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Read. Follow. Verify.Ohio requires hospitals and surgical facilities to enforce certification and experience standards for surgical assistants and technologists
Last action · May 20, 2026: Referred to HealthSponsors: Kellie Deeter and 2 others
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What This Bill Would Do
Ohio House Bill 423 prohibits hospitals and ambulatory surgical facilities from employing surgical assistants and technologists unless they hold specific national certifications, have prior in-state work experience, or complete 120 hands-on surgical cases, taking effect three years after enactment.
The measure establishes mandatory statewide credentialing benchmarks for operating room personnel, altering hiring requirements for health care facilities and employment criteria for surgical staff across Ohio.
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Surgical Assistants
Surgical assistants must maintain specific national certifications or prove prior in-state work experience during a designated window to remain eligible for employment.
Surgical Technologists
Surgical technologists must complete 120 hands-on surgical cases along with holding approved certifications, or demonstrate prior in-state work experience, to qualify for employment.
Hospitals and Ambulatory Surgical Facilities
Hospitals and ambulatory surgical facilities must verify staff credentials against new statutory requirements and may apply for hardship waivers if they face local recruitment shortages.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What qualifications must a surgical technologist have to be employed under this bill?
Can hospitals in areas with severe staffing shortages get an exemption from these rules?
When do these new employment restrictions take effect?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently passed chamber. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Law.
Procedural history
6 actions- May 20, 2026SenateCommitteeReferred to Health
- May 19, 2026SenateIntroducedIntroduced
- May 13, 2026HouseCommitteeReported - Substitute (Health)
- May 13, 2026HouseFloorPassed
- Sep 15, 2025HouseCommitteeReferred to Health
- Aug 25, 2025HouseIntroducedIntroduced
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Voting Record
Adopted
Total
92
- Yes
- 91
- No
- 1
- Present
- 0
- Not voting
- 0
- Abstain
- 0
How they voted (92)
68 more members
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Show 1 earlier roll call
Favorable Passage
Total
12
- Yes
- 12
- No
- 0
- Present
- 0
- Not voting
- 0
- Abstain
- 0
How they voted (12)
Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Standardization of Operating Room Support Roles
The legislation introduces formal statutory employment prerequisites for surgical assistants and technologists where previously specific state employment mandates may have been absent.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legislature.ohio.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance65How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy20Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz30Current news / social attention level
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