Ohio's Senate Bill 5 passes House vote, 53-44 followed by Senate vote 17-16

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio's controversial collective bargaining reform bill is now just a signature away from becoming law after the Ohio House approved the amended bill Wednesday afternoon by a 53-44 vote and the Senate approved the changes by the same 17-16 margin that sent the bill to the lower house.

"Both Bill [Batcheleder] and I and Tom Niehaus don't see this a celebratory moment," Governor John Kasich told Newsnet 5 Wednesday night.  "There are a lot of people who are upset, we respect that."

"I think they're going to find out at the end of the day we'll have stronger communities.  This is all part of a package to help them to deal with limited resources and to get us into a position to start growing jobs instead of losing jobs," said Kasich.

Beachwood Democrat and former house speaker Armond Budish said he was disappointed in the outcome "you should not be balancing the budget on the backs of working people, that's what senate bill 5 does," he said.

Opponents are vowing to begin immediately the process of collecting the 230,000 signatures needed to get the measure up for a vote of the people in the form of a statewide referendum.

If Governor Kasich signs the bill into law by April 6, which is now likely, the measure would go on this November's ballot.  If it had been signed into law after that date opponents could choose to wait until November 2012 for a vote.   That date would delay implementation of the bill for at the very least another year and put on the ballot with some of the very members who voted to pass it.

Earlier in the legislative session that spanned just under four hours Democrats and Republicans spoke on their opinions and reasons for their vote for or against the measure which would permit public employees to collectively bargain on issues related to the wages, hours, terms and conditions of their employment, while also requiring that workers pay a modest, fair share of health and pension benefits.

The bill would also prohibit public employees from participating in a strike against the government, and contract disputes would be subject to a resolution process that provides transparency, allows taxpayer input and holds elected officials accountable for the final outcome.

“Ultimately the vote that we will cast today will be one of conscience. Each of us has a choice--do we embrace this decision, or do we reject this opportunity that our fellow citizens have called on us to do?” said Republican Rep. Mike Dovilla, of Berea.

Organized groups of firefighters, teachers, police officers and other public employees held a vigil outside of the Statehouse as the arguments ran on inside.

Rep. Nickie Antonio, a Democrat from Lakewood said, “I thought that public service is people doing service, which means that the majority of the public money goes to pay their salaries.”

State Rep. John Adams, the Majority Whip spoke about a conversation that he had with an educator. Adams said that when he asked about whether there would ever be a situation where a teacher should not receive a raise because an economic situation, he said the educator told him plainly, “no.”

“No profession is exempt from economic reality,” said Adams.

“This has nothing to do with balancing the budget. This has to do with public power,” said Democrat Rep. Michael Foley who represents the west side of Cleveland.

The bill passed the House by a margin of 53-44.  Moments after the votes were tallied an eruption of boos and chants of "kill the bill" from spectators filled the House chamber--much to the ire of Ohio House Speaker Bill Batchelder who slammed his gavel as the crowd exited the chambers.

The AFL-CIO issued a press release immediately following the vote promising to organize a "citizens’ veto" in order to "restore the balance that is needed to stop the rising tide of corporate greed and the influence of big business in politics."