RESOURCES
CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES
Ohio Legislature
Ohio House of Representatives
(Find out which district serves you here.)
District 65: Jean Schmidt (R)
77 S. High St, 12th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 466-8134
https://www.ohiohouse.gov/jean-schmidt
District 66: Adam Bird (R)
77 S. High St, 11th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 644-6034
https://www.ohiohouse.gov/adam-c-bird
Ohio Senate
District 14: Terry Johnson (R)
1 Capitol Square, 2nd Floor
United States Congress
United States House of Representatives – Ohio District 2
Brad Wenstrup (R)
2419 Rayburn H.O.B.
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-3164
https://wenstrup.house.gov/
United States Senate – Ohio
Sherrod Brown (D)
713 Hart Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-2315
https://www.brown.senate.gov/
Rob Portman (R)
HOW THINGS WORK AT THE STATEHOUSE – RESOURCE GUIDE
CONTACT: If you ever have questions, you can always contact Rachel Coyle at HowThingsWorkOH@gmail.com.
JOIN: Remember to join the “How Things Work at the Statehouse” Facebook group and follow them on Twitter. There you can download useful documents, ask questions, and participate in regular calls to action.
DONATE: Want to support Rachel in her effort to maintain and expand the “How Things Work” program? Donate here.
MATERIALS: View slides from the “Break the Ohio Statehouse Supermajority” training here. View slides from the original nonpartisan training here.
Check out the “Files” section of the “How Things Work at the Statehouse” Facebook page to download useful materials (You can also email Rachel to ask for any of the documents).
Please also check out the “Lists” section of the @HowThingsWorkOH Twitter account for lists of Ohio political reporters, legislators, and advocacy groups.
Website Links
- OhioSenateDemocrats.com
- OHHouseDems.com
- Innovation Ohio — Sign up for Statehouse email updates
- Policy Matters Ohio
- Ohio Legislation Service Commissionor LSC(writes bills, bill analyses, and many helpful documents for understanding the state budget): https://www.lsc.ohio.gov/ <– You need the www. for some reason.
- ALEC Exposed
- Article and video explaining ALEC
- OhioHouse.gov
- OhioSenate.gov
- Legislature.Ohio.gov
Some materials are also attached, such as:
- Statehouse Flyer – Event Handout
- Ohio Senate Committee Leadership Contact Info
- Ohio House Committee Leadership Contact Info
- Ohio Statehouse Reporters 2019 (This is in need of a couple updates – but should still be a great start!)
- Testimony Template
- “Scheduling a Lobby Day” guide
REMEMBER: You can contact committee chairs for lots of reasons!
- Ask to be placed on their committee notice list.
- Ask them to give more hearings to good bills in their committee.
- Ask them to NOT let a bad bill move forward.
Improving Ohio’s Voting Process:
- Actions that Secretary of State Frank LaRose could take immediately, without Statehouse approval, to improve Ohio’s voting process.
- NOTE: HB 680 is scheduled to pass the Ohio Senate this Tuesday (July 21st). This is a highly problematic bill.
- Here are some ways to improve HB 680.
- Want to help improve HB 680? Here’s how to testify/submit opponent testimony.
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions:
- HOW TO search for a bill:
- Ohio.gov –> “Legislation” tab –> “Search Legislation”
- You can search by bill number, sponsor, chamber, even keyword (keyword option isn’t 100% effective).
- Ohio.gov –> “Legislation” tab –> “Search Legislation”
- HOW TO find shareable bill descriptions:
- Once you find a bill that interests you, click on it!
- You’ll be taken to the bill’s page.
- Then click the “documents” tab.
- You see the bill’s text is available for download.
- Any time the bill has been changed or amended, they will upload a new version, so you can reach each one.
- BUT below the text, you’ll see the bill’s ANALYSIS is also available!
- The analysis is a plain English, bullet point description of what the bill will do.
- It’s written by the non-partisan Legislative Service Commission (LSC). It’s wonderful!
- The analysis is a plain English, bullet point description of what the bill will do.
- You see the bill’s text is available for download.
- Once you find a bill that interests you, click on it!
- Visit the Ohio Secretary of State’s website to search campaign finance reports and see who has donated to Ohio politicians.
- Visit the “Joint Legislative Ethics Committee” (JLEC) website to track Ohio lobbyists and see who they lobby for.
- Read through these training notes to refresh your memory on how to become an effective Statehouse activist.
- Women in the Legislature
- Women make up 27/99 members of the Ohio House (about 27%).
- Women make up 8/33 members of the Ohio Senate (about 24%).
- List of Ohio Senate terms & definitions: https://www.ohiosenate.gov/Assets/Files/75.pdf
Know someone who missed the training?
View slides from the “Break the Ohio Statehouse Supermajority” training here.
View the slides from the original nonpartisan training here.