Update 7:30 am Tuesday
The Ohio House has canceled Tuesday's special session, which was just scheduled last week in hopes of electing a new speaker.
The session was reportedly canceled over concerns that it might be against House rules to have someone other than the speaker schedule a session.
GOP lawmakers who control the chamber are looking for a replacement for Cliff Rosenberger. He resigned amid an FBI probe into his travel and association with lobbyists for the payday lending industry.
Original story
The Ohio House is scheduled to meet Tuesday, but after last week’s failed attempt to name a House Speaker, there are questions about who will lead the upcoming sessions – or if they’ll still happen at all.
Last Wednesday’s House session was abruptly canceled after the Republican House Caucus failed to reach consensus on a choice to replace Cliff Rosenberger, who resigned in April amid an FBI inquiry into his travels and relationships with lobbyists.
Republicans in the House, who command a strong majority, have been privately quarreling over who will serve as speaker through the end of this year when this General Assembly ends. The caucus must pick a candidate who will garner at least 50 Republican votes on the House floor, since the 33-member Democratic caucus has said it won’t help with votes.
House Speaker Pro Tem Kirk Schuring said that Finance Committee Chair Ryan Smith led last week’s vote total, but not enough to reach consensus. Schuring and former Speaker Larry Householder have been competing for next year’s Speaker position, while state Reps. Dorothy Pelanda and Andy Thompson are competing with Schuring to fill the interim role.
A spokesperson for the House says the session is solely for a full House vote on a new speaker. But if that doesn’t happen, the House cannot vote on legislation until a new speaker is elected.
More than a dozen bills are ready for a vote, including a controversial one thatcracks downon payday lending.
