Last week, the Ohio General Assembly wrapped-up an extremely busy lame duck session. This particular lame duck period was the busiest, and most contentious for our organization in recent memory.

Below are four key issues that the Ohio Chamber advocated on behalf of Ohio employers and businesses at the Statehouse that were finalized last week.

• ALLOWING EMPLOYERS TO PROHIBIT FIREARMS ON THEIR PROPERTY
• FIXING OHIO’S UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE SYSTEM
• GETTING NEEDED ENERGY MANDATE REFORMS
• ENDING INFLEXIBLE, BURDENSOME AND JOB-KILLING LOCAL EMPLOYMENT REGULATIONS

Three pieces of legislation will count towards legislator’s Free Enterprise Index (FEI) score (considered during lame duck). The votes counted towards the FEI score include HB 554 along with SB 199 & SB 331 respectively.

UPDATED FREE ENTERPRISE INDEX SCORES FOR 131^st GA

22 members of the Senate and 60 in the House were carrying 100% FEI scores for the current two-year legislative session prior to lame duck. Only 3 maintained this designation after all of the votes were cast. We thank Sen. John Eklund (R-Munson Twp.), Sen. Peggy Lehner (R-Kettering), and Rep. Anthony DeVitis (R-Green) for their commitment to pro-business, pro-growth measures in spite of the immense pressure they faced during this particular period of legislative action.  Part of the reason we track key votes and publish the FEI is so you can hold your lawmakers accountable. We encourage you to continue to do so in the next General Assembly.

As the voice of business at the Statehouse, The Ohio Chamber looks forward to working with the 132^nd General Assembly in January. We will continue to advocate and advance policies that champion free enterprise and economic growth for the benefit of all.