The Ohio House this week passed legislation that will impact the lives of LGBTQ+ children and families in the state, if the measures become law.

House Bill 8 and House Bill 68 passed largely along party lines. Republican Jamie Callender from Concord voted against both. While Republican Brett Hillyer of Uhrichsville voted against House Bill 68.

House Bill 8 is known as a Parents Bill of Rights or Parents Right to Know Act. It requires that schools inform parents when sexual concepts or gender ideology will be addressed in any fashion as part of classroom instruction whether that be in verbal, written or image format. It also requires teachers to inform parents if a child questions their gender or sexual identities.

House Bill 68 bans almost all types of gender affirming care for transgender minors including hormone therapy, puberty blockers and gender reassignment surgery. The bill also includes a transgender sports ban that started as another bill dubbed the Save Women's Sports Act. It prohibits transgender athletes from playing on teams other than those that align with their sex assigned at birth.

The measures now go on to the Ohio Senate.

Tuesday will mark the one-year anniversary of the Akron police shooting death of Jayland Walker. Activists are planning a rally in Washington D.C. before the Justice Department to mark the somber date.

Police shot and killed Walker last June after a chase. A special grand jury convened to hear the investigation compiled by the state's Bureau of Criminal Investigation determined that none of the officers involved would face charges.

Both the initial shooting and the special grand jury's decision led to protests in Akron and garnered national media attention.

Ohio voters will vote this August in a special election. The only issue on the ballot will be State Issue 1. It would make it harder to pass a constitutional amendment by raising the voting threshold to 60-percent from a simple majority. The issue also hardens signature gathering rules for citizen-led amendments, including requiring signatures to be collected from all 88 of Ohio's counties.

Lawmakers in Columbus have a week to get a new two-year operating budget passed. The new budget is supposed to be passed and signed by June 30. But House Speaker Jason Stephens is floating the idea that lawmakers may blow past that deadline. There are about 800 differences between the House and Senate plans of the budget. Talks will now shift to a conference committee to hammer out a unified budget.

Guests:

-Anna Huntsman, Akron-Canton Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
-Ken Schneck, Editor, The Buckeye Flame
-Jo Ingles, Sr. Reporter/Producer, Statehouse News Bureau, Ohio Public Radio/TV