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Ohio Senate budget would shield opioid settlement foundation from public scrutiny
Last month, the Ohio Supreme Court ordered OneOhio Recovery Foundation to hand over public records. If the state Senate gets its way on the budget, the non-profit managing opioid settlement proceeds might never have to do so again. The Senate’s version of the budget orders the OneOhio board to hold meetings in public, but it […]
Ohio Senate’s budget proposal scales back public assistance programming
The Ohio Senate approved a two-year operating budget Thursday, teeing up negotiations with the House to settle differences. They’ll have plenty to talk about. As the budget picks up amendments, legislative researchers prepare reports comparing the differences. The latest version, only covering the disagreements, runs 650 pages. One area where lawmakers will have their work […]
Ohio Senate passes $94B budget focusing on tax cuts and overhauling education
The Ohio Senate passed a $94 billion budget Thursday, one that provides significant tax cuts for businesses those in the highest income brackets, and overhauls the higher education system. This budget has one of the largest tax cuts in Ohio history, Senate President Matt Huffman (R-Lima) said. “This is a solid conservative budget,” Huffman said. […]
Ohio House lawmakers raise doubts about Senate’s DATA Act
An election data overhaul named the DATA Act continued its march through the Ohio House this week. But misgivings about how the measure would operate seem to be resonating with representatives. The DATA Act’s stated goal is to establish consistency in the content and cadence of information county boards share. But board officials argue some provisions […]
Ohio House codifies TikTok ban, bail provisions first offered by Senate
While Ohio House lawmakers decided to press pause on the most contentious proposal up for a floor vote — a bill that would force outing of LGBTQ+ K-12 students — they signed off Wednesday on a proposal codifying court rules for setting bail and another banning TikTok from government devises. In both cases, lawmakers stepped in […]
One Toledo law professor is helping drive two of this year’s most controversial proposals in Ohio
Since introducing a plan last year to make it harder to amend the Ohio Constitution, supporters have insisted their proposal was an issue-neutral effort to protect the state’s founding document. But advocates for a new 60% threshold for constitutional amendments have repeatedly hewed toward a variety of very specific issues: Firearms groups worried about future […]
Ohio Ballot Board approves language for 60% amendment proposal along party lines, again
One day after an Ohio Supreme Court ruling, the Ohio Ballot Board revised the language for State Issue 1, the Aug. 8 proposal asking voters to require future constitutional amendments clear a 60% supermajority for passage. The court ordered board members to fix inaccuracies in the ballot language they adopted about a month ago. And […]
DeWine, Husted urge Ohio lawmakers to keep social media parental consent safeguards in budget
One of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s biggest asks in this year’s budget proposal was funding for mental health. House and Senate lawmakers are wrestling over the dollar figure ahead of conference committee negotiations. The House wants to cut it back significantly while the Senate agreed to DeWine’s number. But amid the wrangling over dollars and […]
The Ohio Supreme Court has a complicated history deciding on Ballot Board cases
Last week the Ohio Supreme Court sided with the Ohio Ballot Board decision to allow an abortion rights amendment to go forward as a single question. Opponents of the effort wanted the court to split it in two, but instead the justices deferred to the Ballot Board. That’s not always the case. Going back to […]
Gun rights advocates urge prohibition on firearm insurance, even though it’s not required
The Ohio House Insurance committee heard Wednesday from supporters of a bill that would prohibit insurance requirements for gun owners. No city in Ohio is actively contemplating — much less pursuing — such a requirement. Nationwide, there are vanishingly few examples of gun insurance provisions. New Jersey approved a state law, but it’s on hold […]
Ohio Senate introduces $85.7 billion operating budget
Ohio Senate leaders introduced their version of the new two-year operating budget Tuesday. They expect to vote on the $85.7 billion spending plan next week. Lawmakers have until a constitutionally mandated June 30 deadline to settle any differences and approve the budget. The Senate proposal reduces existing state income tax brackets from four to two. […]
Ohio craft brewers want carve out from 50 year old law locking them into distribution agreements
The United States is more than a decade deep into a craft beer boom, and Ohio is no exception. But a new coalition of brewers in Ohio argue provisions in state law are hampering the industry’s growth. Getting beer from the brewery to your neighborhood bar or store shelf, is generally the purview of a […]