of marijuana have two hearings scheduled on that measure.

Lawmakers will also look over bills to bring back a limited sales tax holiday this August, like the one piloted last year, as well as proposals to require police departments to develop body-camera policies, to create a bicycle helmet law for kids under 16 and to establish a way to set up a sanctuary for injured deer.

Karen is a lifelong Ohioan who has served as news director at WCBE-FM, assignment editor/overnight anchor at WBNS-TV, and afternoon drive anchor/assignment editor in WTAM-AM in Cleveland. In addition to her daily reporting for Ohio’s public radio stations, she’s reported for NPR, the BBC, ABC Radio News and other news outlets. She hosts and produces the Statehouse News Bureau’s weekly TV show “The State of Ohio”, which airs on PBS stations statewide. She’s also a frequent guest on WOSU TV’s “Columbus on the Record”, a regular panelist on “The Sound of Ideas” on ideastream in Cleveland, appeared on the inaugural edition of “Face the State” on WBNS-TV and occasionally reports for “PBS Newshour”. She’s often called to moderate debates, including the Columbus Metropolitan Club’s Issue 3/legal marijuana debate and its pre-primary mayoral debate, and the City Club of Cleveland’s US Senate debate in 2012.