Legislative Priorities
Safe Staffing
ONA continues to push for enforceable staffing standards.
Workplace Violence Prevention
ONA advocates for holding hospitals accountable for worker safety.
Nursing Workforce Development
ONA continuously monitors where Ohio stands on improving recruitment and retention for nurses and health professionals.
Legislation of Interest
HB 521 – Ohio Nurse Workforce and Safe Patient Act (Reps. Lett and Cockley)
Establishes statewide expectations for safe staffing, ties staffing to patient safety, and creates the Nursing Student Loan-to-Grant Program to strengthen the pipeline.
HB 535 – Hospital Staffing Committees Modernization (Rep. Lorenz)
Updates hospital staffing committees so they function as intended: collaborative, transparent, and led by the nurses who provide care. The bill:
- Strengthens committee authority so nurse recommendations cannot be overridden without meaningful justification
- Requires use of current data, including outcomes, acuity, and turnover
- Ensures equal nurse representation and true shared governance
- Adds accountability so hospitals must implement approved staffing plans
- Prevents committees from being used as a substitute for adequate staffing or as a shield from regulatory scrutiny
Together, HB 521 and HB 535 form a bipartisan, dual-track approach: one bill setting statewide expectations for safe staffing, and the other ensuring hospital-level committees can tailor plans to specific units and patient populations. This combination of consistency plus local flexibility has been key to building support across the political spectrum.
Support Safe Staffing Legislation
The more real-life stories we have about what unsafe staffing means every day to nurses, health professionals, and patients, the better equiped we are when we talk to state legislators and testify in committees. Please take a few moments to share your stories with us, so we can help state legislators understand the urgent need for statewide reforms.
Additional Information
ONA is tracking nearly 100 pieces of legislation that affect nurses, health professionals, patients, and the health care system. Click here to learn more.
Track Ohio Legislation
You can track all legislation moving through the Ohio General Assembly here.
Protecting Ohio’s Public Services
An effort to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot that would eliminate all property taxes in Ohio would have devastating impacts on EMS, nurses, health professionals, and communities. On May 4, 2026, ONA hosted a Virtual Townhall in partnership with Ohio AFL-CIO and Ohioans to Protect Public Services. You can read a transcript of the Q&A portion of the Townhall here.