With the 129th General Assembly in full swing, many of you may not be aware of exactly how a bill becomes a law.

While it can be a crazy and difficult process, a large amount of the work is done through a committee process.

This means that from the time a bill is introduced to the time it is voted on by the entire House of Representatives, there are smaller, topic-oriented groups of House members to look closely at the legislation and make any necessary changes.

In addition to serving on our State Controlling Board, which has a huge role in overseeing expenditures in Ohio, Speaker Batchelder has appointed me as vice chairman of the House Finance Committee and chairman of the Primary and Secondary Education Subcommittee.

I will also have a seat on the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.

Just this week I met with the chairman of the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, Rep. Dave Hall. One of the main issues we plan to address is the potential for drilling of Utica shale, which could yield a significant amount of natural gas and provide a huge economic impact to our region.

Exploration of the Marcellus shale has already provided a boost to the economies of our neighboring states.

Ohio must wisely use its treasures such a natural gas, oil, timber and coal to help drive the economy back to prosperity.

Gov. Kasich understands this concept, pushing hard in support for USEC Inc. to move forward with its gaseous diffusion plant, which could create thousands of jobs.

Another way to improve our region’s economy would be to move forward with the nuclear power plant being considered for Piketon. There are too many people who have either lost their jobs or are in the process of losing them not to take advantage of these opportunities and put Ohioans back to work.

We must also deal with our educational system. Many school superintendents from the area have shared with me their ideas of how to get by in our strained budget situation.

As part of the solution, I have co-sponsored legislation introduced by Rep. Randy Gardner that would eliminate the requirement of smaller class sizes and other burdensome mandates handed down from the previous General Assembly.

Rep. Casey Kozlowski and I have also teamed up on a bill to return flexibility to local school districts by allowing for five calamity days instead of three, as well as to utilize extra time in the school day as a way of making up missed days.

This will ensure that our children receive the education they need, while also confronting the realities of harsh winters in Ohio.

I will keep you posted on our progress in Columbus, and I continue to encourage you to contact me with any questions or concerns you might have.

John Carey serves in Ohio’s 87th District of the House of Representatives, which includes eastern Lawrence County. He may be reached at (614) 466-1366 or by writing to: Ohio House of Representatives, 77 South High Street, Columbus, OH 43215. He can also be reached via e-mail at District87@ohr.state.oh.us.