After Biden's vaccine requirement, Ohio lawmakers push for immediate vote on anti-vaccine mandate bill
Laura A. Bischoff
Ohio legislative leaders put the brakes on a controversial anti-vaccination mandate bill just weeks ago. Now conservatives in the House are making moves to force a floor vote on the measure.
State Rep. Jennifer Gross, R-West Chester, is gathering lawmakers' signatures on a discharge petition to force an immediate floor vote on House Bill 248.
She needs 50 signatures but so far the petition is only signed by Gross and state Rep. Nino Vitale, R-Urbana.
It's the latest turn in pitched battle between health care and business interests that oppose the bill and those who oppose medical mandates and place a premium on individual rights.
Gross asked her fellow lawmakers to sign the petition after President Joe Biden announced last week that his administration will direct employers with 100 or more employees to require their workforce to get vaccinated or face weekly testing for COVID-19.
"The people of Ohio are relying on our Legislature to put an end to the government overreach currently ensuing by the Biden Administration," Gross wrote in a letter to House members. "...The people of Ohio demand this measure – it is our duty to act."
Absent a statewide mask mandate and vaccine mandates, cities, school districts and employers are requiring people to wear masks indoors in public places and in some cases ordering employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
More:Cincinnati Public Schools first in Ohio to require COVID-19 vaccinations for workers
More:Bexley, Whitehall join Columbus in requiring masks inside buildings open to the public
House Bill 248 would block public agencies, schools, child care providers and others from requiring or asking someone get vaccinated against COVID-19 or any other infectious diseases. Schools and child care centers would be required to explicitly tell parents about available exemptions to childhood immunization laws, including a catch-all that would allow them to skip shots for any reason.
More:Proud Boys, extremists joining anti-vaccine protests being held across Ohio
Employers, including hospitals, would not be allowed to require workers to get vaccinated, participate in a vaccine passport system or disclose their immunization status.
The bill would also repeal state law requiring college students to get immunized against hepatitis B and meningitis to live in on-campus housing.
Even if HB 248 gets a House floor vote, it would still have to win approval in the Ohio Senate. Gov. Mike DeWine has said he opposes the measure.
DeWine criticized Biden's sweeping vaccine mandate, saying it was a mistake.
Laura Bischoff is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.