Neither the Ohio Senate nor the House of Representatives have a session scheduled for next week in light of the potential veto override of Ohio’s transgender health care bill. The House’s next regular session is on January 24, following an “if necessary” session scheduled for January 10. The Senate is not expected to reconvene until January 24 as well.
The General Assembly may override the Republican-led House Bill 68, which expires at the end of this year, at any time. A three-fifths vote from each chamber is required for an override to proceed in the House.
Republicans hold three-fifths of the seats in both the House and Senate.
House Speaker Jason Stephens expects veto discussions in his chamber, as previously reported by The Center Square.
Senate and House had vetoed the bill that would create single-sex athletic teams and prohibit gender-affirming care for adolescents, according to Sen. Kristina Roegner, R-Hudson, who presided over Senate hearings on the bill.
Roegner expressed disappointment at Governor DeWine’s decision to veto HB68, stating, “I sincerely hope that his decision can be overridden by the House and Senate.”
Senate Democrats welcomed the veto, arguing that the bill would target six young people playing on female teams and remove parental rights regarding their child’s health care, after the Ohio High School Athletic Association established a policy allowing transgender participation.
Sen. Bill DeMora, D-Columbus, stated, “I am glad to see that the governor has chosen to listen to the science and the people, not Republican and religious zealots.” He added that HB68 would have been catastrophic legislation leading directly to deaths, making the veto absolutely necessary.
Governor DeWine, in his veto message, stated that his decision was about preserving human life. He mentioned that many parents told him their child wouldn’t be alive today without the care they received from an Ohio children’s hospital. Adults have also told him that without this care, they might have committed suicide as teenagers.
