By Susan Tebben, Ohio Capital Journal
Child care in the state will still have one standard-making process that was nearly cut from the state budget, while other investments in broadband and publicly-funded child care come with praise from Ohio advocates.
Leaders of child care facilities and policy advocates in the state were worried that Step Up to Quality, the state’s standard-monitoring system and ranking method for licensed child care programs, would be eliminated after a Senate revision of the budget noted that as a goal. The system was ultimately retained in the final budget version signed by Gov. Mike DeWine into law.
Also included in the budget, financial eligibility for publicly-funded child care (PFCC) was widened for Ohio children, including those with special needs. More…
By Tyler Buchanan, Ohio Capital Journal
When a legislative effort was fumbled, it was said that Gov. Mike DeWine picked up the ball and ran with it.
As it turned out, the Ohio General Assembly did get the job done before the final bell sounded.
Sports metaphors abounded inside the Statehouse on Monday as two branches of government worked to enact a plan to allow college athletes to earn compensation off their own names, images and likenesses (NIL). More…
By Tyler Buchanan, Ohio Capital Journal
Growing up as a person who is gay and deaf, Joe Osborne-Payne knows how it feels to be stigmatized.
He doesn’t want the language of state laws to stigmatize him, too.
Osborne-Payne, the chief information officer for the Ohio Association of the Deaf, is among those advocating for legislators to rewrite certain sections of the Ohio Revised Code to take out antiquated, offensive language. More…
By Susan Tebben, Ohio Capital Journal
Two state legislators, including the chair of the Senate Primary & Secondary Education Committee, say a newly proposed funding formula is still alive in Ohio’s biennial budget.
State Sen. Andrew Brenner, R-Delaware, assured a recent Central Ohio virtual town hall including local educational representatives that despite the fact that the majority of the funding formula introduced during the last General Assembly died at the end of the year, the biennial budget brings with it the formula that lessens the weight of property taxes, and expands eligibility for private school voucher programs.
“I believe in this budget there will be a school funding formula in it,” Brenner said. More…
By Tyler Buchanan, Ohio Capital Journal
Ohio’s professional sports teams are in favor of legalized sports gambling and want in on the action.
A coalition of eight pro teams (plus the Memorial Golf Tournament in Dublin) announced support for a legislative effort to legalize sports gambling in the state.
A group of lawmakers spent the early months of 2021 hearing testimony from these teams and many other industry experts in preparation of drafting a legalization proposal. A bill is expected to be introduced soon.
Momentum is leaning toward legalization. States across the country have legalized sports gambling in recent years as a way to boost revenues. More…
By Tyler Buchanan, Ohio Capital Journal
When a tenant faces eviction, the filing can stay with them for years — potentially impacting their ability to find stable housing again.
A bipartisan bill introduced by Sens. Stephanie Kunze, R-Hilliard, and Hearcel Craig, D-Columbus (both pictured above), proposes to allow eviction records to be expunged under certain circumstances.
A tenant would be able to request to have their eviction records expunged. A judge could authorize expungement if they feel the record “is no longer a reasonable predictor of future tenant behavior” and if expunging it would be in the “interests of justice.” More…
By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS Associated Press
Ohioans would receive a 2% personal income tax cut and the state would fund schools in a more equitable fashion under the latest version of the state budget introduced Tuesday by House Republicans.
The 2% cut would amount to $380 million in reduced taxes over two years beginning July 1, and is on top of $120 million in reduced taxes brought on by recently passed legislation that aligns Ohio tax code with federal law, according to majority GOP lawmakers.
The budget also provides previously announced $155 million in grants to help industries negatively affected by the coronavirus pandemic. More…
By Tyler Buchanan, Ohio Capital Journal
Republican-sponsored legislation will seek to prohibit the Ohio government from instituting a “vaccine passport” program, but the drafted proposal does not appear to restrict private businesses from doing so.
Rep. Al Cutrona, R-Canfield, is soon introducing this bill in the Ohio House of Representatives. It has already received support from fellow Republican lawmakers.
The term “vaccine passport” refers to showing proof of COVID-19 vaccination that could allow entry into a given place or public event. The vaccine is optional in Ohio, and Gov. Mike DeWine has given no indication the state government will develop a vaccine passport program here. More…
Ohio General Assembly, Public Health, State of Ohio, Vaccinations
By FARNOUSH AMIRI Report for America/Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — After a year of learning upended by the pandemic, Ohio students would have extra time to take state-mandated tests under an emergency measure passed unanimously Wednesday by the Ohio House.
The GOP-controlled Senate approved some final changes to the school measure before sending it back to the House where it passed in a rare 92-to-0 vote days before the testing windows begin.
“I support any flexibility we can give to schools as we continue to address the pandemic’s impact on the students and families they serve,” Democratic Sen. Teresa Fedor said in a statement after the bill’s passage. More…
By FARNOUSH AMIRI Report for America/Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Republican lawmakers’ latest in a yearlong attempt to rein in Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s authority to issue public health orders during the pandemic passed Wednesday in the House and faces a likely veto by the governor.
A bill that would allow lawmakers to rescind public health orders issued by the governor or the Ohio Department of Health was fast-tracked out of committee one year to the day from when the coronavirus pandemic began in Ohio and moved onto the House floor where it passed on party lines.
“This body has given the administrative branch of government a lot of power, and it’s time to review that power and it’s time to review it now,” Republican Rep. Scott Wiggam, a supporter of the bill, said before its passing. More…
By FARNOUSH AMIRI Report for America/Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Legislative testimony made Wednesday in support of a GOP-backed effort to limit public health orders made by Ohio’s governor was removed from YouTube after the service deemed it contained COVID-19 misinformation.
The Google-owned platform said it removed content that was uploaded this week to The Ohio Advocates for Medical Freedom channel for violating the company’s terms of services.
The video showed Thomas Renz, an attorney for Ohio Stands Up, a citizen group, make the opening testimony during a House committee hearing on a bill that would allow lawmakers to vote down public health orders during the pandemic. More…
By FARNOUSH AMIRI Report for America/Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A small committee of legislators could overrule the Ohio governor’s health orders under a bill the state Senate approved Wednesday that marks the latest effort by GOP lawmakers to restrict fellow Republican Gov. Mike DeWine’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
A Senate bill introduced last month by lawmakers would establish “checks and balances” on DeWine’s ability to issue and keep in place executive action during an emergency, including the current coronavirus pandemic.
“As I stated before, this bill is not meant to be, in any way, an indictment of the policies that have been put in place by the administration over the course of the last 11 months,” bill co-sponsor Sen. Rob McColley said on the Senate floor. “But rather is a response.” More…
By Tyler Buchanan, Ohio Capital Journal
There are multiple efforts underway to raise the minimum wage for Ohio workers to $15 an hour.
The plans differ slightly on the timeline to reach that goal, but Democrats in the Ohio Statehouse, in Congress and in the White House are simultaneously pushing for an increase they say is necessary to benefit low-income Americans.
The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour for non-tipped employees, but states are allowed to set theirs higher. More…
Ohio General Assembly, State of Ohio, Wages and Compensation
By FARNOUSH AMIRI Report for America/Associated Press
The fate of the tainted legislation looming over the Ohio Statehouse since July remains unknown as the Legislature convenes Tuesday for a final day of sessions.
For months, Lawmakers have been unable to find common ground on how to address the $1 billion nuclear bailout law at the center of a $60 million bribery probe.
The inaction by the House and Senate forced the hand of Franklin County Judge Chris Brown, who granted a preliminary injunction Monday that blocked the subsidies from the law that were set to be added to every electric bill in the state starting Jan. 1. More…
By FARNOUSH AMIRI Report for America/Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Hopes of repealing an energy bailout law are in danger at the Ohio Statehouse as Republican lawmakers argue sharply different positions on how and whether to repeal the legislation with only weeks before Ohioans begin to pay the price.
In one corner stands veteran GOP lawmakers like Rep. Bill Seitz, ranking member of the majority party, who believes the Nov. 3 election results solidified the standing of the now-tainted bailout bill even if federal investigators found the process of its passage to be corrupt.
“There is no representative and no senator who voted yes on House Bill 6, who lost their reelection bid,” Seitz said in an interview with The Associated Press. “But many, several, at least, who voted no, lost. So what does that tell you?” More…
