Ohio Senators are actively reviewing the State’s Operating Budget, as passed by the House. Now is the time to ask Senators to provide students living in high-poverty areas with the support they need to flourish, regardless of what school they attend.

Catholic schools have historically welcomed students of all backgrounds, with a special focus on those facing economic challenges. Ask your Senator to expand support for these students by extending Disadvantaged Pupil Impact Aid (DPIA) to chartered nonpublic school students living in high-poverty areas. DPIA provides economically disadvantaged students with reading and math intervention, mental health support, and safety upgrades.

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The Ohio Senate passed House Bill 106, sponsored by Representatives Dontavius Jarrells (D-Columbus) and Scott Lipps (R-Franklin), requiring employers to provide employees with earnings and deduction statements. The CCO was one of only two organizations that testified in support of the bill and helped get it passed. HB 106 previously passed the Ohio House with a unanimous vote of 96-0 in June 2023 and now goes to the desk of Governor DeWine.

CCO supported Senate Bill 198, sponsored by Senators George Lang (R-West Chester) and Nathan Manning (R-North Ridgeville), unanimously passed the Ohio House of Representatives on December 11, 2024. The bill would provide inmates with state identification cards and documentation upon their release relating to work experience, education, and trade skills. SB 198 previously passed the Ohio Senate with a unanimous vote of 31-0 in June 2024, and now goes to the desk of Governor DeWine. The CCO believes the bill will help recently incarcerated inmates to readjust to their communities and contribute to the common good.

The Catholic Conference of Ohio testified in support of Senate Bill 242 (SB 242) to expand the charitable use property tax exemption. The testimony highlights an inconsistency that SB 242 aims to correct, “The Revised Code contains an inexplicable gap with respect to property taxation when exempted entities, including Catholic parishes and charities, enter a lease agreement. Despite the exemption from property tax enjoyed when a charitable organization leases from another charitable organization, a political subdivision, or an educational institution, this exemption does not apply when a charity leases property from a religious institution. … This change more faithfully reflects the purpose of existing property tax policies and incentivizes wider cooperation between religious and charitable institutions, including those affiliated with the Catholic Church and other faith traditions.” 

Click “Read more” for the full testimony.

The Catholic Conference of Ohio opposed House Bill 451 in testimony today. HB 451 would levy a remittance transfer fee on money transmissions to a person outside the United States while allowing an income tax credit based on the remittance transfer fees paid. Within the testimony, CCO notes that “HB 451 puts onerous restrictions on legal residents of Ohio and threatens their support of loved ones stuck in cycles of poverty and violence. …these small remittances of $200 to $300 are the difference between survival and starvation.” Ohio residents should not need to pay an additional fee for fulfilling a Christian obligation to provide charitable resources to people in other countries. 
Click “Read more” for the full testimony. 

The Catholic Conference of Ohio testified earlier this week in support of House Bill 106, which would require employers to provide earnings and deductions statements to their employees. The Catholic faith considers work a fundamental right and calls for protection in the form of fundamental fairness in all agreements and transactions. In the encyclical Rerum Novarum, Pope Leo wrote, “to defraud any one of wages that are his due is a great crime which cries to the avenging anger of Heaven.” Click “Read more” to view the full testimony.

In addition, House Bill 34, which would excuse breast-feeding mothers from jury service, was unanimously passed by the Ohio Senate. The bill now goes to Governor DeWine for his approval as the Ohio House of Representatives unanimously passed HB 34 last June. 

CCO Executive Director, Brian Hickey, sent a letter to members of the HB33 FY24-25 operating budget conference committee advocating for the rights of parents to choose the educational option that best fits their children and for addressing the needs of pregnant women, seniors, and children. Click “Read more” to view the full letter. 

On Tuesday, May 23, CCO testified in support of House Bill 118, which would exempt baby products from Ohio sales tax. CCO views this bill as a clear opportunity to promote the common good by easing the financial burden of families with young children. Low-income families with newborn children would particularly benefit as they pay a larger share of their income in the form of sales tax. As Pope St. John Paul II wrote in his “Letter to Families,” the common good is most realized “in the newborn child.”

On Tuesday, May 16, the Catholic Conference of Ohio testified in support of HB 106, the Pay Stub Protection Act, which would require employers to provide earnings and deductions statements to each employee. In the testimony, CCO shared that the USCCB Pastoral Letter on the U.S. Economy, on the fundamental right to make a living, calls for protection in the form of fundamental fairness in all agreements and transactions. By providing transparency between businesses and workers, this bill would help assert that worker’s dignity is not less than their employers and help defend working Ohioans from wage theft.

The Catholic Conference of Ohio testified this week in support of two bills. HB6 would ensure fairness in sports by requiring schools to designate separate teams for participants according to their biological sex. CCO affirmed the bill’s alignment with the Church’s teaching about the equality of men and women and the need to create equitable opportunities for biological females to compete in sports. The Conference also expressed that harassment or unjust discrimination of those experiencing gender identity discordance is unequivocally wrong. In addition, CCO delivered a second round of proponent testimony on HB33 to expand the threshold for a family to receive an Ed Choice Income-Based Scholarship to 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Level. Catholic schools represent the largest system of nonpublic schools in Ohio. CCO again stressed the need to address issues in school transportation as well as necessary increases to auxiliary service funds, nonpublic administrative cost reimbursement, funding levels in the categories of disabilities, and tax credit for giving to scholarship granting organizations.