COLUMBUS—House Republican Leader William G. Batchelder (R-Medina) today issued the following statement:

“I am pleased to announce that our caucus has asked Representative Randy Gardner (R-Bowling Green) to begin crafting the House Rules for the 129th General Assembly. Previously, Representative Gardner served in this capacity in 1994, when he successfully brought an unprecedented level of transparency to the House of Representatives.

With Ohio facing such large challenges, it is more important now than ever before that the House operate in a way that will encourage the public to be fully engaged with the work that is done here. It is with this in mind that we are honored to have Representative Gardner provide his experience and knowledge as we move forward in designing our operational framework.”

Rep. Gardner issued the following statement:

“I am honored to have been asked by my colleagues to produce this necessary function for a successful 129th General Assembly of the Ohio House of Representatives. Our new Rules will ensure an effective, efficient House for both sides of the aisle and will promote a thorough, diligent work ethic by lawmakers to benefit Ohioans. There is no question that we must restore a minimum two-day waiting or reading period before final votes are taken on our state budget bills. The people of Ohio and all House members must be provided time to know what’s in the bills before we vote.”

In the 128th General Assembly, House members were forced to vote on the final version of the state budget bill with approximately 2 ½ hours to read the Conference report before voting on the measure. The bill included more than 500 changes in the 3,000 page document.