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A ban on cell phones in K-12 schools is closer to a reality, with the Ohio Senate voting overwhelmingly to pass it Wednesday afternoon.

The Ohio Senate voted Wednesday afternoon 27-5 to advance Senate Bill 63, in most instances barring electing or eliminating candidates through rounds of vote tabulation.

State lawmakers have been discussing expanding online gambling in Ohio from just sports betting to also include playing poker or casino games for money, as well as playing lottery games on phones or laptops.

The budget passed by the Ohio House would remove elected members from the state school board and reduce the board to five members appointed by the governor.

The legislation comes after a U.S. Marshal brought concerns to an Ohio lawmaker.

Senate Bill 2 addresses a range of related issues, including energy costs for consumers, reliability, and barriers to entering the market for utilities.

Sen. Al Cutrona (R-Canfield) is proposing establishing an Ohio personal income tax deduction for gym and other personal training costs that total $1,500 or less per year.

Dozens of students and some faculty protested the decision by Ohio State University President Ted Carter to close the university's diversity, equity and inclusion offices. Many said Carter is closing the offices prematurely and not fighting back against state and federal government attacks on DEI.

SB 56 strictly prohibits smoking cannabis in public, limiting Ohioans to partaking in private residences, and reduces home grow from 12 plants or less to six plants.

A bipartisan Ohio Senate resolution asks Congress to reimburse parties that have been injured by fraud and to tighten up safety measures on EBT cards themselves.