COLUMBUS, Ohio — Rep. Derek Merrin and his supporters say they are prepared to fight for their rights on the Ohio House floor if current House Speaker Jason Stephens does not respond to their proposed rule changes for the Ohio House of Representatives.
What You Need To Know
- Rep. Derek Merrin, R-Monclova Township, lost his bid to become Ohio’s Speaker of The House for the 135th General Assembly
- Merrin continues to refer to himself as the “Leader of the House”
- His supporters are seeking rule changes
Merrin told Spectrum News he approached Stephens last week with a list of proposed agreements to decentralize power within the chamber.
Merrin, who lost his bid to become the Ohio House of Representatives Speaker, said this would give them their voice back in the legislative process.
He and his supporters have asked for 66% of chairmanships and 66% of members on committees. The representative and his supporters say it will make it so Stephens can not force his political agenda through the House without the voice of the entire Republican Caucus.
“Our goal is to change the course so he gets to decentralize his power in ways we can do the job that our 20,000 constituents or so elected us to do,” said Rep. Phil Plummer, R-Dayton.
“The House Republican majority and our coalition is trying to have that conversation with Speaker Stephens,” said Merrin, R-Monclova Township. “To settle this in private so we don’t have to go out on the floor and, you know, see who is going to stand with the same democrats again.”
Spectrum News reached out Stephens’ office, but did not receive a comment.
