NFIB Ohio Assistant State Director Cameron Garczyk has testified before House and Senate committees this session on legislation important to Ohio’s small business community. Issues include health care legislation, regulatory relief, unemployment reform, and more. Current legislation NFIB is tracking includes:

• HB 105 & SB 10 – Reforms Third-Party Litigation Funding
  This legislation reforms third-party litigation funding by providing important consumer protections, ensuring transparency to the parties involved in litigation, and protecting the integrity of Ohio courts from foreign interference. NFIB has advocated for a stable and predictable legal climate for Ohio small businesses, and NFIB supports these bills as they help achieve this goal.
• HB 321 – Measures to Reform Unemployment Comp Solvency
  NFIB has joined other business and labor groups with the shared goal of bringing solvency to the state’s unemployment insurance system. HB 321 is the beginning of this legislative consideration of how to reform the system so employers in Ohio will not face hikes in their federal unemployment taxes during the next economic downturn and the system does not discourage people from seeking work.
• HB 229 – Licensure and Transparency for Pharmacy Benefits Managers (PBMs)
  This bill is a crucial transparency measure that seeks to update Ohio’s laws concerning licensing and reporting for PBMs. PBMs play a major role when it comes to the availability and pricing of prescription drugs. According to the Federal Trade Commission, the top three PBMs control 80% of the market, leading to less competition and higher prices for Ohio’s small employers. It is vital these entities perform services in a fair and transparent manner to not overly burden consumers with unnecessary costs.
• HB 176 – Creates a Regulatory Sandbox Program & Regulatory Relief Office
  This bill would establish a Universal Regulatory Sandbox Program within the Governor’s Common Sense Initiative office (CSI). It will create a regulatory relief division within CSI to oversee the development, implementation, and oversight of the program. The bill would direct the new regulatory relief division to create and maintain an online portal whereby citizens and businesses can offer suggestions on existing laws and regulations that they believe could be modified or eliminated.
• HB 288 – Prompt Pay Provisions for Project Owners to Prime Contractors
  The bill would amend Ohio’s Prompt Pay Act to establish a 30 day deadline for owners of private construction projects to make payment to project prime contractors following final approval and certification of the work for which that contractor was responsible. This legislation will work to ensure the pace of business goes unhindered for small contractors so they can continue to invest in their operations and employees and fuel future growth.
• SB 146 – Codifies the Procedures Around the Act of “Piercing the Corporate Veil”
  This bill will provide consistency to Ohio’s small businesses by ensuring they take the appropriate and necessary steps to create a clear distinction between the individual owner(s) and the corporate entity. It also encourages entrepreneurs to continue to take risks and make personal investments to grow a business by maintaining a longstanding balance of legal separation between a corporation and its officers.
• C.R 8 – Urges Congress to Make the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Permanent
  HCR 8 urges Congress to make the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent, NFIB’s top federal legislative priority. Without Congressional action by the end of this year, the Section 199A 20% Small Business Deduction will expire and approximately 90% of Ohio’s small businesses will see a massive tax hike. TAKE ACTION: urge lawmakers to make the Small Business Deduction permanent!

KEY VOTE ALERT: NFIB issued a key vote on HB 133, legislation that allows employers with 50 or fewer employees to qualify for up to a $400 per employee tax credit if they offer an Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement (ICHRA). HB 133 passed the House unanimously and now heads to the Senate. WATCH: Bill sponsor Rep. Meredith Craig referenced NFIB in her floor speech: “According to a recent NFIB study, the small group market, where small businesses buy health coverage, is in a death spiral. From 2014 to 2023, enrollment plummeted 44% from 15 million people to just 8.5 million. For businesses with 50 or fewer employees, single plan premiums have risen 120% over the last 20 years and the family plan premiums have jumped 129%. These numbers are not sustainable.”