Legislation and political positions
Roegner has sponsored and supported a range of socially conservative legislation during her time in the Ohio legislature.
House Bill 6 and FirstEnergy contributions
According to public campaign-finance records,Roegner’s campaign committee received multiple contributions from the FirstEnergy Corp. political action committee between 2016 and 2019. [3]
According to the official House Bill 6 roll-call page on the Ohio Legislature’s website,Roegner is not listed among the senators voting "yea" or "nay" on final passage of the bill,indicating she did not cast a vote. [4]
During Roegner’s tenure in the Ohio General Assembly,the legislature revisited House Bill 6 through partial amendments but did not enact a full repeal of the nuclear subsidy framework established by the 2019 law. [5] [6]
Senate Bill 117 and partial repeal of the 2019 energy law
In the 134th General Assembly,Roegner cosponsored Senate Bill 117,legislation that partially repealed Ohio’s 2019 energy law enacted under House Bill 6. The bill eliminated the nuclear subsidy payment provisions created by the 2019 law but did not reinstate Ohio’s prior energy-efficiency or renewable-energy standards,leaving significant elements of the earlier framework in place. Senate Bill 117 passed both chambers of the Ohio General Assembly and was signed into law by Governor Mike DeWine in 2021. [7] [8]
In February 2019,Roegner introduced Senate Bill 23,legislation commonly known as the “heartbeat bill”or the Human Rights and Heartbeat Protection Act. The bill prohibits most abortions once embryonic cardiac activity can be detected,typically around six weeks into pregnancy,and does not include exceptions for rape or incest. [9]
SB 23 passed the Ohio Senate on March 13,2019,and the Ohio House of Representatives on April 10,2019. Governor Mike DeWine signed the bill into law on April 11,2019,and it was scheduled to take effect on July 11,2019. [10]
On July 3,2019,a federal district court issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the law under then-existing federal constitutional precedent. [11]
Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s overruling of Roe v. Wade in June 2022,state officials obtained dissolution of the federal injunction,and SB 23 briefly took effect on June 24,2022. Enforcement was again halted on September 14,2022,when a Hamilton County judge issued a temporary restraining order under the Ohio Constitution. [12]
In October 2024,the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas entered a permanent injunction against SB 23,holding that Ohio’s six-week abortion ban violated the reproductive-rights amendment approved by voters in 2023. [13]
In August 2023,after the period in which SB 23 had briefly been enforceable,Roegner wrote an op-ed stating that Ohio’s abortion laws should be paired with stronger support systems for women and children. In follow-up reporting,she and her family told the Akron Beacon Journal they were in the process of completing the training and home-study requirements to become licensed foster parents in Ohio. [14]
Legal challenges and judicial review
Senate Bill 23,Ohio’s six-week abortion ban,was blocked by a federal district court in July 2019,preventing enforcement before the scheduled effective date. [15] After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022,enforcement resumed briefly before a Hamilton County judge issued a temporary restraining order in September 2022 under the Ohio Constitution. [16] In October 2024,the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas entered a permanent injunction against Senate Bill 23,holding that the six-week abortion ban violated the reproductive-rights amendment approved by Ohio voters in 2023. [17]
During the 2021–2022 redistricting cycle,the Supreme Court of Ohio struck down multiple sets of state legislative maps as unconstitutional partisan gerrymanders. A federal court ordered use of one set of maps for the 2022 elections because of election-administration deadlines,and the 2022 Ohio Senate election in District 27 proceeded under that map. [18]
Higher education and DEI legislation
In 2025,Roegner supported Senate Bill 1 of the 136th General Assembly,a comprehensive higher-education overhaul bill affecting Ohio’s public colleges and universities. [19] The legislation bans diversity,equity,and inclusion (DEI) offices,programs,and mandatory training,restricts faculty strikes,and requires instructional neutrality on certain topics.
The bill drew widespread opposition from higher-education institutions,faculty organizations,students,and civil-rights groups. According to reporting by the Ohio Capital Journal,more than 800 individuals submitted opponent testimony during committee hearings on the legislation. [20]
Despite protests,the Republican-controlled Ohio Senate advanced and approved the bill in February 2025. [21] Roegner publicly supported the legislation and participated in a press conference promoting the bill as a higher-education reform measure. [22]
Civil-rights organizations,including the ACLU of Ohio,criticized Senate Bill 1,arguing that it would undermine academic freedom and weaken support systems for students at public universities. [23]
The Ohio House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 1 in March 2025,and Governor Mike DeWine signed the bill into law later that month. [24] [25] The law took effect in June 2025. [26]
Following enactment,opponents organized a statewide referendum effort to repeal the law,beginning signature collection in May 2025. [27] As the law’s effective date approached,reporting described the repeal campaign as facing logistical and timing challenges. [28]
After the law took effect,Ohio public colleges and universities began implementing changes to comply with the new requirements,including eliminating or restructuring DEI programs and updating institutional policies. [29] [30] State officials and institutions clarified that the statute applies only to public institutions and does not block state aid to private or independent colleges. [31]
Public criticism and response
Senate Bill 1,the 2025 higher-education overhaul affecting Ohio’s public colleges and universities,drew large-scale opposition during committee consideration. Ohio Capital Journal reported more than 800 individuals submitted opponent testimony during hearings on the bill. [32]
Legislation supported by Roegner restricting gender-affirming medical care for minors and participation of transgender athletes in girls’and women’s sports drew criticism from civil-rights organizations and medical groups. [33]
Bathroom and facility access legislation
In 2024,Roegner voted in favor of Senate Bill 104,the “Protect All Students Act,”which requires public schools and universities to assign restroom and locker room access based on sex assigned at birth. Governor Mike DeWine signed the bill into law in November 2024. [34] [35]
Selling State Lands
Roegner has also been an advocate for selling state lands for oil and natural gas drilling,including on Lake Erie. She had urged rejection of the amendment,which would have added an extra layer of protection for Lake Erie on top of an existing federal ban on drilling,stating that it is foolish to let only Canada reap the benefits of the reserves underneath the lake. [36]
Education funding
She has been critical of Governor John Kasich and his education funding formulas,calling them "wealth redistribution".
Covid 19 Pandemic
In May 2020,during the COVID-19 pandemic,Roegner and Senator Rob McColley introduced a bill that would immediately end Ohio's stay-at-home order and limit the state health director's ability to give similar orders. The bill is contrary to the recommendation of the country's top medical experts;Governor DeWine has promised to veto any bill that curb's the health director's authority during the crisis. [37]
Gender Politics
In 2023,Roegner voted for legislation to ban gender-affirming care—including the usage of puberty blockers,hormone replacement therapy,and gender transition surgery—for transgender youth and to ban transgender athletes from competing in women's and girls' sports. [38] Roegner argued,"attempting to change someone's sex is a fool's errand." [38] The legislation was vetoed by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine,but his veto was overridden by the Ohio General Assembly. [38] Roegner said she was "disappointed that the Governor chose not to protect girls across the State of Ohio." [39] During a Senate debate on the veto,Roegner falsely stated that gender-affirming care does not exist:"Despite what the liberals say,gender is not assigned at birth,but rather from the moment of conception,you are either male or you are female. There is no such thing as gender-affirming care. You can't affirm something that doesn't exist." [40]
Recreational Marijuana
In 2025,Roegner supported legislation to amend the state's recreational marijuana law,which had been adopted by voters in a ballot initiative in 2023. [41] The bill would decrease the THC content allowed in products and limit home growing of cannabis. [41]
In February 2023,Roegner supported Senate Bill 1 (135th GA),legislation that proposed banning diversity,equity,and inclusion (DEI) programs at Ohio’s public colleges and universities. The bill also sought to limit faculty strikes and require instructional neutrality on topics like climate change and abortion rights,drawing criticism from organizations such as the American Association of University Professors and the ACLU of Ohio. [42]
Immigration
In May 2025,Roegner introduced Senate Bill 172 in the 136th General Assembly,which would require Ohio judges and court personnel to permit immigration-related arrests by federal agents on courthouse grounds under specified conditions. The proposal drew criticism from immigrant-rights advocates and legal groups who argued it could deter participation in the justice system. [43] [44]
Limited Collective Bargaining
In 2011,Roegner supported a bill to limit collective bargaining for public employees,stating that it is something taxpayers should celebrate. [45]
Redistricting and gerrymandering
During Kristina Roegner’s tenure in the Ohio General Assembly,both her Ohio House and Ohio Senate districts were drawn as part of statewide legislative maps that advocates and courts have described as partisan gerrymanders favoring Republicans. In 2021,the Republican-controlled Ohio Redistricting Commission approved new state House and Senate maps that voting-rights groups said gave an “extreme and unfair advantage to the Republican Party”and locked in veto-proof Republican supermajorities in both chambers. [46]
On January 12,2022,the Supreme Court of Ohio struck down those legislative maps as unconstitutional partisan gerrymanders,holding that the General Assembly maps violated the anti-gerrymandering provisions added to the Ohio Constitution in 2015. [47] [48] Despite repeated rulings that the maps were unconstitutional,a federal three-judge court ultimately imposed one of the invalidated Republican maps for use in the 2022 elections because of impending deadlines,and Roegner’s 2022 re-election race for the 27th Senate district was conducted under that map. [49] [50]
Nonpartisan analyses have continued to describe Ohio as one of the most heavily gerrymandered states in the country,with most Ohioans living in legislative districts that are uncontested or effectively noncompetitive under the current maps. [51]
