BUCYRUS — Local residents came to the Bucyrus Public Library on Wednesday evening to become more informed about the mechanics and processes that happen in Columbus to enact laws that affect all people living in Ohio.
After working as an emergency department crisis psychologist with patients who had to wait days for a bed at a proper facility, Rachel Coyle, who had minored in political science, made a career switch to facilitate positive changes in the system.
After working at the statehouse in Columbus for two years, she and a friend have created a program, “How Things Work at the Ohio Statehouse,” to help others understand the process of how laws are enacted and ways they can ensure their voices are heard on issues that are important to them.
“After working there, my friend and I had invited people to a bar through social media to learn more about how things work at the statehouse,” Coyle said. “This was a bar that held about 30 people and over 1,000 people signed up to attend. We realized that people want to learn about this, so we created the program to help others.”
The presentation teaches citizens how to find and contact their Ohio representatives, testify in committee, impact legislation and understand how policies are created and implemented.
Topics of the presentation include how a bill is introduced into the Ohio House or Senate, how it gets assigned to a committee, and the hearing process for each bill. The first hearing features the testimony of the sponsor of the bill, the supporters of the bill give testimony at the second hearing and the third hearing allows testimony from opponents of a bill.
Coyle provided information on how people may testify in hearings in writing or in person and explains in detail how bills affect Ohio law and the lives of Ohio residents.
The presentation was sponsored by the Mid-Ohio Progressives. For more information, visit the How Things Work at the Ohio Statehouse Fecebook page.