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Find a bill: Find a bill as introduced and amended, or check on the status of a bill by searching the Ohio General Assembly Web site for a state bill or the Library of Congress Web site for a federal bill.
Find a law: Find an Ohio law or administrative code by searching the LAWriter Ohio Laws and Rules Web site. For federal laws, search the GPO Access: United States Code Web site.
Policy makers are found at the federal, state, county, and local level, such as your U.S. Senators and Congressional representatives, your Ohio Senate or House representative, your county commissioner, and the mayor of the town you live in. The following are links to some resources to help find your policy makers.
You can also find contact information in the government section of the phone book.
A bill must be sponsored by at least one legislator from either the Senate or the House of Representatives in order to be introduced in either house. The legislator that introduces the bill becomes the bill's sponsor and manages the bill through the legislative process. Upon introduction, bills are numbered consecutively with the appropriate house designation from where it was introduced (HB for House of Representatives and SB for Senate). Introduction constitutes the first of the three considerations of each bill required by the Ohio Constitution.
After introduction, the bill is sent to the Reference Committee where it is reviewed for substance and possible duplication. It is then assigned to a standing committee for testimony, debate, and committee action. The Reference Committee's report back to the floor is the second consideration of the bill.
Standing committees are designated in each house to deal with bills relating to particular subject areas, such as education, finance, elections, energy, etc. When bills are complicated, controversial, or when a committee has been assigned several bills relating to one topic, a subcommittee is often appointed to hold additional hearings, make changes, and report back to the full committee.
The assigned committee or subcommittee examines and debates each bill. Persons with an interest in the bill testify before the committee during the hearings. At least two hearings are held: one for proponents and one for opponents. The committee may amend, rewrite, or combine bills. Then the bill is either reported back favorably to the house or indefinitely postponed (defeated). A majority vote of committee members is required to take either action. The committee may also take no action on the bill, causing it to be "dead" at the end of the term.
A bill that has been favorably reported back to the House of Representatives or Senate is then sent to the Rules Committee of that house. The role of the Rules Committee is to select bills for floor action, listing for third consideration the bills that need to be debated and voted on. When a bill has been listed for a floor vote, it is printed in official form (engrossed).
The bills to be voted on are given a third consideration. Amendments may be offered from the floor. Debates are offered according to the rules of the house and the requirements of parliamentary debate. All members on the floor are required to vote. A bill must attain a favorable vote by a majority of the membership in order to pass. In the House of Representative, 50 votes are needed, while 17 are required in the Senate. Emergency legislation requires a 2/3 vote of the membership of both the House of Representatives and Senate.
After the bill passes one house, it is sent to the other where it follows a similar procedure. If a bill is amended in the second house, it must return to the first house for approval of the amendments. If the first house refuses, a conference committee is appointed to produce a version that both houses will approve.
A bill that has passed both houses is enrolled in act form and signed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate. The act is then sent to the Governor, who has ten days after receiving it to sign or veto it. If the act is signed, the act becomes law in 90 days. However, emergency or appropriating measures become effective immediately. If the act is vetoed, it is returned to the house of origin with the Governor's written objections. Three-fifths of the majority is required in both houses to override a veto. If the Governor fails to either sign or veto the act at the end of ten days (excluding Sundays and legal holidays) it becomes law without the signature.