Support for the state wide broadcast of the state of Ohio comes from medical mutual, providing more than one point four million Ohioans peace of mind with a selection of health insurance plans online at Medd Mut.

dot com slash Ohio by the law offices of Porter Wright, Morris and Arthur LLP.

Now, with eight locations across the country, Porter Wright is a legal partner with a new perspective to the business community.

Morad Porter Wright dot com and from the Ohio Education Association, representing 120 4000 members who work to inspire their students to think creatively and experience the joy of learning online at OHEA dot org.

State lawmakers bring up a bill to expand exemptions for Covid vaccine mandates, but it doesn't make it to the floor with abortion back on the agenda.

Activists descend on the statehouse with a message and help.

Wanted signs are everywhere in Ohio.

Is there a labor shortage?

We'll ask some experts.

So stay with us for those topics and more in this edition of the state of Ohio.

Welcome to the state of Ohio.

I'm Joe Ingles.

Ohio lawmakers thought they had a shot on reaching agreement on a bill to limit vaccine mandates, but now they're back to working out the sticking points behind closed doors.

House Republicans tried to fast track, quickly developed a bill that would make it easier to opt out of COVID 19 vaccine mandates with a vaccine or testing requirement for many companies likely coming from the federal government soon.

The bill also sought to bring in elements of other measures that have been introduced on Covid related policies, including bans on so-called vaccine passports.

But the whirlwind process ended with leadership putting the brakes on the measure right before potential House vote.

State House correspondent Andy Chow reports.

In less than 24 hours, a bill to codify exemptions to COVID 19 vaccine mandates was dropped in House Health Committee, received a quick hearing, was voted out of committee and expected on the House floor.

Republican Representative Rick Carfagna told the House Health Committee that the bill was a compilation of the different viewpoints legislators had heard over the last couple of months when it comes to COVID 19 vaccine policy.

This legislation is sensible and responsible.

It empowers Ohioans by ensuring the availability of clear, unambiguous COVID 19 vaccine mandate exemptions.

It balances personal medical freedom and protecting the health and the safety of Ohioans.

Anti vaccine mandate groups have wanted a broad prohibition on requirements to get the shot in public and private sectors, but medical experts in private business advocates have said an all out ban on vaccines, including the COVID 19 vaccine, would be devastating to public health.

And the Biden administration is advancing a Covid vaccine mandate for all companies with over 100 employees.

The bill from Carfagna and Republican Representative Bill Seitz would put into Ohio law three exemptions to COVID 19 vaccine mandates for students in K through 12 schools or in private or public higher education institutions.

The same exemptions would be extended to employees for private or public companies.

Those exemptions are medical contraindications for people with an existing condition to which the vaccine would be harmful.

Natural immunity for people who have already had COVID 19 and can prove they still have the antibodies and reasons of conscience for people who object to getting the shot for any reason with a special mention of religious conviction.

That final exemption raised objection from opponents of the bill.

The measure only requires a person to write out a statement saying they're against getting the COVID 19 vaccine.

Democratic Representative Beth listIn, a physician, says the legislature should be doing things to encourage people to get the vaccine and that this goes in the wrong direction.

And we're talking about removing tools that are important for keeping people safe.

And well, I am glad that the bill doesn't do everything in terms of undermining public health.

It doesn't undermine some of the masks and distance and other things that we know that works.

It's still telling people, well, if you don't want the vaccine, all you have to do is write it down on a piece of paper, even if that's going to endanger others.

And I think that's a problem.

CITES addressed in committee the question of someone being able to object to getting the vaccine for reasons of conscience without a required explanation of that reason.

Implicit in any transaction is the obligation of good faith.

So I would hope that folks claiming a religious or conscience objection would be doing so in good faith.

I mean, were it otherwise, every person ever drafted to go off to fight in Vietnam would have been a conscientious objector and said, I'm not going.

So, you know, good faith is implicit in every transaction, and I would hope people would act in good faith.

There are exemptions to the exemptions.

They would not apply to employees or students that work in children's hospitals, an ICU or critical care units.

Another provision of the bill states that the exemptions only apply to people employed in their current job at the effective date of the bill.

We're talking about the application of these exemptions to existing employees, people who are employed.

In their jobs, as of the effective date of this bill, if somebody if that company is going to be hiring somebody after the effective date of the bill and they do have a vaccine, Koven 19 vaccine mandate in place, it will be applicable to that new hire without the exemptions.

So that individual understands the terms of employment and can make that decision on their own, whether or not to accept those terms of employment, knowing that there is a mandate in place for COVID 19 vaccine, but for the individual who was already employed, who has been there for any length of time.

Now you're you're kind of changing the rules of the game midstream after an hour and a half of testimony.

The bill was voted out of committee bound for the House floor.

Democratic Representative Allyson Russo denounced the process, saying Republicans were rushing through important legislation.

You know, I will just frankly say that this process is a huge disappointment.

And I think having a bill that this committee only sees the text of five minutes before we start committee, that we have provided no opportunity for both sides of this issue, even people that I probably disagree with the opportunity to come forward and testify on the various components of this bill, either for or against or bring up issues.

It's just a very bad way to make public policy and I think is an insult to this institution as the vote moved closer.

Statements of opposition came out from influential business and health care groups.

Even the Ohio Christian Alliance, which has sent out an email earlier in the week with instructions on requesting religious exemption forms or submitting letters stating objections to receiving the vaccine, said the bill needs further review.

That opposition got louder with a statement against the bill from a group calling itself the Ohio Vaccine Coalition, which includes the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, the Ohio Hospital Association and the Ohio Manufacturers Association.

More than a hundred businesses and other organizations.

The group said the bill fell short of what the state needs in order to work towards recovering from the pandemic.

Although House Republican leadership wanted to put it on the floor, they pulled it at the last minute after members within the Republican caucus raised objections.

The caucus has been split on the issue, somewhat widespread bans on vaccine mandates, while others want more protections for private businesses to make their own decisions.

Republican Representative Ron Ferguson says they're optimistic a consensus can still be reached.

435 is really taking a lot of the concerns of the caucus and the people of Ohio into consideration.

And it's really close to being the bill that we need to protect employees.

But it's not quite there yet.

And I think that we're going to continue working hard to firm it up and make sure it's exactly the right step.

The legislation will be referred to a House committee.

Andy chÃo, Statehouse News Bureau.

The Biden administration's mandate for companies with more than 100 employees to require Covid vaccines or testing will take effect sometime in the next few weeks.

Though there has been legal action taken against it in some states, and Ohio is considering joining them in fighting that rule.

Meanwhile, a law will take effect October 13th that would ban public schools and higher education institutions from requiring vaccines that don't have full FDA approval.

Though many colleges and universities already have, the law would allow them to require the Pfizer shot against Covid, but not Moderna or JNJ, which are still under emergency use authorization.

Some of the most potent blowback over the recent bills to ban mandatory vaccines, including the Covid shot, has come from groups representing Ohio's businesses.

The president of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, former 15th District Congressman Steve Stivers, says telling businesses what they can and cannot demand of employees goes against the way businesses operate in the Buckeye State .

It undermines a principle in employment law that's been enshrined forever in Ohio, and that's told employment it will.

Which means the employer set the terms of conditions of employment.

Nobody has a constitutional right to a job.

You might have a constitutional right to other things.

But if you want a job, you have to meet the terms that the employer sets forward.

And that's very concerning.

Stiver says employers are trying to balance a lot of interests, the needs of workers and customers, and how to keep people safe while keeping the business's bottom line healthy.

But Stiver says it's important to note that most Ohio employers are not mandating Covid vaccines.

Right now, the majority of Ohio businesses are never going to mandate vaccines.

They're not in the health business or the vaccine business.

They're in whatever business they choose manufacturing, retail, agricultural service.

That's the business that most employers in Ohio are in.

And so they're not going to be focused on the vaccine mandates.

That's why they're worried about a federal mandate that might require them to do something.

But they're equally as concerned about a state mandate that might tell employers what.

They can't do like saying you could never mandate a vaccine.

So on both sides of that coin, there's concern among Ohio employers.

The executive director for the National Federation of Independent Business, Roger Geiger, says the smaller businesses he represents are struggling with uncertainty being created by government right now.

Right now, small business owners are just extremely frustrated because of the unpredictability of what's going on.

And what they find the most difficult is that government somehow puts them in the middle of being all of the enforcement agencies for government rules and regulations.

And what's really, really concerning for small business owners is this idea that things are just constantly changing.

They don't know what to mandate today versus what's a mandate tomorrow.

They don't know which jurisdiction.

They have to do certain things.

And you've got the state and federal government now in this bizarre fight that are really literally in contradiction to each other.

And at some point, businesses are going to be asked to violate somebody's law, to be in compliance with somebody else's law.

And Geiger says the biggest issue for employers in Ohio right now is finding and keeping workers so that 80 percent of our members are saying we can't find anybody work, even though we're raising pay, even though we're raising benefits.

In fact, over half of our members are raising pay for the second time in one year just to attract people to come back to work.

But it is affecting everything.

It's affecting the number of hours that businesses can be open.

It's putting a tremendous amount of pressure on the folks that are working because they're now working double shifts in time and a half and they're at the end of their their rope because they don't they don't have personal time.

There are plenty of employers who are already requiring Covid shots, including hospitals and health care providers.

Tech companies, airlines, meat packing operations and some major retailers.

But many labor groups, including those that represent first responders, are opposed to Covid vaccine mandates.

It seems like anywhere you go these days, a business is looking for employees.

Many restaurants have closed or limited hours due to being short staffed.

Hospitals are at or over capacity because they don't have enough doctors, nurses or medical staff and public school districts have had to temporarily close or make other changes because they don't have enough school bus drivers or substitute teachers.

Business leaders and politicians were quick to say that three hundred dollars in federal unemployment payments was keeping potential employees on the sidelines.

But those payments ended in Ohio in late June.

Yet the economy hasn't rebounded.

So I asked a couple of economists why they think getting rid of the federal money hasn't prompted more people to jump back into the job market.

Well, I think I think that is a good question.

You know, I think that the bump from cutting off the three hundred dollar supplemental unemployment insurance payment doesn't seem to have been large.

I think that's still probably a question that more research will be done on.

There was the more recent elimination of the benefits for for people who are gig economy workers in non traditionally covered by unemployment insurance that occurred in September.

So that's a much more recent change than than the elimination of the three hundred dollar supplemental benefits.

It's I think it's not clear exactly how all of this is playing out.

I think some people are retiring.

Some people, I think, are probably stymied by child care and care for other people.

And some people are probably stymied by the the concern for for their their own health and or have other health conditions to to to look out for.

Well, I think people who.

Who spent some time considering this issue wouldn't put it all on the boosted unemployment.

That was part of the explanation.

There are two other factors that we have t One is that some folks are still just hesitant to go back into work, especially in jobs that might put you in proximity with others.

And when you don't know.

What their vaccination status might be or anything else you could see some folks are still hesitant, even if they were vaccinated to go back in, especially for those who have children under the age of 12 or may have someone in the house who's their household who's immunocompromised.

So that even with vaccination, that's, you know, they're still they're still considered to be somewhat at risk from Covid.

And then there's still the kind of the daycare and schooling piece, you know, at least here in Ohio, in much of the country, we got kids back in school.

But you don't know what's going to happen.

And then if you have really young kids, you may still be struggling to to find daycare or you may be reluctant to send them in to a daycare setting.

Again, you may be hesitant because of the fact of with this this delta, with the surge.

So you really had three big factors coming in together.

People who were on the on the older side and have have have a potential to retire, maybe don't need to work.

I think some people maybe who who are who are not at the retirement age may have been living off of the enhanced benefits they were getting.

And maybe there was a running out.

You know, maybe some of that got saved and is running out more slowly over time.

I would expect most people to return to the labor market.

I think what you're also starting to see a bit of now is in you know, it's early days, but we're hearing a lot of anecdotal evidence of this.

Is that like the great quit, right.

You know, folks are are quitting their current jobs out there looking for other jobs.

So what will it take to fill the open jobs out there?

And how long will it take before the economy gets back to normal?

It is, as I say, a slow process.

The whole job finding process, you know, especially if you're trying to find a job that uses your skills, that matches your interest.

And it's and it is you know, it's a bit of it's a bit of a of a of a workers market at the moment.

So whereas a worker might have just jumped at a job opportunity when they had one in the past, this is an economy in which someone can afford to be a little bit more choosy than they would otherwise have been.

One thing I would keep an eye on is as we're seeing these these wage and wage offers going up for a lot of these entry level positions that that don't require a lot of education and training is what that does further up the income ladder.

Right.

And I think that's something we have to be really pay close attention to over the next months and couple of years.

And you think about someone who's been working somewhere for several years and they're earning, say, twenty two dollars an hour.

And now this new hires coming in without the same experience, credentials, training.

And what are they being offered?

Twenty twenty one an hour.

You know that the big, more experienced workers are going to probably sit there and say, wait a minute, you know, this isn't fair, this isn't right.

I had to work 10 years to get to this point.

And they may start to demand higher salary, you know, higher wage as a result.

So it'll be interesting to see how I expect that's going to happen.

Just to what extent and how long it takes to play out is something we really need to to keep an eye on.

The US Supreme Court will hear a case from Mississippi in December that could mean the end of legal abortion.

A hearing on a bill that would ban abortion immediately if the US Supreme Court overturns the landmark Roe vs. Wade decision when deciding that Mississippi case resulted in a protest at the state house this week after making speeches outside.

The protesters went inside to the rotunda, where their chants echoed throughout the hallways.

Then they interrupted the Senate in its chambers where they chanted some more and unfurled banners.

Senators left as the protesters entered after word.

Eighty five year old Sylvia Holmes from Medina said she made the trip down to Columbus to continue her longtime support of abortion rights.

I'm seeing another generation that has a lot more moxie and determination, and I think it's well earned.

The protests didn't stop the Senate Health Committee from hearing the bill.

The next day, if Roe is scrapped, the bill would levy fines on doctors who perform abortions and even create a new felony level abortion crime.

And while it does include an exception, if the pregnant woman's life is in danger, which opponents say is difficult to access , it doesn't include exceptions for those who become pregnant as a result of rape or incest.

Does the bill include exceptions for, say, a mother is raped?

And the mother says, I cannot have this child, I was raped.

Does this bill protect the mother in that situation on incest?

No, it does not, because she could always take contraception.

The child is a human.

Its DNA is human.

DNA from day one.

Unique to itself.

Different even from its mothers.

Backers of the bill said the person getting the abortion is not the target of the legislation.

This does not criminalize the woman at all at all.

It's.

It's only against the person that performs in abortion, not the woman the woman has.

And I mentioned that in my testimony.

The woman has immunity.

Where does this say then?

Well, I will say yes, as in fact, on whom an abortion was performed in violation.

Oh, yeah.

A woman on whom an abortion was induced or attempted shall be immune from prosecution.

So the woman is specifically immune.

It's the person that performs the abortion, that commits that murder.

That would be subject to these penalties.

Opponents disagree.

Laws that shouldn't prosecute pregnant people for actions during pregnancy are already being weaponized against pregnant people.

We saw that in Indiana in 2015 with Pobjie Battal being prosecuted for actions during her pregnancy, which were was overturned.

She spent a year in prison but was overturned in 2016, and she was released from prison because those charges shouldn't have been brought against her.

So we've already seen bills like this that supposedly protect pregnant people from prosecution being weaponized against pregnant people, especially pregnant people of color.

And that is what the impact of this bill is going to be.

This was the first hearing on the bill which backers hope will make it through the legislative process and be passed by the end of the year.

Another lawsuit was filed this week over the legislative maps recently approved on a party line vote by the Ohio Redistricting Commission.

This makes the third lawsuit filed with the Ohio Supreme Court challenging the maps, which allowed Republicans to maintain their super majorities in the Ohio House and Senate.

The latest suit comes from the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, the Council on American Islamic Relations, Ohio.

The Ohio Environmental Council, five Democratic voters.

And Sam Gresham with Common Cause, Ohio.

The suit makes claims similar to the other two lawsuits, but this one was filed on behalf of communities of color who plaintiffs say are often left out of the conversation.

Other lawsuits have been filed by the League of Women Voters of Ohio and the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio.

And a suit from the National Redistricting Action Fund led by Eric Holder, the US attorney general under President Obama.

The first of those lawsuits will be heard in December.

California is restricting state funded travel to Ohio because of a provision in the new state budget that allows medical professionals to deny treatment based on their personal beliefs.

Opponents, including advocates for LGBTQ Ohioans, say the new law will allow discrimination in health care.

Governor Mike DeWine says he doesn't think it will allow discrimination, but California disagrees.

Making Ohio the 18th state on its do not travel list.

And that's it for us this week for my colleagues at the bureau.

Thanks for watching.

And be sure to join us again next time for the state of Ohio.

As we leave you, we give you the highlights of the old time baseball game between Ohio legislators that took place on the state house lawn earlier this week.

Our own Andy Chow provided color commentary for the event.

Have a great weekend.

Support for the state wide broadcast of the state of Ohio comes from medical mutual, providing more than one point four million Ohioans peace of mind with a selection of health insurance plans online at Medd Mut.

dot com slash Ohio by the law offices of Porter Wright, Morris and Arthur LLP.

Now, with eight locations across the country, Porter Wright is a legal partner with a new perspective to the business community Moore Porter Wright dot com and from the Ohio Education Association, representing 120 4000 members who worked to inspire their students to think creatively and experience the joy of learning online at OHEA dot org.