With the passage of a fiscally balanced biennial budget and the first six months of the 129th General Assembly completed, State Representative Terry Boose (R-Norwalk) today applauded the Ohio House of Representatives for its diligent work in considering numerous bills that will improve the quality of life in Ohio.

As a member of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, Rep. Boose commended the hard work of the committee to promote one of Ohio’s most prominent economic sectors.

“The 58th Ohio House District is predominantly covered by farmland, so preserving the family farms in Huron, Seneca and Lorain counties continues to be one of my top priorities in Columbus,” he said. “The Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee truly recognizes that agriculture is an economic driver of the state economy and has made sure to meet on a regular basis to give each bill careful consideration.”

Since the beginning of the 129th General Assembly, the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee held 17 committee hearings and passed 14 bills out of committee. Of those 14 pieces of legislation, 10 passed on the House floor and six were eventually signed by the governor. Additionally, three of the bills passed by the committee also enjoyed primary co-sponsorship by members of the House Democratic Caucus.

“The bottom line is that with the House Republican Caucus leading the People’s House, this committee did as much work as three committees (Alternative Energy; Environment & Brownfield; Agriculture & Natural Resources) under the previous Democrat administration and met more often than all three combined,” Boose said. “This shows that under capable leadership, the Ohio House has the ability to truly get the job done, conserve tax dollars and do what we as legislators were elected to do. This House is about delivering results to the people of Ohio.”

In general, the Ohio House has held twice as many session days during the 129th General Assembly than during the previous Legislature. Eighty-one bills passed from the House—versus 23 bills during the 128th General Assembly—with much stronger bipartisanship (14 bills with Democratic co-sponsors passed during this General Assembly, versus zero Republican bills during the 128th General Assembly).

Rep. Boose said that he looks forward to continuing the work of the people and improving the quality of life for Ohioans.