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Senate Now Also Has A Bill To Allow Pups On Restaurant/Bar Patios

Sen. Bill Coley (R-Liberty Township) is a sponsor of the bill in the Senate.
Karen Kasler
Sen. Bill Coley (R-Liberty Township) is a sponsor of the bill in the Senate.

The House bill to allow dogs on restaurant patios in Ohio is getting a boost. There’s now a version of the bill being introduced in the Senate. 

Republican Senator Bill Coley, a dog owner himself, says his bill would allow business owners, not health departments, to make the decisions to allow dogs on their outdoor patios.

“Why should a health department get to be onerous and just say, ‘no, no, nowhere in my jurisdiction, in my thiefdom, shall there be a dog?’ What the heck!”

Earlier this year, health departments in some communities sent letters to businesses, telling them it is against state law to allow pups on their patios. Since then, some businesses, rescue groups and dog lovers have focused on changing that law.

Copyright 2017 The Statehouse News Bureau

Jo Ingles is a professional journalist who covers politics and Ohio government for the Ohio Public Radio and Television for the Ohio Public Radio and Television Statehouse News Bureau. She reports on issues of importance to Ohioans including education, legislation, politics, and life and death issues such as capital punishment.