Although the vast majority of us have taken a government class at some point—where we learned about democracy, how a bill becomes a law, and the history of our state and nation—far fewer people have had the opportunity to witness how the legislative process functions up close. On the state level, living in far northeast Ohio makes the logistics of being involved even harder for the people of our area.

Just this past week, the House opted to split one massive bill into several bills so that we can focus on the details of the legislation based on the specific issues being addressed. House Bill 487 is the mid-biennium budget review, which serves as a smaller—but no less important—budget process between the years we work on the state’s general operating budget.

A lot of work has already gone into the content of this legislation, including several weeks’ worth of study and committee hearings. The bill has been broken up into smaller bills that include subjects such as veterans’ services, taxes, financial institutions and local government. I’m confident that by taking a closer look at these specific aspects, the House can do a better job of reforming government, getting people back to work, and improving education.

As we consider a particular bill in Columbus, it typically gets assigned to a House standing committee, which is a smaller panel of representatives that can look in-depth at certain subject matter. I serve on the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, Education Committee, and Transportation, Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee.

Within our committees, we hold hearings so that experts, citizens, and other interested parties can present their viewpoints on particular pieces of legislation. Because of this process, we can iron out the kinks that some bills have and decide whether legislation is really needed to address a particular issue.

I’m pleased that by moving aspects of the mid-biennium review into separate bills, the House will be giving the different subject matter included the full attention and consideration that is needed. It is crucial that when a bill comes up for a vote on the House floor, it has been vetted and will not lead to any problems. We want to do things the right way, and with the mid-biennium review, we are doing just that.