COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Ohio lawmakers advanced two major bills Wednesday, less than a month after each one was officially introduced.    

Recreational Marijuana Overhaul 

Senate Bill 56 makes dozens of changes to the state’s recreational marijuana program that voters approved. The bill passed the Ohio Senate on party lines Wednesday afternoon.  

“If it passes [the statehouse], I’m going to be very, very upset,” Ohio resident Justin Kabus said.   

Kabus said he is a lifelong Ohioan who grows marijuana for medicinal purposes to help with his seizures. He said when the law passed allowing him to legally grow plants, it was a good day.   

“Actually, feeling like I had freedom in this last year,” he said. “I don’t think they should put a block on how many plants a person should be allowed having.”  

Senate Bill 56 will stifle how much he can grow. Right now, Ohioans can grow up to 12 plants in a home with two adults. This bill cuts that in half that. Kabus said that will only mean one thing for him. 

“Lost medicine,” he said. “I don’t abuse it in any way.”   

That is not where the bill stops; it makes dozens of other changes.  

Senate Government Oversight Committee Chairperson Kristina Roegner (R-Hudson) said this bill is right for Ohio and good public policy. 

“I don’t believe this is going against the will of voters at all,” she said. “The intention of this bill is to protect my children and families. They cannot market to children. For example, you can’t have these things shaped like cartoons or fruit.” 

The bill also decreases legal THC levels, caps the number of active dispensaries allowed in the state to 350, and cracks down on where someone can smoke. Roegner maintained that not only does she think the bill will protect children, but also won’t cause a chilling effect on the industry.

“This bill still allows for the growth, the processing, the dispensing of it, but it should be done responsibly,” she said. “I think that’s that that’s the key provision right there.” 

The bill also has a criminal record expungement provision but does not fund it. Instead, it charges $50, unless someone cannot afford it; the fee would be split between the state treasury and the county where the paperwork was filed.

“I cross my fingers and I hope this senate bill gets dropped,” Kabus said. 

The bill still needs to get through the Ohio House before making it to Gov. Mike DeWine’s desk.

Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima) said the House is also introducing its own version of this bill, which will also include language to address Delta-8 concerns. 

$11.5 Billion Transportation Budget 

Across the Ohio Statehouse, the Ohio House passed the state transportation budget, or House Bill 54. Every two years, lawmakers are tasked with passing one. 

The bill passed the Ohio House without a single vote against it.  

Provisions in the bill that had to do with registering to vote were mostly stripped; now the transportation budget only asserts that BMV cannot offer someone voter registration if they are ineligible. Otherwise, the bill invests in things like public transportation, road safety, and local airports.  

“I think it was both parts coming together and deciding to focus on Ohioans, their needs, and not our particular parties or controversial items,” Ohio House Finance Committee ranking member Bride Rose Sweeney (R-Westlake) said. 

The bill also requires that anyone receiving a limited-term license, usually non-citizens who are here on a temporary, legal basis, must take in-person driver’s education and 50 hours of in-car training.  

“We can’t have folks coming here who have no experience with automobiles and walking out in a day behind the wheel,” Ohio House Finance Committee Chairperson Brian Stewart (R-Ashville) said.  

The transportation budget still needs to go through the Ohio Senate, but that chamber has already started having “informal hearings” on the bill. It must pass the Ohio Statehouse by the end of June, but it seems likely that will happen sooner.