COLUMBUS, Ohio — In the beginning of the year, state Sen. Matt Huffman, R-Lima, took over as the upper chamber’s president, and has presided over a Senate that took on everything from a new state budget to changing the way the state handles health orders.
Former Ohio Senate President Larry Obhof stepped in for Huffman, who was newly-elected to succeed him, on the first day of the 134th General Assembly in January because Huffman was battling COVID-19.
“Obviously, I was disappointed,” said Huffman. “At this point, it’s the only session in four-and-a-half years that I’ve missed in the Senate was that particular day.”
Huffman was sworn that day at his home in Lima. Since then, the Ohio Senate has addressed several key areas.
Huffman said he is proudest of the budget Gov. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, signed last month, but also the entire state legislature’s success in overriding the governor’s veto of Senate Bill 22 that gives the general assembly oversight over issues ordered during a state of emergency.
“I think that issue kind of lingered and like a lot of issues, those are things that happen over the years,” Huffman said. “Nobody really thinks about it ‘til they have to. So now, we’ve got a good framework going forward.”
And despite COVID-19 cases rising once again, Huffman said reapplying a mask mandate or any other orders are not appropriate.
“We can’t have a free society and let the government dictate to you what you can and can’t do,” said Huffman.
Two other huge issues Huffman and the rest of the legislature are dealing with: the continuing fallout from House Bill 6 and redistricting.
The legislature repealed the billion-dollar nuclear bailout and other parts of the bill guaranteeing FirstEnergy money. FirstEnergy also recently admitted the role it played in bribing former PUCO Chairman Sam Randazzo in exchange for his help in getting the bill passed.
Randazzo, who had been appointed by DeWine, and two former company officials were also added to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s civil lawsuit on the matter last week. No one in the Ohio Senate has been charged in the scheme and Huffman said he still has faith in DeWine’s leadership.
“Obviously, this issue, which I don’t think the public knows fully about and certainly I don’t know public about, is something that he’s simply going to have to represent and I think we have to believe that those representations are accurate,” Huffman said.
Then there’s redistricting, or the step the state does to redraw its legislative and congressional districts. Huffman, who is on the seven-member commission responsible for overseeing the whole thing, said he is committed to a fair process.
“As to whether it’s going to be a four-year map or a 10-year map, I don’t have any idea,” said Huffman. “I think both sides are incentivized to do [a 10-year map]. I think there has to be communication but it has to be communication between the people who are actually going to vote on the map. It doesn’t help me to see some outside advocacy group excoriating me or Speaker Cupp or somebody else. That does nothing to try to resolve this.”
Moving forward, Huffman would like to see sports gaming and election reform bills get passed in the fall. He said he also does not foresee the legislature passing legislation regarding gun reform or a trigger bill banning abortion should Roe vs. Wade ever get overturned.
