Ohio House restores day‑ahead notice for floor calendar, adopts rules update

The Ohio House on Feb. 12 adopted House Resolution 25, a rules update, after a contested amendment to restore an older 24‑hour public notice requirement was laid on the table.

Representative Russo offered an amendment described as restoring a long‑standing practice of giving the public notice of floor debate “the day before” session rather than only hours in advance. “We think that we can do better, add more transparency to the process, most importantly for the public,” Russo said on the floor.

Representative Williams opposed re‑instating the earlier rule, saying members and their party leadership already receive notice through the rules and reference committee and through whips. “I ask that we simply respect the vote that we had earlier,” Williams said, urging colleagues to table the amendment.

Representative John moved to table the amendment. The motion to lay the amendment on the table carried 61 affirmative votes and 34 negative votes. The resolution itself was then adopted by the House by a vote of 64 affirmative and 30 negative.

Supporters said the resolution corrects and formalizes the final draft of the chamber rules circulated during the first session; opponents framed the amendment as an attempt to overturn an earlier vote. The adopted measure revises standing rules as described in the resolution text; the House did not adopt the Russo amendment that would have restored the prior 24‑hour notice period.

The action leaves the House with the newly adopted rule language in place; members who asked to remove or restore notice provisions will need to pursue further action through the rules process or future resolutions.