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Committee amends and forwards House Bill 173 to designate May as Older Ohioans Month
Summary
The General Government Committee heard testimony on House Bill 173 to designate May as Older Ohioans Month, adopted two amendments (one declaring an Ohio Black Media Week and a hospital price-transparency package), and voted 5-0 to report the amended bill to Rules and Reference.
Representative Troy asked the General Government Committee on Friday to designate May as Older Ohioans Month, saying the recognition would honor the “countless contributions that older adults make in our state” and noting demographics showing a rapidly aging population. After testimony, the committee adopted two amendments and voted unanimously to forward the amended bill to the Committee on Rules and Reference.
The bill, House Bill 173, was presented by Representative Troy, who told the committee the designation is intended to “encourage and recognize the countless contributions that older adults make in our state.” Troy cited historical context — the first proclamation recognizing older Americans by President John F. Kennedy — and referenced a University of Miami study he summarized as showing “more than 1 in 4 Ohioans will be over the age of 60 by 2030.” Troy also noted prior legislative work on elder-abuse reporting penalties.
Vice Chair Reineke moved the first amendment (AM1353395), which the chair explained designates the week of March 16 as Ohio Black Media Week. The committee adopted that amendment without objection.
Senator Lang offered a second amendment (AM1353378-1) described as a compromise on a Hospital Transparency Act provision. Lang said the amendment requires hospitals to maintain and publish a machine-readable file of standard charges and a consumer-friendly list of shoppable services, while allowing hospitals to keep using a price-estimator tool. He said the language removes a private right of action and certain fee and credit-reporting provisions, extends the timeframe for hospitals to submit corrective action plans, and creates mandatory maximum penalties for failures to submit or complete corrective plans. The amendment was adopted without objection.
With both amendments incorporated, the chair asked the Legislative Service Commission to harmonize House Bill 173 with the new language. Vice Chair Reineke then moved to favorably report the amended bill to the Committee on Rules and Reference. The clerk called the roll; recorded 'Yes' votes were Chair Logan, Roger Raimi, Senator Gowron, Senator Williams and Senator Warren. The tally was 5-0 and the bill was referred to Rules and Reference.
The committee adjourned after the vote. No public comment or further questions were recorded during the hearing.
