The Ohio House of Representatives passed two Republican-backed pieces of legislation on Tuesday one that modernizes and streamlines the adoption process across the state and another bill that excuses breastfeeding mothers from jury duty.
The Ohio House passed House Bill (HB) 5 by a 93-0 vote and HB 34 by a 94-0 vote advancing both pieces of legislation to the Ohio Senate for review.
HB 5 would provide financial support for expecting mothers, expedite kinship care, and clarify Ohio law to help streamline the adoption process.
The bill provides financial support for expectant mothers by increasing financial support from $3,000 to $10,000 for living expenses to support the mother’s and child’s health and well-being.
Current Ohio law requires a six-month waiting period for foster-to-adopt scenarios before an adoption can occur. Also, current law allows counting time spent in the foster home toward the six-month waiting period. HB 5 extends this practice to kinship caregivers, expediting the adoption process for the child’s family members.
The legislation clarifies the Ohio Revised Code to help streamline the adoption process, including increasing consistency from county to county and addressing the unnecessarily long length and cost to finalize certain adoptions.
HB 5 co-sponsor State Representative Sharon Ray (R-Wadsworth) said this is necessary legislation for Ohio.
“Modernizing the adoption process is a step in the right direction for our state. Ohio families and children need this legislation. Every child deserves a home and love, period. I will continue to work to make this a reality in our state,” Ray said.
HB 34 aims to establish a jury duty exemption for a mother with a child a year old or younger who is breastfeeding. All the bill requires of the mother is that she submits a signed affidavit to the court for a jury duty excuse.
According to HB 34 co-sponsor State Representative Angela King (R-Celina), this is vital legislation for both the mother and child.
“This early time in development is vital for forming bonds between mother and child and disruption during this time can affect the well-being of both,” King said.
Ohio Right to Life applauded the house floor passing the legislation and said it is proud to see “overwhelming support” on these issues.
“It is often said that the law is a teacher, and what these two pieces of legislation teach Ohioans is that family matters greatly, and a bond between a mother and her child must come above all else—including jury duty. Mothers should never be made to choose between nourishing their newborn child or fulfilling their civic duty. Furthermore, couples that open their hearts and homes to adopting children deserve the state’s full support and should not be prevented due to cost or out-of-date processes,” Elizabeth Marbach, communications director for Ohio Right to Life, said.
The Center for Christian Virtue echoed Ohio Right to Life, saying that this legislation protects Ohio families.
“Jury duty can be a time-consuming engagement and juror contact is often limited. For a breastfeeding mother, any interruption to her schedule can pose a challenge to the health and development of her child. HB34 would protect every nursing mother from being forced to prioritize service to the public over service to her family, a demand no judge should have the right to do,” Nilani Jawahar, Center for Christian Virtue’s legislative liaison, said.
Lawmakers will now consider the legislation in the Ohio Senate.
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Hannah Poling is a lead reporter at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Follow Hannah on Twitter @HannahPoling1. Email tips to [email protected]
