Politics & Gov

Ohio Senate begins hearings for supermajority amendment, August elections

BY: - March 29, 2023

Ohio state senators began hearings Tuesday for their measure to impose a 60% supermajority to pass constitutional amendments. If the proposal passes both chambers with the support three-fifths of members, it goes to the ballot. The sponsors of the resolution are also backing a bill to revive August elections — just in time for their […]

Death penalty opponents take another run at repeal

BY: - March 29, 2023

A group of Ohio lawmakers is again trying to kill the death penalty. As she has since 2011, Sen. Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, on Tuesday announced that she and some colleagues were introducing legislation abolishing it.  It might seem like a shot in the dark. But amid exonerations and shifting sentiment about the ultimate punishment, Antonio […]

Abortion, ballot board lawsuit moving forward

BY: - March 29, 2023

The Ohio Supreme Court has set a schedule for briefs and evidence in a lawsuit claiming the Ohio Ballot Board was wrong to approve a proposed abortion constitutional amendment as one issue. The state has until Wednesday to formally respond to the lawsuit. All parties  in the suit have until April 7 to get documents […]

GOP lawmakers, Right to Life meet with Ohio Chamber, Business Roundtable on amendment change

BY: - March 28, 2023

The following article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content-sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets as it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland.   The resolution to make it harder to amend the Ohio Constitution has […]

Ohio AG files antitrust suit against Express Scripts, Humana, others

BY: - March 28, 2023

In a development that is likely shaking the world of health insurance, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost on Monday sued six corporate entities over the way they facilitate drug transactions. Yost filed the suit under the Valentine Act — Ohio’s antitrust law — accusing the companies of improperly colluding to fix prices and other actions […]

Ohio Gov. DeWine touts career tech during Plain City visit

BY: - March 28, 2023

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine kicked off the week Monday with a visit to Tolles Career and Tech Center in Plain City. The facility mostly serves high school juniors and seniors interested in trades with specialized, hands-on instruction. The governor has made boosting investments in career tech a budget priority. During Monday’s tour he spoke with […]

Ohio AG Dave Yost asks U.S. Dept. of Education not to rescind part of religious rule

BY: - March 28, 2023

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost wrote a letter to the U.S. Department of Education sent last week asking to keep a rule from the Trump administration requiring public universities to uphold the First Amendment when it comes to religious groups on campuses.  The current rule, which the federal education department is trying to get rid […]

Schools districts plead for universal lunch amid budget talks

BY: - March 27, 2023

Daryn Guarino had to tell a six-year-old girl she couldn’t eat lunch. At Athens County’s Alexander Local School District, Guarino spends his days creating recipes, building menus and serving food to the students. But his job isn’t so enjoyable on Wednesdays. “On Wednesdays, I become a debt collections agent, and I chase the parents of […]

Help wanted: Women needed for U.S. chips manufacturing plan to succeed

BY: - March 27, 2023

Natalie Bell was thinking about a career in art after college when a welding class and a delivery of four pizzas changed her career trajectory.  “I was taking a delivery out to a construction site and I met an ironworker who I was taking the delivery to,” said Bell, who lives in Columbus, Ohio. “I […]

Ohio House, Senate at odds over Cincinnati railroad sale

BY: - March 27, 2023

Ohio’s two-year transportation budget is heading to conference committee, and a planned railroad deal in Cincinnati hangs in the balance. It’s one of many issues House and Senate leaders need to hash out, but one that will be closely watched. Part of that interest comes from the perennial debate over where to draw the line […]

Ohio senators working to resurrect recently eliminated August elections to fight abortion amendment

BY: - March 24, 2023

Only about three months ago, Ohio lawmakers passed a wide-ranging elections bill that will require voters present a photo ID when they cast a ballot. But it didn’t start out that way. Lawmakers bolted on the photo ID requirements only at the last minute. The bill began as a proposal to eliminate August special elections. […]

Gov. DeWine’s proposed budget includes teaching children how to read that’s backed by science

BY: - March 24, 2023

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine wants to make sure children learn how to read correctly and in a way that’s backed by the science of reading — which is a portion of his proposed budget. “I truly believe there’s nothing more important than the science of reading, and making sure that every single child in the […]