01/11/2023

Ohio House GOP Faction Plans Separate Caucus to Work Around Their Own House Speaker

The new speaker was elected with bipartisan support

About a week after a third of House Republicans united with Democrats to elect Republican Jason Stephens speaker, the other Republicans are planning to meet at the Ohio Statehouse on Wednesday to form a "third caucus," according to multiple lawmakers.

The agenda, a copy of which was provided to cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer, indicates that state Rep. Derek Merrin and his fellow Republican supporters are seeking to drive the House's agenda even though Stephens – who is less conservative than Merrin – now holds the speaker's gavel.

The agenda for the closed-door meeting includes discussing House rules, which must be put into place before the full House of Representatives can meet. Other agenda items include a general discussion of what congressional and legislative redistricting for 2024 should look like, as well as the timeline of moving ahead with a proposed constitution amendment to require support from at least 60% of voters rather than a simple majority to pass future proposed amendments.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Cleveland.com.