Medical Mandate Madness with H.B. 218…call to action needed!

Mandate Madness

Written by: Tom Niewulis of Geauga County
December 6, 2021

To the Citizens of Ohio who desire genuine medical autonomous rights and to the Ohio Senate who are charged with upholding the Ohio State Constitution:

This article is time sensitive since the Ohio Senate intends to hold hearings on H.B. 218 on December 8th, 2021. The intent it to have this bill ready for signature before the end of the year so as to slow the actions of all types of corporate entities from forcing vaccine mandates and terminating employees.

I have been asked over the last two months about the Constitutionalism of COVID-19 vaccine Mandates both federally and regarding the Ohio Constitution. The policies of the Biden Administration are indifferent to any Foundational Principles. Reasonable citizens are fed up with the more than eighteen months of attacks on life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

The State of Florida has taken definitive action with a special session of the Legislature which created meaningful legislation that strongly protects the Citizens of Florida. A careful read of those Florida laws[1] may resonate with what is happening in Ohio where questions by many across the state are echoing in the clear winter air. Here in Ohio, many thousands of constituents believe their voices are being lost in the blizzard of activity in Columbus. A few legislators are hearing the faint cries for help and want real Constitutional results and are to be commended. However, the majority of even Republican legislators may respond to their constituents, but they have chilled their policy language to echo that of the DeWine establishment corporate donor class.

This storm has been building. The flurry of activity began in April with a strong Ohio Constitutional conservative approach being introduced as House Bill 248[2] (H.B. 248), which is permanently stalled in the Ohio House Health Committee. A great majority of the Citizenry wanted the language of H.B. 248 to be made even stronger to force mandates out of Ohio completely. But the cauldron of differing political ideologies among Republicans left the bill to die in committee.

Then the DeWine loyalist, moderate and liberal Republicans, came up with House Bill 435[3] (H.B. 435). This bill was, in fact, moved through and advanced by the House committee with virtually no public hearings. It was full of language giving corporate entities greater power than the Citizenry. It became a  battle-line for Constitutional Conservative Citizens. The effort to stop this bill by the Citizenry worked and, although the bill came out of committee, it was pulled. The report from the proponents of the bill said it was because differences in the Republican caucus could not be overcome. Burn into your memory as you consider the candidates in next years primary, that the differences of ideology in the Republican caucus are really the issue at hand. I will define this issue as Constitutionalism vs. politicism.

With that background, antennas should be up regarding the substitute bill. The public’s radar should not be looking for Santa’s Sleigh but for the Martian invasion of Orwellian design, being the leftist Democrats who did not vote for H.B. 218 and the middle-of-the-road Republicans. The Citizenry is rightfully wondering how House Bill 218 (H.B. 218) is now to be the Ohio Mandate Medical Freedom Bill? I was fortunate that a strong Constitutional Conservative Legislator took the time to converse with me, share the process of passing H.B. 218 in the House, to provide me with insights, and even their personal concerns with H.B. 218 as it has been passed.

What are the confusions and Citizen continuing concerns with H. B. 218?

Taking the full measure of the political climate in Ohio into full consideration, we have all suffered in one way or another from the travesties of the last eighteen months respecting COVID-19. The federal government has taken draconian measures in dealing with this medical issue. Mr. DeWine has followed suit with the leftists in his administration and the despotic measures of both the Federal and Ohio State bureaucracies. These measures have been in harmony as to policies that are one-sided regarding the pseudo-science of this major flu. Since April, ‘Mandate Madness’ became the psychosis of federal, state, and local government, large corporatist business, higher education, and all who refuse the reality of the substantial global material science over the ideologically driven pseudo-science.

Bottom line: By mid-summer people were losing their jobs, being castigated, and emotionally and physically assaulted for not wanting to submit to the mandates affecting their lives. So, in Ohio, what I will call ‘The Bill Drill Duo’ of H.B. 248 and H.B.  435 functioned as attempts to address the ‘Mandate Madness’ and hit bedrock. The realities are that, as is seen in the conundrum of the Ohio Republican Party Leadership, the Ohio Legislature is representative of that vexed question: “What does it mean to be a Constitutional Conservative, a pseudo-conservative Republican, or a liberal/leftist Republican?”

In the end, how does the Ohio House get enough Republican votes to seemingly deal with the ‘Mandates Madness’ so that the legislation will be veto-proof. Hence, House Bill 218.

H.B. 218, originally began the process titled, “Extend bar hours; exempt bars from statewide curfew.[4]” H.B. 218 was changed in its entirety and purpose; then immediately passed by the House. Both the process and the language are the concerns of many. Even after talking with the Constitutional Conservative Legislator, this writer has many concerns mirroring those of many other Citizens.

As I mentioned earlier, I was able to gain insight into the process and clear the steam from the boiling cauldron of political positioning regarding H.B. 218. So, let us take the dive into where things stand as the Ohio Senate must now take up this matter, and for my part, must make H.B. 218 only a starting point for a real Constitutional Bill that rejects the ‘Mandates Madness.’

What I learned about H.B. 218 from the perspective of a Constitutionally minded Legislator:

  • It offers a critically needed exemption to individuals trying to protect their First Amendment right to speak and act according to their religious and conscientious dictates. This is in respect to Article I §7 of the Ohio Constitution. The detailed language in the bill repeats this objective in each applicable section addressed. Regarding ‘exemptions’ the language requires, “a written statement and shall not be required to submit any additional information beyond the written statement.” This language is important as many employees and students were being forced to jump through additional hoops, such as having a pastor or clergy member sign off on their statement of sincerely held religious belief, or in some cases, having their request denied if the entire church/denomination/synagogue did not hold the same belief.
  • Non-discriminatory treatment of students who are and are not vaccinated (K-12 and higher education). The bill was amended to protect students who chose not to vaccinate.
  • No vaccine passports in public or private places, including the extending of special privileges to those who have been vaccinated (such as exemption from COVID testing) or discrimination against those who have not been vaccinated (such as required testing or mandated masking if those who have been vaccinated are not required to mask).  For the courts and schools, this was partially included; masks and testing were not covered, however, treating people differently based upon vaccination status was included. With this, the understanding is that you can no longer be asked if you are vaccinated. Unfortunately, and sadly, the U. S. House passed a $400 Million vaccine tracking bill and four Ohio Republicans voted for this travesty.
  • There is a sunset clause, which is way too short a period. Section 6. Sections 4 and 5 of this Act, regarding temporary qualified civil immunities, are remedial in nature and they apply retroactively to acts, omissions, conduct, decisions, or compliance from September 30, 2021, through June 30, 2023.

In consideration of my conversation notes with the Constitutional Legislator, I have a great concern that is shared by many Citizens who understand our Ohio Constitutional fundamental rights and who have taken a strong position against all mandates related to the COVID-19 vaccinations. Many of Ohio’s politically active Citizenry are concerned that House Bill 218 is an overreach by the vote-constrained Legislature wanting to do ‘something’ regarding the coming federal mandates. Several questions remain:

  • Does H.B. 218 do ‘something’ but not in a manner that Constitutionally protects the Rights of the Ohio Citizenry as would be expected in relation to Article I, Sections 1, 7 and 20, with special emphasis on Section 7?
  • Does H.B. 218 protect the ‘exemptions’ afforded to the Citizens into perpetuity? With the sunset clause, the power is transferred to Food and Drug Administration who may decide that mechanical genetic manipulation is safe without having any regard for moral interference with individuals’ God-given genetics. What recourse will the Citizens have regarding the exemptions in H.B. 218 for the future?
  • Why is it that H.B. 218 gives the named corporate entities in the text of the bill greater rights than Citizens? And, yes, universities are non-profit corporations. The language specifying grants of authority to the named entities looks like a violation of Article XIII of the Ohio Constitution.
  • Is H.B. 218 giving even more special tort exemption to the medical industry in the new language to existing law that will deny treatment to those who chose not to be vaccinated?
  • With the Ohio Constitution having a very clear Bill of Rights, how is it possible that the Ohio House Members can even consider mandates legitimate if and when the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) fully approves any form of COVID vaccine?
  • The question being asked of me from numerous Citizens regarding H. B. 218 is: “Did the House Members actually read H. B. 218 and did they understand it?” If the answer to this question is ‘yes’, then how could they vote for it when it is heinous according to our Article I Rights in the Ohio Constitution?

Next, there must be clarification of the Republican political leadership in Ohio. A potential scenario is that, based on the draconian actions of Mr. DeWine in every nuance of the COVID flu, the Citizenry can only believe a supposition that he and the corporate lobbyists had great influence in the development of H.B. 435, and through those loyal to his left-leaning ideologies, could have influenced the decision to use H.B. 218 as the mechanism for allowing eventual mandates for the named corporations going forward.  No, this writer was not in the kitchen where all of the political ingredients were placed in the black cauldron of legislative black magic deals. But, I do know from speaking with the Constitutional Conservative Legislator that, as I mentioned before, there are a large number of Republicans in the Ohio Legislature that wanted, and in my interpretation of the conversation, were gleefully satisfied that the mandates and special powers granted to the corporations named in H.B. 218 were kept in the version passed by the House.

From the history and track record of H.B. 435, it does allow the imagination to contrive the scene at the cauldron. What if the Ohio Republican Party (ORP) Leadership pressured the House Leadership into enacting H.B. 218 so that Mr. DeWine could look to some as if he was ‘doing something’ as a positive for his reelection bid? But recent convulsions of the ORP at its last meeting, with its cauldron foaming, is a story for another day.

Now, considering who benefits from the ‘special corporate powers and authorities’ granted in H.B. 218, one only needs to read the language to allow that imagination to consider where  the lobbyists for the Corporatists, including higher education, insurance companies, the medical industry, and other special interests, had input. These lobbyists and Corporatists must have supplied their knowledge in assisting the construct of the original and failed H.B. 435. Then much of the verbiage from H.B. 435 was strategically substituted into the language  of H.B. 218 so that something could be passed before the end of the year. The questions must continue in respect to wondering what  the House considered before passing this bill. More importantly, at this point, will the Ohio Senate consider the Rights of the Citizens over the corporations as they are also fast-tracking this legislation?

At this point, I have to commend the few Constitutional Conservative Legislators in the House for trying to pour water on the fire of the boiling cauldron of H.B. 218. The bill, if one can tolerate reading it, can be useful for the moment as it opposes mandates for vaccines under emergence use authorization, but clearly surrenders the Constitutional Rights of the Ohio Citizen with any future approval actions from the FDA. And, as previously mentioned, the sunset clause is very problematic.

Here is a final series of questions for you the Citizenry and the Ohio Senate:

  • Did the Ohio House and the elected political leaders consider the lawsuit that the Ohio Attorney General has joined regarding the federal mandates? See AG web site:  AG Yost Files Lawsuit Challenging Vaccine Mandate for Federal Contractors
  • Did the Ohio House and will the Ohio Senate take into consideration the national and international principle of ‘bodily autonomy?’  I wonder what Justice Coney-Barrett was hinting at in her recent question that referred to vaccine mandates in light of this legal principle? There are U. S. Supreme Court Cases that give full credence to this legal principle.
  • Now that there are a number of Federal District Court Injunctions against the federal mandates; will the Ohio Senate consider these and rewrite the language of H.B. 218 to instantiate these injunctions into meaningful mandate regulation? We have already seen that the medical industry in Ohio is honoring the Court Injunctions as exemplified by the University Hospital System and Cleveland Clinic. See ‘Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals reverse COVID-19 vaccine mandate’  
  • Will the Ohio Senate consider all the factual, peer-reviewed, national and international data regarding  COVID in all its forms and the fact that ‘natural immunity’ is immunity as they fast track H.B. 218?

Conclusion – for now:

It would be amazing and far less convoluted if the Ohio Senate revised H.B. 218 to be simple language that codified the various Federal District Court Injunctions. The way that H.B. 218 modifies the existing Ohio Revised Code does give even more tort exemptions to corporations and especially medical service providers choosing not to provide services for those not being vaccinated.

Hoping that the Ohio Senate has the courage to keep the legislation short and to the point in rejecting all mandates and penalizing any who force mandates, allows the Citizenry to maintain all of their Constitutional Rights.

The Senate must include ‘bodily autonomy’ and ‘natural immunity’ in their version of the bill. Following a revision that would eliminate the special powers given to the corporate groups discussed here, Article XIII of the Ohio Constitution would not be violated since all types and instances of allowed corporate activity in Ohio would be held accountable if they implemented any form of forced vaccination. The Ohio Senate must adopt simple language from the Florida Special Session legislation that imposes penalties on the corporations in Ohio for any form of forced medical violations of ‘bodily autonomy.’

Now it is up to the Citizenry who are concerned about their liberties, especially their medical liberty, to contact their State Senator regarding H.B. 218. There are only two options for the Ohio Senate: kill H.B. 218 or revise it as mentioned in the above paragraph.

The Call to Action is: Make the calls and send the emails. Do all that you can to stop corporations from having special rights and authority that are greater than your God-given Rights secured in Article I of the Ohio Constitution.


[1]     Florida Special Session series of mandate laws  – https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bills/2021B

[2]     Link to House Bill 248 – https://ohiohouse.gov/legislation/134/hb248

[3]     Link to House Bill 435 – https://ohiohouse.gov/legislation/134/hb435

[4]     H.B. No. 218 Original text, https://search-prod.lis.state.oh.us/solarapi/v1/general_assembly_134/bills/hb218/IN/00/hb218_00_IN?format=pdf



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