The bill, introduced by Senator Smith, seeks to amend the Revised Code to designate Election Day, referred to as "Democracy Day," as a legal holiday. It proposes to insert "the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, known as Democracy day," into the definitions of "legal holiday" in Sections 1.14 and 124.19, while simultaneously removing Columbus Day from the list of legal holidays. This change aims to facilitate greater civic engagement by allowing citizens to participate in elections without work-related constraints. Additionally, employees in various sectors, including county and township services, will be entitled to holiday pay for Democracy Day, similar to other recognized holidays.

The bill further amends the definition of "business day" to include Democracy Day as a recognized holiday and updates the list of holidays for which nonteaching school employees are entitled to paid leave, adding Democracy Day for both eleven or twelve-month and nine or ten-month employees. It also allows boards of education to declare additional holidays, provided they do not conflict with teacher attendance days, and clarifies eligibility criteria for Labor Day holiday pay for nonteaching employees. The bill includes provisions to repeal existing sections of the Revised Code that may conflict with these new amendments, ensuring a cohesive legal framework for the recognition of Democracy Day.

Statutes affected:
As Introduced: 1.14, 5.20, 124.19, 325.19, 511.10, 1345.21, 3313.63, 3319.087