Ohio Common Ground Legislative Tracker Issue Index #5: Economic Opportunity and Good Jobs
Ohio Common Ground's Legislative Tracker No. 005 (Issue Index #5: Economic Opportunity and Good Jobs) reviews a selected set of 12 bills across 10 legislative proposals in the 136th Ohio General Assembly, spanning workforce training, education-workforce alignment, job creation and site-readiness incentives, wages and employment barriers, and talent retention. As of its July 20, 2026 status date, two bills have been enacted — House Bill 246 (E-Verify requirements for specified nonresidential construction employers, effective March 20, 2026) and House Bill 292 (the Ohio Defense and Space Advisory Commission and an aerospace-industry grant program, signed July 7, 2026) — both after a related Senate-originated bill advanced less far. Senate Bill 328 (career-exploration and planning mandates) is the furthest-advanced pending bill, having passed the Senate and received two House hearings without a floor vote, while the remaining bills range from a single committee hearing to no hearing at all, including two competing minimum-wage proposals with different phase-in schedules. The report is strictly descriptive rather than evaluative, distinguishes each bill's operative legal mechanism from its title or sponsor framing (notably for Senate Bill 462's "JOBS Act," which is actually a tax credit rather than a jobs program), and is explicit that it covers a selected set of bills rather than an exhaustive census — flagging talent-retention legislation and a review of the state operating budget as open items for future research.