sandra williams

Legislation refiled putting AG in charge of lethal use of force investigations

BY: - October 29, 2021

A measure in the Ohio Senate would put the Attorney General’s office in charge of investigating officer involved shootings. The idea, sponsored by Cleveland Democratic Sen. Sandra Williams, has been filed in every session going back to 2016, but has yet to gain traction. It was the very first recommendation offered by an Ohio Supreme […]

County officials pushing for more tax abatement reporting

BY: - October 20, 2021

State lawmakers are considering legislation that would collect statewide information about property tax exemptions, and add that data to the list of tax breaks reviewed by state officials every other year. The information itself already exists — county auditors deliver it to the Ohio Department of Taxation regularly. But backers believe the move could shine […]

Legislation seeks to provide internet access in unserved areas of Ohio

BY: - February 10, 2021

Ohio legislators are making quick work on the issue of broadband expansion so far in 2021, with the goal of providing internet access to all areas of the state. A Republican-led effort is already seeing progress during the new legislative term. On Wednesday afternoon, the Ohio Senate voted unanimously to pass a bill to finance […]

Bill targets energy aggregation as Ohio voters keep approving it

BY: - November 19, 2020

This month, Columbus became the latest and largest city in Ohio to approve an electric aggregation plan to pool customers together in order to seek a cheaper group rate. Voters throughout Ohio have approved many such election and gas aggregation plans in their own counties, cities and townships in recent years. These plans, as agreed […]

Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station with electricity pylons, Ohio. Getty Images.

Not a single HB 6 ‘yes’ vote lost their election. Some ‘no’ votes did.

BY: - November 6, 2020

The scandal surrounding House Bill 6 took out the speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives. It has dominated the newspages and airwaves for months. It was the subject of countless campaign attack ads.  In the end, voters didn’t seem to care. The scandal implicating former Speaker Larry Householder and his effort to get a […]

Ohio House passes bill to limit Dr. Acton’s power to issue health orders

BY: - May 6, 2020

A small group of Ohio legislators may be given the chance to put the state’s COVID-19 health orders to a vote. The Ohio House of Representatives has approved a bill that would give that group authority to approve or reject certain orders from Dr. Amy Acton, the director of the Ohio Department of Health. The […]

The benefits — and challenges — of changing Ohio schools’ start times 

BY: - February 19, 2020

There are consequences to being athletic in the largest school district in Ohio. The Switzerland of Ohio Local School District, located in Southeast Ohio’s Monroe, Belmont and Noble counties, covers 546 square miles — almost half the size of Rhode Island.  On a Tuesday earlier this season, the Monroe Central High School Seminoles got out […]

Many Ohio lawmakers use campaign $$ to subscribe to hometown papers

BY: - February 7, 2020

Dozens of Ohio legislators are choosing to spend their donors’ money in the interest of local journalism. In total, 35 state representatives and senators paid for news subscriptions using campaign funds in 2019, a review from the Ohio Capital Journal has found.  And though the president bemoans the alleged problem of “fake news,” it is […]