What is “Lame Duck”? Traditional the term Lame Duck refers to a person holding political office or a political body and the period between an election and when the successor is sworn in or inaugurated. In this case it is the Ohio General Assembly who is the Lame Duck as the two-year cycle the Ohio Senate and Ohio House operate on will come to an end December 31st.
Each Lame Duck can be unique. In some cases, there are incumbent members of both the Ohio Senate and Ohio House who will return in the new year as well as members who will be leaving the Ohio General Assembly either through term-limits or the results at the ballot.
In the case of this year’s Lame Duck Session the period will mostly be defined by the current leadership decision awaiting the Ohio House when they return to Columbus post-election. The picking of who will lead the Ohio House next year also likely impacts how long legislators will be spending in Columbus ahead of the end of the year. Current Senate President Matt Huffman who will be returning to the Ohio House in the next session is challenging the current Speaker of the House Jason Stephens who has held the gavel during the current General Assembly. As of now the potential leadership vote will take place on November 20th ahead of the Thanksgiving break and the end of the session through the first weeks of December.
In addition to the House leadership vote other areas of policy that will see come continued and new discussion relate to the results at the ballot box as well. After the recent defeat of Ohio Issue 1, the ballot initiative which attempted to create a new process for legislative redistricting for both the Ohio General Assembly and Congressional seats. Legislative leaders and Governor DeWine had indicated their desire to look at areas of improvements to the current process, which voters approved in 2015 and 2018. Governor DeWine particularly has proposed looking at other models of redistricting including the process used in Iowa to help improve the process and legal fights which occurred due to partisan positioning by both parties during the most recent redistricting process.
Another policy recommendation with statewide impact is the teauthorization of the Ohio Public Works Commission’s funding program, which voters will be asked to approve a new round of state bond funding supporting local transportation, water & sewer projects, during the spring of 2025. The Lame Duck session will kick-off the process and may see final approval ahead of the beginning of the next General Assembly session.
Please contact Tim Biggam at [email protected] if you have any questions regarding any Ohio Statehouse issues.
