State Representative, District 28

Karen Brownlee is a Democrat who has represented House District 28 since January 2025 after winning 55.9 percent of the vote in 2024¹. She is a licensed independent social worker who worked as a clinical social worker and trainer in community mental health in Cincinnati, with a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and a master's in social work from Northern Kentucky University². She lives in Symmes Township².

Where they stand 13 issues · tap any issue for the evidence

• Gender care for minorsLeave it to parents and doctorsmedium

  Official action · medium confidence

  • Joint primary sponsor of House Bill 327, the P.R.I.D.E. Act, which would repeal the ban on gender transition treatments for minors and is framed as protecting parents' rights to medical and behavioral health care for their children. (2025) source
• Transgender athletesYes, they should play on the teams that match their gender identitymedium

  Official action · medium confidence

  • Joint primary sponsor of House Bill 327, which would repeal the sections of House Bill 68 requiring school and college sports teams to be designated by sex. (2025) source
• GunsAdd universal background checks and red-flag lawsmedium

  Official action · medium confidence

  • Primary sponsor of House Bill 351 to establish the Ohio Task Force on Gun Violence and House Bill 872 on gun violence and violent crime. (2025) source
  • Cosponsor of House Bill 348 to restore a concealed handgun licensee's duty to carry the license and notify police. (2025) source
  • As a co-chair of the Ohio Gun Violence Prevention Caucus, said preventable violence continues because the supermajority ignores the firearm epidemic, and called for gun violence prevention legislation. (2026-06-08) source
• Election rulesEasier access: automatic registration and mail voting for anyonemedium

  Official action · medium confidence

  • Cosponsor of House Bill 470 to create an automatic voter registration system. (2025) source
  • Cosponsor of House Bill 400 to create a permanent absent voter list. (2025) source
  • Cosponsor of House Bill 761 to allow an absent voter's ballot to be returned to any county polling place. (2025) source
  • Voted no on Senate Joint Resolution 10, which puts a photo ID requirement for voting into the Ohio Constitution (62 to 30). (2026-06-10) source
• Minimum wageRaise it to around $15medium

  Official action · medium confidence

  • Cosponsor of House Bill 34 to raise Ohio's minimum wage in steps to 15 dollars an hour by 2030, then adjust it for inflation. (2025) source
• HealthcareKeep the Affordable Care Act and fix what is brokenlow

  Official action · low confidence

  • Her official biography says she introduced a bill incorporating the Affordable Care Act into Ohio law; she is joint primary sponsor of House Bill 438, the FAMILY Act, on health insurance premiums and benefits. (2025) source
  • Primary sponsor of House Bill 780, the Medicaid Savings Act, to move Medicaid administration away from managed care organizations to cut administrative waste. (2026-05-22) source
  • Cosponsor of House Bill 289, which would create the Ohio Health Care Plan, a state single-payer plan giving universal coverage to all Ohio residents. (2025) source
• Campaign financeKeep spending legal but require groups to disclose their large donorslow

  Official action · low confidence

  • Cosponsor of House Bill 250, the Ohio Anti-Corruption Act, which expands disclosure of independent expenditures and electioneering communications. (2025) source
• Policing and crimeFund police and add reforms like body cameras and use-of-force limitslow

  Official action · low confidence

  • Joint primary sponsor of House Bill 691, the Community and Police Protection Act, to regulate law enforcement officers' use of masks. (2026) source
• AbortionLegal in most cases up to viability (about 24 weeks)low

  Official action · low confidence

  • Cosponsor of House Bill 128, the Reproductive Care Act, which rewrites Ohio's abortion laws and adds reproductive health protections. (2025) source
  • Voted no on House Bill 347, which requires a physician meeting and written informed consent at least 24 hours before an elective abortion (64 to 32). (2026-03-25) source
• DEI programsNo single answer fitslow

  Voted · low confidence

  • Voted no on Senate Bill 1, which bars state universities from operating diversity, equity and inclusion offices, required DEI training and DEI-based scholarships (59 to 34). (2025-03-19) source
• Mandatory minimumsNo single answer fitslow

  Voted · low confidence

  • Voted no on House Bill 88, which modifies penalties for drug trafficking and possession and adds fentanyl awareness instruction in schools (71 to 18). (2025-11-19) source
• MarijuanaNo single answer fitslow

  Voted · low confidence

  • Voted no on the House version of Senate Bill 56, which revised the adult-use marijuana law that voters approved in 2023 (52 to 34). (2025-11-19) source
• Ranked-choice votingNo single answer fitslow

  Voted · low confidence

  • Voted no on Senate Bill 63, which generally prohibits the use of ranked choice voting in Ohio elections (House vote, 65 to 27). (2026-02-25) source

No public position found on: Safety net programs, Business regulation, Immigration, Energy and climate, School choice, Curriculum and books, Housing and growth, Judges, Politicians trading stocks, Redistricting, Term limits, Electoral College, Death penalty, Qualified immunity, Drug prices, Childcare and pre-K, Paid leave, Student loans, AI regulation, Kids online, School vaccines, Nuclear power, E-Verify mandate, Religion in schools, China policy.