Five things to know for Tuesday, Dec. 23
DeWine signs NIL bill
Republican Gov. Mike DeWine signed House Bill 184, legislation that bans high school athletes’ Name, Image, and Likeness contracts from extending beyond a student’s eligibility to partake in intercollegiate athletics. Proponents said the protection aims to help preserve athletes’ ability to control and benefit from their NIL once their college careers conclude.
“I’m proud to have worked on House Bill 184 from day one—this law protects Ohio’s student-athletes by making sure their NIL deals are tied to their eligibility, so they can focus on their futures without unnecessary distractions,” state Rep. Ty Mathews, R-Findlay, said in a release. “It’s a win for fairness and opportunity in college sports.”
Bill would allow students to take three mental health days. Proposed legislation, Senate Bill 330, the Student Wellness Act, would allow students to take up to three mental-health days per year, WCMH-TV reported. Sponsored by state Sen. Willis E. Blackshear Jr., D-Dayton, the measure would allow districts to enact a policy that should include a definition of mental health days and a method for determining whether a student would be referred to or receive school health or support services, to count mental health days as excused absences.
Cuyahoga County judge suspended after allegations of filing false journal entries. Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Judge Leslie Ann Celebrezze faces a felony charge of tampering with records for filing a false journal entry about a case, WKYC-TV reported. According to prosecutors, Celebrezze, 54, submitted a fraudulent journal entry on Jan. 19, 2023, falsely stating that she was randomly assigned to the case rather than noting that she manually assigned herself to it, the report said. She was suspended from the bench.
Unclaimed funds requests spike 435%. Claims filed with the Ohio Division of Unclaimed Funds have increased by roughly 435% since state lawmakers said they intended to use the fund to give the Cleveland Browns $600 million to help fund a new stadium in Brook Park. According to a WKYV-TV report, Ohioans have 10 years to claim their funds.
Anti-ICE community forms LGBTQ+ Affairs Commission. Officials in the city that wants to snub ICE and help people flouting federal immigration laws have established its first LGBTQ+ Affairs Commission. According to WCMH-TV, the Columbus commission has 13 appointed members to help city leadership address issues impacting the LGBTQ+ community.
