Ohio's Senate Bill 83 — which if enacted would have required the state's public institutions of higher education to remain in effect neutral about "controversial" beliefs and policies, including climate change policy — died when the legislative session ended on December 19, 2024.
As introduced, Senate Bill 83 would have required neutrality about "climate change," as NCSE previously reported. The provision was subsequently amended to refer to "climate policies" instead, but, as Inside Climate News (December 2, 2023) observed, "opponents said the bill would continue to impair teaching about climate change even with the new wording." As amended, the bill passed the Senate on a 21-10 vote on March 17, 2023.
Despite passing the Senate and then the House Higher Education Committee, the bill never proceeded to a vote in the House. The Speaker of the House told reporters, "It doesn't have the votes" to pass there, according to the Ohio Capital Journal (November 29, 2023).
