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Ohio House defeats proposed English-only bill

COLUMBUS, OH, May 29 (AP): The Ohio House defeated a proposal aiming to make English the official state language amid fears it might chase away foreign investment.

The English-only bill, pending in the House for two months, was designed to push Latino immigrants to learn English. Lawmakers worried it would have unintended consequences, such as discouraging overseas businesses from investing in the state, and effectively killed the measure in a 65-28 vote.

Honda recently announced plans to build a new $400 million plant in the Midwest. Though no announcement has been made, officials from Ohio and Indiana think their states are in the running for the plant and its 1,500 jobs.  Ohio already has a Honda plant in its state.

House Speaker Jon Husted noted that many members agreed with the bill’s premise, but wanted more time to study it.

“If it’s done in a way that prohibits the success of things like recruiting Honda to Ohio, we want to make sure we're not creating barriers for those types of situations,” Husted said.

Information from: The Columbus Dispatch, http://www.dispatch.com