Testify at the Statehouse
Anyone can give testimony on a bill being heard at the Ohio Statehouse. You do not need a title, a lawyer or a script and you will not do it alone. Tell CCV you are willing and they will guide you every step of the way.
Three reasons a committee wants to hear from you
Your story
Parents, grandparents and a detransitioned young adult have all testified on CCV-backed bills. Nothing in a committee room carries further than what happened to your family.
Your expertise
Doctors, lawyers, teachers, coaches and business owners. If you know a subject from the inside, members will ask you questions no research memo answers.
Your presence
Written testimony counts and so does a room that is full. Pastors and church members have filled hearing rooms for bills that were expected to die quietly.
Know which hearing you are walking into
A bill usually gets at least three hearings in each chamber and they are not the same. CCV will tell you which one you are being asked to speak at.
How a bill becomes law- Sponsor hearingThe lawmaker who wrote the bill explains it and takes questions. The public does not speak.
- Proponent hearingWitnesses in favour. This is the one most CCV supporters come to.
- Opponent hearingWitnesses against. Worth watching, because it shapes the amendments that follow.
- All-testimony hearingBoth sides in one sitting, often the last hearing before a committee votes.
What CCV does with you
- 01Tell CCV you are willingThe form below. Say which issues you care about and whether you would speak in person or file in writing.
- 02We match you to a billCCV tracks the calendar. When a bill you fit comes up for a proponent hearing, they get in touch.
- 03We help you write itTestimony is a page or two, read aloud in about three minutes. CCV helps you shape it and files it with the committee.
- 04We get you to the roomWhere to park, when to arrive, where to sit and who is on the committee you are speaking to.
What actually happens in the room
Committee rooms are less formal than people expect. The five things below are what surprises first-time witnesses, so none of them should.
- File your written testimony with the committee ahead of the hearing, the deadline is usually the day before.
- Fill in a witness slip when you arrive, saying whether you are a proponent, an opponent or an interested party.
- Expect about three minutes at the table, then questions from members.
- The agenda can move. Your bill may not be heard first and hearings sometimes slip to another week.
- Every hearing is streamed and recorded, so your testimony stays on the record.
Tell CCV you are willing.
It does not commit you to anything.
More resources
Watch a hearing first
Every hearing is streamed and archived by the legislature, so you can see the room and the questions before you decide to sit in it.
Ohio LegislatureRead CCV’s testimony
What their own witnesses filed and how they argued it — the documents are published on each bill’s committee page.
See the filingsFind your lawmaker
The members you would be speaking to, with the committees they sit on and the offices that take the call.
Find your lawmakerYour gift funds the testimony, research and grassroots pressure that move votes where laws are made.
Donate
Proclaiming Christ. Defending Virtue.Protecting Families.
Office
Columbus, Ohio 43215
