LORAIN, Ohio — The proposal to name a road in Lorain, “Police Officer Phillip Wagner Memorial Highway,” is in committee but one of the bill’s sponsors is concerned about how long the process is taking.
Wagner died in the line of duty following an ambush attack in July 2025.
RELATED: One of the Lorain Police officers who was shot in ambush has died
I reached out to Representative Joe Miller (D- Amherst), who authored the bill, to find out what’s next. When questioned about any hurdles or potential challenges, Miller said H.B. 416, which was introduced in August 2025, couldn’t get a hearing in the transportation committee until March 17, 2026.
“Which kind of surprised me,” he said. “But we are also looking at the fact that unfortunately, I think some of the problems that are, are hurdles, as you had asked, is the fact that it’s a very political season right now.”
When I first reported on the effort last year, one of Miller’s aides emailed me and said “given that there were over 70 cosponsors, we hope that once it gets through the first administrative steps, adoption will be quick.”
Miller said this is a major year for the General Assembly in Ohio.
“My joint sponsor is now my opponent, so that’s making things even more challenging,” he said.
As News 5 Statehouse Reporter Morgan Trau has reported, Ohio Democrats are hoping to flip at least six seats to break the Republican supermajority, changing the balance of power within the Statehouse.
Miller and his co-sponsor, Representative Gayle Manning (R-Avon), are running for the District 13 Senate seat.
Manning wasn’t available for an interview, but her office sent this statement:
“House Bill 416 has been heard for sponsor testimony before the House Transportation Committee and is currently awaiting additional hearings. Representative Manning remains fully supportive of the legislation so that Officer Phillip Wagner, who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty, can be permanently honored now one year after his tragic death.”
I also reached out to the chair of the House Transportation Committee but have yet to hear back.
Recently, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed a bill into law that established memorial highways in honor of people who died in tragedies across the state. “I reached out to the chair and reached out to Republicans and asked them, hey, what happened, where’s the oversight? Why are we not on this omnibus [bill] road naming,” said Miller. “And they just said that in negotiations, it got dropped to the floor which really was disturbing and sad.”
A quick check online, I noticed there were various timelines for each of those initial pieces of legislation.
One in the Senate was introduced months after H.B. 416. Another in the house was introduced months before H.B. 416.
Miller said lawmakers aren’t back until November. Despite what’s happening in the Statehouse, he said the renaming of State Route 6 (Erie Avenue), near the Lorain Police Administration Building, will help in the healing process.
“It’s not just the healing of the family or the law officers, law enforcement officers that were there that day or that took part in that incident, but it’s for the whole community.”
