Gongwer News Service Ohio

12/18/2024

Several revisions to prior capital appropriations and numerous other changes were substituted into a pending Senate measure that advanced in the House on Tuesday.

Along with stripping out the original contents of SB 54, which ended up enacted with the state budget measure, the House Finance Committee added those changes and some new spending proposals.

The latter includes $15 million to reimburse county election boards for the cost of running the May election, which will likely feature a statewide vote on reauthorizing the bond-backed State Capital Improvement Program to fund local infrastructure needs.

12/17/2024

Amazon Web Services announced Monday a major expansion plan for its data center footprint in Ohio – a state already grappling with increasing energy demand.

In announcing the investment, which builds off the company's earlier $7.8 billion investment plan, the DeWine Administration billed it as the "second largest planned by a single private sector company" in the state.

It brings the company's total planned investment in the state from 2015 through 2030 to more than $23 billion.

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12/13/2024

With federal COVID relief dollars drying up, the state's next two-year transportation budget is likely to be scaled down significantly compared to the current spending outline.

The Department of Transportation is requesting $9.5 billion over the biennium, down from the $13.5 billion it received over the current two-year period.

The current transportation budget (HB 23) is the largest in the state's history, inflated by an influx of federal dollars for the long-awaited Brent Spence Bridge project and a transfer of an operating budget line item.

In its next budget, ODOT plans to continue its focus on safety and improving quality of life, according to its preliminary budget request submitted to the Office of Budget & Management.

10/30/2024

Campaigns and political caucus funds appear to be making up for lost time after an unusual degree of underspending on general election advertising.

In the last week-and-a-half, about $1.8 million more has been deployed for ad time in races across both chambers. Much of that new spending is driven by key toss-up seats, including the 31st, 35th, 36th, 49th and 72nd House districts.

A review of data from ad-tracking firm AdImpact now shows the total Statehouse general election ad spend eclipsing the $3 million mark, compared to the nearly $1.3 million registered as of Oct. 18.

10/15/2024

Secretary of State Frank LaRose's directive placing new restrictions on the use of absentee ballot drop boxes will remain in place for the ongoing election, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled Friday.

The high court's 4-3 decision declined to overturn a directive requiring county election boards to post signs on the receptacles stating that individuals who are returning ballots beyond their own must enter the board's office to sign an attestation form.

09/19/2024

Ad reservations for Ohio's U.S. Senate race have now passed the $400 million mark, keeping it on track to be the costliest race on record.

The latest data from AdImpact shows the battle between U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Cleveland) and Republican Bernie Moreno, a Cleveland car dealer, has seen $408 million in ad buys or reservations so far – $57 million of which was spent in the three-way Republican primary.

Moreno's most generous supporters include the Senate Leadership Fund ($60 million), One Nation ($41 million) and Defend American Jobs ($38 million).

Brown and his allies, meanwhile, have $168 million in reservations, supported by top contributors WinSenate ($67 million), Brown's campaign ($52 million) and Duty and Honor ($48 million).

08/13/2024

The staff that would be hired by a proposed Citizens Redistricting Commission – and not the members themselves – has spurred discussion ahead of November's vote on creating the panel.

The former chief legal counsel for the Ohio Senate raised the issue during a panel discussion on redistricting at the National Conference of State Legislatures' annual summit.

Frank Strigari said Michigan has faced significant challenges drawing maps after an independent commission was put in place in that state.

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06/24/2024

The House's point person on ma*****na issues is not optimistic that lawmakers will reach an agreement on matters related to the legalization of the drug before breaking for summer next week.

Rep. Jamie Callender (R-Concord) said members of the Senate are still attempting to make changes to the voter-approved initiated statute that he believes go against the will of the electorate.

Among those are efforts to reduce the number of home-grown plants each adult in the state is entitled to from the current maximum of six.

06/03/2024

School board, city council, county council, and now Ohio House of Representatives: Rep. Veronica Sims has done it all.

Sims, the former president of Summit County Council, was seated in February to fill the position left open by former Rep. Tavia Galonski, who resigned to take the role of Summit County Clerk of Courts.

But the Akron Democrat is no stranger to public service or state politics.

Sims – one of six children of James and Elaine Brown – was born and raised in Akron.

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05/14/2024

The Joint Committee on Agency Rule & Review on Monday advanced the first batch of rules related to the new adult-use ma*****na program, but a key lawmaker said additional rules as well as legislation to address ongoing concerns are still to follow.

The packages submitted by the Department of Commerce's Division of Cannabis Control largely address dual-use cannabis licenses, which will allow cultivators, processors, testing laboratories, and dispensaries to work with both medical and recreational products.

JCARR Co-Chair Rep. Jamie Callender (R-Concord), a longtime backer of legalizing ma*****na, called the rules advancement just "one step."

"It's a big step, but it's one step along the pathway," he told reporters. "The next step is for the office of cannabis control to actually put together the application for dual licensure."

05/13/2024

The Department of Education & Workforce is looking to do its part to ensure the Ohio School Bus Safety Working Group 's report does more than collect dust on a shelf.

The agency has proposed revisions to a package of about two-dozen administrative rules related to school transportation, including several aimed at implementing recommendations crafted by the panel (Presentation).

The working group, which was convened by Gov. Mike DeWine following a 2023 crash involving a Clark County school bus that left an 11-year-old student dead, made 17 suggestions for improving safety either through rulemaking or legislative action.

04/15/2024

Gov. Mike DeWine is already moving forward on at least one new initiative debuted earlier this week in the State of the State speech.

Those counties, he said in a statement Friday, include Hamilton, Huron, Erie, Darke, Fayette, Greene, Shelby, Mahoning, Trumbull, Noble and Guernsey, where the program is expected to benefit 4,000 families this summer.

"Family Connects will allow Ohio to offer support to every new mom and family right after they come home with their new baby, to answer questions or address concerns they may have, as well as connect them to any clinical or community support they need," DeWine said in a statement.

Families need not be enrolled in Medicaid to participate.

04/09/2024

State tax revenues in all four major categories again failed to hit the mark in March after a one-time bounce back following two months of shortfalls.

According to the latest preliminary data from the Office of Budget & Management, last month's tax receipts landed $171.3 million (9.6%) below the budgeted estimate, pulling the year-to-date negative variance down to $222.4 million (1.1%) from $51 million (0.3%) the month prior. (See Gongwer Ohio Report, March 8, 2024)

Director Kimberly Murnieks, however, said in a Monday interview that the full report on Wednesday will show that General Revenue Fund spending is also coming in below estimate.

"That all balances out and the budget is still structurally sound," she said.

04/08/2024

Lawmakers will return to the Statehouse in force next week to fill the House chamber for Gov. Mike DeWine's annual State of the State Address.

While the governor's remarks may get most of the attention from denizens of Capitol Square, about two dozen committees will meet as legislative work ramps back up following the March primary election.

The House and the Senate have sessions scheduled Wednesday afternoon, but both chambers are expected to convene solely to hear DeWine's speech.

The lack of action from the former likely will disappoint Senate leaders who wanted quick concurrence from the House on a bill (HB 27) loaded up with $1.4 billion in mostly bond-backed appropriations in late February in a bid to ensure the funds were available by the summer construction season.

https://bit.ly/49mPfi0

04/02/2024

NEW PRODUCT: We're excited to unveil our new Bill Comparison Tool. The legislation comparison tool will revolutionize the way subscribers monitor legislative activities and follow legislative changes.

With the new service, subscribers can now easily compare different versions of legislation in a side-by-side setting. This allows for a clear, immediate understanding of amendments and substitutes and makes it easier to track key developments at the Statehouse.

03/22/2024

Two ad hoc members of the Ohio Power Siting Board did not mince words Thursday as the full panel approved an 800-megawatt Madison County solar farm over their objections.

The $1 billion project is expected to draw an estimated $209 million and another $3.3 million in local earnings during construction and operation respectively, with another $421 million and $8.3 million in output during those phases. Officials have estimated 3,033 construction jobs and 63 long-term jobs are also expected.

The board's order largely adhered to that recommendation, approving 46 conditions in a stipulation previously reached by developers, staff and others including the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation and the Ohio Environmental Council.

Among the conditions are:

300-foot setbacks to nonparticipating homes and 150-foot setbacks to roads and non-participating property lines.
A $33.3 million decommissioning bond for the solar farm.
A requirement developers graze at least 1,000 sheep and 2,000 crop acres after its first year of operation and within eight years must include agrivoltaics over 4,000 crop acres.
The order also approves two 230 kilovolt transmission lines and a 300 megawatt battery energy storage facility, the latter of which requires a $11.2 million decommissioning bond.

03/19/2024

Happy Election Day, Ohio. Polls open at 6:30 am and will close at 7:30 pm. Not sure where your polling location is or who is on your ballot? Head over to the Secretary of State's website.

Resources for Ohio Voters.

02/28/2024

Ex-Speaker Larry Householder is alleging the trial that landed him a 20-year federal prison sentence was rife with procedural and legal errors that warrant revisiting.

Householder and his defense team laid out those claims late Monday in his initial brief appealing the sentence handed down in June by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Black after the two-time speaker was convicted of accepting millions of dollars in bribes from FirstEnergy Corp. (See Gongwer Ohio Report, March 9, 2023)

The long-awaited brief came nearly eight months after Householder, 64, was sentenced and remanded into custody in a Cincinnati courtroom.