Banks are highly regulated and governed by laws at the federal level. Most news headlines about government are filled with buzz about the happenings in Washington, DC. But have you ever thought about how much of an impact state-level policy has on you or your bank? More importantly, have you ever thought about how much of an impact you can have on those state-level policy decisions? 

If you’re a data enthusiast, the following stats will give you some perspective. Ohio’s legislature, the General Assembly, mirrors the U.S. Congress in that we have a nonstop two-year legislative session. Just like how Congress has a number for ever two-year session – we’re currently in the 119th Congress for 2025-2026 – the General Assembly also goes by a number. We’re currently in the 136th General Assembly.  

In the previous two-year period for 2023-2024, the state legislature of the 135th General Assembly introduced 2,316 bills. Only 52 of them made their way all the way through the lengthy legislative process with committee hearings and votes, and ultimately became law with Governor Mike DeWine’s signature. That measures out to a 2.25% passage rate for all of those bills introduced. Just like in Congress, at the end of the two-year session a big reset button is hit and any legislation the next session needs to be introduced to start the process all over again. For comparison, in the 118th Congress from 2023-2024 a whopping 18,056 bills and resolutions were introduced and only 101 of them were signed into law by President Joe Biden. That passage rate is a measly .56%. In a nutshell, it is very hard for a law to become a law. But a significant amount of policy that can affect you, your daily life, and your bank becomes law at the state level.  

That’s why OBL has Government Relations staff that focuses on state level policies and regulations, and why our upcoming Day at the Capitol event June 3-4 in Columbus is such an important part of our overall advocacy efforts. As a key local stakeholder in your community, you have tremendous influence. And your direct engagement with local state policymakers arguably has a better chance at moving the needle on policy than with federal representatives in Congress. For added color, Members of the U.S. Congress have entire teams of staffers both in DC and back home in district. At the state level, a State Representative has one staffer and State Senators have two. This setup provides very direct access for you as a constituent.  

The Day at the Capitol event is such a great opportunity for you to push the priorities of the Ohio banking industry to your local State Representatives and State Senators at their workplace down at the Statehouse. With your constituent presence in these conversations, you directly help our industry efforts to maintain and grow Ohio’s status as a great state for banking.  

If you have any questions about state level policy or the Day at the Capitol, please reach out to Vice President of State Government Relations Don Boyd at dboyd@ohiobankersleague.com and Manager of Government Relations Anthony Lagunzad at alagunzad@ohiobankersleague.com. Registration and tentative agenda can be found here. We hope you can join us!