Ohio House wants EPA to end auto emission tests
(The Center Square) – The Ohio House has passed a resolution calling on the federal government to end regulations that require vehicle owners in certain Ohio counties to pass regulatory emissions requirements.
The E-Check program affects people in Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage and Summit counties and has been in place since 1996. Resolution sponsor Rep. Diane Grendell, R-Chesterland, said it costs more than $19 million annually.
“The ends simply must not be permitted to justify the means,” Grendell said. “The poorest among us, elderly, students, and lower-class individuals, are consistently forced to take time off from work to make expensive repairs to their vehicles to meet these arbitrary standards.”
The resolution calls on Congress to review and amend the Federal Clean Air Act and for the Environmental Protection Agency to find more effective alternatives to the program. It also asks for companies to be allowed to find innovative solutions to air quality issues to help grow the economy.
Required overtime: A bill that bans mandatory overtime for nurses as a condition of employment also passed the Ohio House. It heads to the Senate.
The bill still would allow nurses to voluntarily work overtime and allows hospitals to offer overtime, but it does not allow hospitals to require nurses or licensed practical nurses to work more than an agreed upon, predetermined schedule as a condition of employment.
“Ohio nurses and other health care providers have supported us throughout the coronavirus pandemic,” Rep. Al Cutrona, R-Canfield, said. “It is our time to support nurses by enacting legislation that takes into account the regular practice of mandating overtime.”
Testing requirements: Ohio high school juniors no longer will have to take the ACT or SAT in order to graduate if a bill that passed the House makes it through the Senate and is signed by Gov. Mike DeWine.
All high school students must take a nationally standardized college admission assessment as part of the state’s graduation requirements. House Bill 82 allows parents or guardians to opt out the student.
According to the Legislative Service Commission, paying for and administering ACT tests for all high school students costs the state nearly $5 million annually.
“House Bill 82 will ease tax burdens by giving local control to school districts to determine a more accurate budget when paying for the administering of the ACT test,” Rep. Jon Cross, R-Kenton, said. “The priorities of individual schools may vary, and many institutions of higher education no longer require this assessment. Ohio taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to pay for unnecessary testing for all students.”
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