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House approves BMV email-notice update; floor amendment to fund emergency food aid is tabled
Summary
House Bill 258, allowing Ohioans to opt into electronic driver-license expiration notices, passed 91–2. During debate, Representative Jerrells offered an amendment proposing a temporary emergency food-assistance trigger fund; that amendment was tabled 62–31.
The Ohio House passed House Bill 258 on third reading to modernize how the Bureau of Motor Vehicles notifies residents about impending driver-license expiration. The bill lets license holders opt in to receive email reminders and requires the license-expiration notice to be included with motor vehicle registration mailings; the measure passed by a roll-call vote of 91–2.
Representative Adam Matthews, the bill sponsor, described the change as a "common sense adjustment" that will help older adults and others avoid unintended expired credentials by offering an opt-in electronic reminder. "A little reminder in the era of notifications just makes sense," Representative Dieter, a joint sponsor, said on the floor.
During the same floor period, Representative Jerrells offered an amendment (m1198) that would have required the registrar to send electronic notifications and, separately, created an emergency trigger fund under the Department of Job and Family Services to provide immediate aid to food banks if federal SNAP benefits were paused. Jerrells proposed an appropriation of up to $100,000,000 from state emergency or rainy-day funds and directed the department to work with the Ohio Association of Food Banks and other groups to distribute assistance. He said the amendment was needed because "in 3 days, 1,400,000 Ohioans...will face the real possibility of losing access to food because of the federal government shutdown."
Opponents argued the amendment was not germane to the BMV notice bill and raised constitutional concerns about single-subject rules and state budgeting authority. Representative Williams said SNAP is a federal program and urged colleagues to pressure federal senators to pass a continuing resolution rather than tap state reserves. After extended debate, Representative John moved to lay the amendment on the table; the motion to table passed 62–31 and the amendment was removed from further consideration. The underlying BMV-notification bill then passed 91–2.
