Ohio bills aimed at children pass House
Agencies will be required to report drug-addicted babies; off-duty officers to be permitted to carry weapons in school safety zones
1/22/2014COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio House has approved a bill requiring hospital maternity units and newborn care nurseries and maternity homes to report the number of babies born addicted to drugs.
The reporting to the state Health Department, mandated for every three months, is one of several bills aimed at reducing the state’s prescription painkiller addiction epidemic.
The bill sponsored by Rep. Lynn Wachtmann, a Republican from Napoleon in northwest Ohio, would not include information that could identify the child.
Wachtmann says tracking the number of drug-addicted babies will help the state monitor Ohio’s progress fighting drug addiction.
The measure, approved unanimously, now goes to the Senate.
Overdose drug deaths, many of them from painkillers and heroin, have been the leading cause of accidental death in Ohio, surpassing car crashes, since 2007.
■ Ohio bill would let off-duty officers carry weapons in school safety zones, set other rules
An Ohio bill would require the state’s attorney general to develop a training model for school employees who are allowed to carry concealed weapons.
School boards would have to consult with local police to develop school safety protocols, if districts decide to let certain employees carry concealed weapons. The measure would shield the names of gun-carrying employees and block protocols for carrying concealed weapons from being part of collective bargaining negotiations.
State law limits the people who can have a deadly weapon in a school safety zone to security guards, on-duty officers and others whom a district’s board has given permission. The bill would allow off-duty officers to also carry weapons.
The House passed the bill 62-28 on Wednesday, sending it to the Senate.