Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima) rolled out chair and vice chair assignments Tuesday as the 136th Ohio General Assembly gets underway in Columbus. And notably, three lawmakers with big roles last legislative session weren’t among the committee chairs announced.
Under Huffman’s speakership, the Ohio House will have nine leadership positions instead of six, and will have 27 standing committees, which fewer than last legislative session because Huffman is eliminating financial subcommittees. In both chambers, committees hold hearings and votes on proposals before those proposals go to the full House or Senate floor.
Most committees will be made of nine Republican lawmakers and four Democratic lawmakers, Huffman said, with the exception of House Finance and House Energy. Those two bigger committees are to be chaired by Reps. Brian Stewart (R-Ashville) and Adam Holmes (R-Nashport). Huffman also only assigned each lawmaker to four committees, with a big workload expected this session.
“That makes it difficult for them to hear testimony and understand. You can't be an expert in everything, you can only be an expert in four things, right?” Huffman joked.
Nearly every single member of the Ohio House GOP caucus, including its newest members, are serving in either a leadership position or as a committee chair or vice chair.
Absent from any of those chair and vice chair assignments, however, are former Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) and two lawmakers seen as top affiliates of his, Reps. Jeff LaRe (R-Violet Twp.) and D.J. Swearingen (R-Huron).
Lawmakers including Huffman and conservative advocacy circles were critical of how Stephens took the gavel in January 2023—with votes of some Republicans and more Democrats, rather than a majority of Republicans.
That vote gave way to two years of infighting, from litigation over incumbent election coffers to contentious primaries. Some lawmakers emerged from the closed-door meeting saying they wanted to move on.
Other standing committee chairs for the two-year session that started this January include:
- Agriculture chair: Rep. Rodney Creech (R-West Alexandria)
- Arts, Athletics, and Tourism chair: Rep. Melanie Miller (R-Ashland)
- Children and Human Services chair: Rep. Andrea White (R-Kettering)
- Commerce and Labor chair: Rep. Mark Johnson (R-Chillicothe)
- Community Revitalization chair: Rep. Gary Click (R-Vickery)
- Development chair: Rep. Jim Hoops (R-Napoleon)
- K-12 Education chair: Rep. Sarah Fowler Arthur (R-Ashtabula)
- Financial Institutions chair: Rep. Scott Oelslager (R-North Canton)
- General Government chair: Rep. Sharon Ray (R-Wadsworth)
- Government Oversight chair: Rep. Thomas Hall (R-Miami Twp.)
- Health chair: Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Loveland)
- Insurance chair: Rep. Brian Lampton (R-Beavercreek)
- Judiciary chair: Rep. Jim Thomas (R-Jackson Twp.)
- Local Government chair: Rep. Angie King (R-Celina)
- Medicaid chair: Rep. Jennifer Gross (R-West Chester)
- Natural Resources chair: Rep. Don Jones (R-Freeport)
- Public Insurance and Pensions chair: Rep. Bob Peterson (R-Sabina)
- Public Safety chair: Rep. Cindy Abrams (R-Harrison)
- Small Business chair: Rep. Haraz Ghanbari (R-Perrysburg)
- Technology and Innovation chair: Rep. Thad Claggett (R-Licking County)
- Transportation chair: Rep. Bernie Willis (R-Springfield)
- Veterans and Military Development chair: State Rep. Tracy Richardson (R-Marysville)
- Ways and Means chair: State Rep. Bill Roemer (R-Richfield)
- Workforce and Higher Education chair: State Rep. Tom Young (R-Washington Twp.)
