This report reflects the latest happenings in government relations, in and around the Ohio statehouse. You’ll notice that it’s broad in nature and on an array of topics, from A-Z. This will be updated on a weekly basis.
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ADDICTION/SUBSTANCE ABUSE
The OneOhio Recovery Foundation board approved another $3.6 million in grants to four agency regions covering Summit and Montgomery counties and all Northwest Ohio Wednesday. Directors entered executive session in their second straight monthly meeting to collectively approve 29 awards to Region 5's Summit County (eight grants); Region 8's Montgomery County (eight); Region 16's Defiance, Fulton, Henry, Paulding, Putnam, Van Wert and Williams counties (eight); and Region 17's Crawford, Hancock, Hardin, Ottawa, Sandusky, Seneca, Wood and Wyandot counties (five). Region 8/Montgomery County led with total awards of $1,444,239.00, followed by Region 5/Summit County's $1,088,756.92, Region 16's $656.586.63, and Region 17's $401,344.00. The 15 counties in Regions 16 and 17 have now exhausted their first-round budgets, while Region 5 has $9,600 remaining and Region 8 has $2,751,936.53 remaining in their first-round budgets.
AGRICULTURE
The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODAg) recently announced that two more farm owners have joined the state's Farmland Preservation Program, adding 244 acres to the program. The Stingley family farm in Warren and Clinton counties, and Kaffenbarger Farms Inc. in Clark County became the 12th and 13th Ohio farm owners to join the program this year. An agricultural easement in Farmland Preservation is a voluntary agreement between the landowner and ODAg, where the landowner agrees to perpetually maintain the land predominately in agricultural use. In exchange, the landowner is either compensated or may be entitled to a tax deduction.
ARTS, SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT
The Ohio Athletic Commission has settled with the family of a 19-year-old boxer who died from head injuries he suffered in his professional debut in Youngstown in December 2015. The family filed a $25 million lawsuit against the commission in 2017 after Hamzah Al-Jahmi's death. His father, Ali AlJahmi, had accused the commission of licensing and assigning an unqualified referee and ringside physician to the "Season's Beatings" boxing event. The commission settled with the family for $275,000, with the settlement approved by the Ohio Court of Claims. It was also approved by the Ohio Controlling Board on Monday.
AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY
Gov. Mike DeWine and other Ohio leaders welcomed business leaders and government officials from France to a Columbus suburb on Thursday to mark a milestone for Ohio's role in a green energy future. The factory in Hilliard that formerly held production facilities for Highlights for Children magazine will now be the North American headquarters of France-based electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturer Forsee Power. The company has indicated that series production will begin at the plant in the third quarter of 2024. DeWine credited Ohio's success in the EV market as an attraction for Forsee, in addition to the Columbus region's academic partners, workforce, and workers with an engineering background. The company designs, assembles and supplies lithium-ion battery systems throughout Europe and Asia, primarily for buses, trucks, off-highway vehicles, light urban and utility vehicles and trains. Forsee also focuses on EV systems for construction and agriculture equipment. In addition to France and China, Forsee has factories in Poland and India.
FY24-25 BUDGET
Recently updated revenue forecasts for FY25 were pretty close to the mark in August, with tax collections netting about half a percent more than expected, according to preliminary data from the Office of Budget and Management (OBM). OBM recently decided to update revenue forecasts for the second half of the biennium, in part to account for a large variance in personal income tax collections tied to new federal guidance and state law on state and local tax (SALT) tax deductions for pass-through filers. August tax revenues reached $2.56 billion, up $16.5 million or 0.6 percent over estimates. Year-to-date tax revenues stand at $4.65 billion, 0.4 percent over estimates.
EDUCATION
The State Board of Education (SBOE) can likely continue into the next biennium at its present reduced staffing levels if lawmakers will provide direct funding for monitoring of licensee arrests and the Resident Educator Summative Assessment (RESA), Superintendent Paul Craft told board members Monday. Meanwhile, the board voted to amend its policies to require that at least one of its two leadership positions be held by an elected board member. Craft spent part of his monthly report to the board discussing plans for the FY26-27 budget request, due to the Office of Budget and Management (OBM) near the end of September. Now that it's a smaller organization mostly focused on licensing, rather than part of a larger cabinet agency, the board's budget submission will be simpler, Craft said. "What's due from us by the 27th of this month is a mostly narrative explanation of what we'd like to see included in the executive budget proposal that goes forward to the Legislature," he said.
Separate associations for public and private university teacher training programs just merged their monthly meeting schedules as they work together more closely to help prepare and grow the educator workforce, leaders of those groups told the SBOE this week. Superintendent Paul Craft turned over part of his monthly report to the board Monday to Dawn Shinew of Bowling Green State University (BGSU) and Melissa Aksren Edgehouse of the University of Mount Union, who respectively serve in leadership roles for the State University Education Deans (SUED) and the Ohio Association of Private Colleges for Teacher Education (OAPCTE). SBOE members had expressed an interest in hearing from educator preparation program (EPP) leaders at recent meetings.
Following the shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia last week that killed four students, Gov. Mike DeWine sent a memo to superintendents throughout Ohio listing a number of different ways the state can assist in school safety through the Ohio School Safety Center (OSSC). It can assist all Ohio K-12 schools, higher education institutions and first responders in preventing, preparing for and responding to threats and acts of violence, including self-harm. Another free safety resource available to all Ohio schools is the Safer Ohio School Tip Line, an anonymous reporting system that accepts tips via call, text, webform and mobile app 24 hours a day. It can be reached by phone at 844-SaferOH (844-723-3764) while the Safer Ohio School Tip Line mobile app can be downloaded at https://app.saferohioschooltipline.com/.
A legal advocacy group and a Christian schools network are suing Columbus City Schools on behalf of a Columbus mother whose child lost busing when Columbus stopped transporting many private and charter school students this fall. The lawsuit filed in the Ohio Supreme Court by the Ohio Christian Education Network (OCEN) and the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) follows one filed days earlier by Attorney General Dave Yost over the same issue. OCEN is affiliated with the Center for Christian Virtue. The new lawsuit names Marissa Siebold, whose child attends Tree of Life Christian School, as plaintiff. While the lawsuit asserts Columbus' failure to provide busing for her child violates state student transportation laws, it also lists various injuries to Siebold's family, including her need to cut back from 55 to 45 hours of work per week, extra wear and tear and fuel expenses for her vehicle, and lost time. Penalties the district can incur for failing to transport students and payments it can offer Siebold in lieu of transportation will not remedy her situation, the complaint states.
The Broadcast Educational Media Commission (BEMC) met Thursday, with commissioners discussing its FY26-27 operating budget submission and changes in their membership. Commission Vice Chair Geoffrey Andrews was recognized as he leaves the board after completing the two terms he is limited to, while new Commissioner Carl Raines was welcomed. It was also noted that Meira Zucker's first term expired at the end of June and her potential reappointment is pending with the governor's office. Kenneth Cookson will serve as the new vice chair, with a third member to be selected for the Executive Committee alongside Cookson and Chair Matt Dole at the November BEMC meeting. Cookson will also chair the Finance Committee, with Sandra Thompson remaining as Policy Committee chair and Jim Otte continuing to chair the Engineering and Broadcast Operations Committee.
ELECTIONS
Secretary of State Frank LaRose's office is asking Attorney General Dave Yost to take another look at more than 600 violations of election law, citing a lack of action by local prosecutors. The secretary of state's office said it has referred 633 individuals to law enforcement for allegedly voting multiple times in the same state or two different states, election fraud involving deceased individuals, and registration and voting violations by noncitizens, but only 12 have had criminal charges brought against them. LaRose said, "State law gives the attorney general the authority to take up these referrals if the prosecuting attorney doesn't prosecute the violations within a reasonable time. The only way to maintain Ohio's high standard of election integrity is to enforce the law whenever it's broken."
ELECTIONS 2024
U.S. District Court Judge Michael Watson Thursday denied a request from the state for a stay while it appeals his ruling on special session law HB1 (Seitz) against foreign nationals contributing to ballot issue campaigns. Watson issued his ruling on Aug. 31 before the law was set to take effect, finding that the law likely violates the First Amendment rights of lawful permanent residents (LPR), also known as green card holders, who are included in HB1's definition of "foreign national." Attorney General Dave Yost's office, in the motion to stay, had argued that Watson was wrong in his decision on the merits, reasserting their arguments that the section of HB1, Section 121, that addresses LPRs is sufficiently important government interest, no matter the applicable level of scrutiny. The motion also argued that the injunction granted by Watson was too broad. In an opinion issued to deny the motion, Watson elaborated on his reasoning for granting the preliminary injunction, including that the state is unlikely to succeed on appeal. He wrote that the state had "over-read" a previous case, Bluman v. Federal Elections Commission, as standing for the proposition that foreign nationals, including those lawfully residing in the United States, lack a First Amendment right to political speech. He said the interpretation of that case relies on out-of-context cases and an out-of-context quotation.
Rep. Tex Fischer (R-Youngstown) will appear on the November ballot after Secretary of State Frank LaRose broke a tie on certifying his candidacy sent to him by the Mahoning County Board of Elections. Mahoning County Democratic Party Chair Chris Anderson challenged Fischer's candidacy for the 59th House District last month, arguing that he is ineligible because Fischer had legally changed his name in 2020 to add Texford as a middle name but did not list his previous name on petitions and other campaign forms. Fischer had changed his name from Austin James Fischer to Austin James Texford Fischer. In breaking the tie, LaRose noted that Fischer had not submitted a statement of candidacy and nominating petition to the board of elections, but had instead been selected by members of the county Republican Party to fill a ballot vacancy after former Rep. Al Cutrona (R-Canfield) was appointed to the Ohio Senate. LaRose said that despite arguments to the contrary, the statute on listing previous names on candidate paperwork does not extend to a party's certification of a ballot replacement, known as a Form 289 certification.
A recently released poll by Emerson College and The Hill shows that while former President Donald Trump has a large lead over Vice President Kamala Harris in Ohio, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) has a small lead over Republican U.S. Senate nominee Bernie Moreno. Among respondents, Trump leads Harris 53 percent to 43 percent, with 4 percent undecided. In the U.S. Senate race, 46 percent of respondents support Brown, 44 percent support Moreno, and 10 percent are undecided. A March poll by Emerson showed Brown leading Moreno 39 percent to 34 percent.
Innovation Ohio announced it has launched the 2024 version of its Ohio Voter Guide. The group said the online tool will give voters information about redistricting amendment Issue 1, help voters to take steps to check and update their voter registration, provide early vote options, and allow Ohioans to sign up for election reminders via text message. The guide can be found at https://ohiovoterguide.org/.
The following endorsements were made over the week:
The Ohio Supreme Court campaign of Joe Deters announced the endorsement of Teamsters Ohio DRIVE.
The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) endorsed Orlando Sonza for Congress.
EMPLOYMENT/UNEMPLOYMENT
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Friday the nation added 142,000 jobs in August while the unemployment rate was little changed at 4.2 percent. The July unemployment rate was 4.3 percent. BLS said the number of unemployed people also changed little at 7.1 million in August. That measure and the unemployment rate are both higher than they were a year ago when the unemployment rate was 3.8 percent and there were 6.3 million unemployed people. Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (4.0 percent), adult women (3.7 percent), teenagers (14.1 percent), Whites (3.8 percent), Blacks (6.1 percent), Asians (4.1 percent), and Hispanics (5.5 percent) showed little or no change in August.
ENERGY/UTILITIES
The Office of Ohio's Consumers' Counsel (OCC) hosted members of the Ohio Legislative Correspondents Association (OLCA) and other reporters Thursday to bring the industry up to date on the statutory agency's new leadership. Consumers' Counsel Maureen Willis addressed a number of hot-button issues led by the Ohio Supreme Court's latest rebuff of state utility regulators' historical practice of granting rehearing in principle to buy more time to decide whether to grant a rehearing in fact. Willis was joined by Deputy Consumers' Counsel and Legal Director Angela O'Brien, Public Affairs Director Merrilee Embs, Legislative Liaison Nick Stallard, and spokesman J.P. Blackwood at 65. E. State St. on Capitol Square where the OCC office is located.
ENVIRONMENT
Despite some rains rolling through Ohio over the weekend, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's "U.S. Drought Monitor" shows nearly all of the state experiencing dry conditions and nearly half of the state experiencing a severe drought or worse. Updated Thursday, the Drought Monitor puts 95.43 percent of the state in at least "abnormally dry" conditions, while 77.78 percent of the state is in a moderate or worse drought; 43.46 percent is "severe drought" or worse; 24.25 percent is "extreme drought" or worse; and 8.41 percent is in "exceptional drought" or worse. Areas experiencing the worst drought conditions are Central, Eastern, South, and Southeastern portions of the state. An estimated 7.3 million Ohioans are living in drought areas, according to the monitor.
On Friday, Sept. 6, Ohio Fire Marshal Kevin Reardon ordered a regional Ban on Open Burning affecting any county in Ohio identified by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) or United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as being in the "Extreme Drought" or "Exceptional Drought" categories as identified by the United States Drought Monitoring System, which can be found online at https://tinyurl.com/37k3fhaj. The ban covers the following Ohio counties: Athens, Belmont, Carroll, Fairfield, Fayette, Gallia, Guernsey, Harrison, Highland, Hocking, Jackson, Jefferson, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Muskingum, Perry, Pickaway, Pike, Ross, Scioto, Tuscarawas, Vinton, and Washington.
FEDERAL
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) discussed with reporters Wednesday how he has been working with city officials and community leaders in Springfield over the past three weeks to address the "strain on the city infrastructure" resulting from the influx of Haitian immigrants. He also discussed legislation he has offered seeking to get rid of "arbitrary" college degree requirements for some federal jobs. The issues in Springfield drew a pledge of state support by Gov. Mike DeWine Tuesday, and Brown told reporters it is causing "real challenges" for the city. Responding to press questions, he added Springfield police "have said they received no reports of animal abductions" by the Haitian immigrant community. Claims about that had been circulated online and were raised by former President Donald Trump at Tuesday night's presidential debate.
GAMING/GAMBLING
Ohio's sportsbooks brought in $18.1 million more in revenue in July 2024 than they did in July 2023, according to data provided by the Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC). Sports betting operators reported $55.3 million in total taxable revenue in July 2024, compared to $37.2 million in July 2023. The handle was also up significantly year-over-year, as sports bettors placed $476.9 million in bets in July 2024, compared to $331.1 million in July 2023.
Ohio's seven racinos brought in more revenue from video lottery terminals (VLTs) in August 2024 than they did in August 2023, according to data provided by the Ohio Lottery Commission. Racinos reported $118.4 million in revenues in August 2024, up from $112.5 million in August 2023. Operating transfers to the Lottery Profits Education Fund (LPEF) for August 2024 totaled $117 million, down from $126.2 million in August 2023.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY/STATEHOUSE
The Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board (CSRAB) is commemorating the 23rd anniversary of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, with a memorial flag display on the West Lawn of the Ohio Statehouse. The display is composed of 2,977 flags, representing the 2,977 victims of the attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and United Airlines Flight 93. When seen from above, the design represents the World Trade Center towers, with a space in the shape of the Pentagon and an open strip representing the field in Pennsylvania. The memorial opened Tuesday evening, Sept. 10 and runs until 12 p.m. Monday, Sept. 16. The Ohio Statehouse has been the venue for the annual 9/11 memorial from 2002 through 2024, only missing 2020 due to the pandemic.
CSRAB and the Capitol Square Foundation will open applications at 10 a.m. Monday, Sept. 23 through 6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 30 for the annual School Bus Transportation Grant Program, which helps to defray the costs to bring students to the Statehouse for a visit. The application will be posted at https://tinyurl.com/dcsemrxa. The Ohio Statehouse Museum Education Center will use a random lottery to select winners in the three mileage categories for the grant. Grants amounts by mileage category are as follows:
Zero to 50 miles, $200
51 to 100 miles, $300
101 or more miles, $400
Those with questions can contact Dayna Jalkanen at 614-728-2697 or djalkanen@ohiostatehouse.org.
The chair of Ohio's state-convened Doula Advisory Group pushed back Monday on Ohio Board of Nursing rules that interpret HB101 (Bird). Chairwoman Marie McCausland told the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review (JCARR) that agency- versus state-certified doulas under Rule 4723-24 could be left out of the workforce and are getting little help from the nursing board at a critical time for Medicaid-funded maternity care.
What mysteries lie within the halls of the Ohio Statehouse during spooky season? Visitors will have the opportunity to see for themselves as they walk the darkened halls of the Statehouse on a lantern-led guided tour during 2024's Statehouse Haunted Tours. This year will mark the 30th anniversary for the popular eerie tours. Haunted Tour dates include Friday, Oct. 18, Saturday, Oct. 19, Friday, Oct. 25 and Saturday, Oct. 26. Tours through the darkened halls of the building will depart every half hour from 7-8:30 p.m. Tickets must be pre-ordered for the tours, and those can be purchased in three ways, including the following:
Online at www.statehouseshop.com; in-person at the Statehouse Museum Shop on the ground floor of the Ohio Statehouse; or over the phone by calling 614-728-9234.
HANNAH NEWS RACES TO WATCH
A newly drawn Cincinnati-area House seat will see an incumbent who says she has been able to make progress on everyday issues for the residents of her district despite being in the minority going up against a long-time attorney who argues his opponent is a passive lawmaker who only does what she is told by her caucus. Rep. Rachel Baker (D-Cincinnati) flipped the district blue in 2022, winning nearly 56 percent of the vote over Republican Jenn Giroux. The district, however, was redrawn by the Ohio Redistricting Commission last year and, according to the commission, now has a partisan index of 50.3 percent Democratic and 49.7 percent Republican, making it one of the more competitive races in the state. Baker tells Hannah News that her new district has nine new neighborhoods for her to get to know. Speaking with voters, she said the top issues in the district that she hears about are education, health care, gun safety, current economic conditions, higher costs, and property taxes. Hartman told Hannah News that he sees the race as a question of whose values align best with the voters of the district, adding that he has had a career of challenging anyone in government who oversteps, no matter which side of the aisle they fall on.
Two local city councilmen are facing off in November to represent Ohio House District 15. After redistricting put incumbent Rep. Richard Dell'Aquila (D-Seven Hills) outside the new 15th House District boundaries, Democrat Chris Glassburn and Republican Aaron Borowski are vying for a seat at the Statehouse. Both men defeated primary challengers. The western Cuyahoga County district covers communities including Brook Park, Brooklyn, Linndale, Middleburg Heights, North Olmsted and parts of Cleveland and Olmsted Township. The 2024 Ohio Election Guide, published by the Ohio Manufacturers' Association (OMA) and compiled with assistance from Hannah News, gives the district a political Republican index of 46.80 percent. Glassburn is a councilman for Ward 2 in North Olmsted and previously served on the North Olmsted School Board. He is the owner and president of a small business. Borowski is a city councilman for Brooklyn and a bread delivery driver with management experience in retail.
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
A federal judge Wednesday approved a global settlement agreement in the bankruptcy case of Texas-based Steward Health Care that will keep two hospitals in Trumbull County open. Steward Health Care said last month that it intended to close Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital, Trumbull Regional Medical Center, and other satellite facilities in Trumbull County. U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Christopher Lopez approved the interim agreement between Steward and Medical Properties Trust on Wednesday, with the agreement saying it will keep nearly all of Steward hospitals open, including the Ohio hospitals "that were at risk of imminent closure." The agreement includes funding support from Medical Properties Trust and new interim managers of the facilities. The hospitals will be transferred to a new operator by Medical Properties Trust, with efforts to sell the facilities by Tuesday, Oct. 1. Steward Health Care will operate the facilities under the supervision of the interim managers until the sale. Insight Foundation of Hillside and Insight Foundation of Trumbull have been appointed as the interim managers of Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital and Trumbull Regional Medical Center, respectively.
When Matt Habash took his job with the Mid-Ohio Food Collective in 1984, he says his dream was for the organization to go out of business. Instead, now in 2024, Ohio has one of the highest rates of food insecurity in the country, with over 400,000 children across the state living in food-insecure households. Ohio's hunger rate at 11.5 percent is higher than the national average of 10.4 percent. With September recognized as Hunger Action Month, the Columbus Metropolitan Club (CMC) met Wednesday to ask, "What Would It Take to End Hunger in Central Ohio?" Rather than going out of business, the Mid-Ohio Food Collective is busier today than it's ever been, according to Habash, now the organization's president and CEO, and food insecurity often has nothing to do with food itself, but rather a person's ability to pay for food.
HIGHER EDUCATION
The University of Toledo is finalizing preparations for its 21st annual International Human Trafficking & Social Justice Conference, to be held virtually Wednesday, Sept. 18 through Friday, Sept. 20. This year's conference will feature more than 110 live webinar presentations and networking sessions ranging from trafficking survivors' personal stories to discussions around the challenges and opportunities in artificial intelligence. A full schedule of events and registration information can be found at the conference's website, www.traffickingconference.com.
Attorney General Dave Yost recently announced that the state has reached a $1.6 million settlement with three construction companies and a design firm over what he alleged were dangerous flaws in an 11-year-old building at Zane State College. Yost's office had sued the three companies -- Robertson Construction, SHP Leading Design and Quandel Construction Group -- in October 2022 after mediation failed to resolve a dispute regarding the splitting and crumbling facade of the Advanced Sciences and Technology Center, completed in 2013 on Zane State's campus.
IMMIGRATION
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost joined Republican vice presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) to address spiking immigration to Ohio and Clark County/Springfield in particular by announcing Monday that he ordered his office to research legal avenues to stop the Biden administration from sending an "unlimited" number of migrants to Ohio. The directive addresses concerns in communities including Springfield that he says are being "inundated and overwhelmed" by migrants. The AG says the "sudden and extreme" population growth is straining the city's economic, medical and educational systems. "This is absurd -- Springfield has swollen by more than a third due to migrants. How many people can they be expected to take? What are the limits to the federal government's power?”
Observing that, traditionally in the U.S., there has been a plan to orderly settle spikes in immigration to a particular area, Gov. Mike DeWine said Tuesday that this is not the current situation in Springfield. He went on to announce state assistance to several areas in the Springfield community as it faces an influx of thousands of Haitian immigrants over the past few years. DeWine's announcement came a day after Yost called for research into legal avenues to address the current surge of migration into Ohio. DeWine said that Springfield has seen nearly 15,000 immigrants, mainly from Haiti, in the past few years move into the city, where the population currently stands at over 58,000 people. That has put particular strain on Springfield's health care, transportation and housing systems. The increase in population has substantially driven up the need for primary health care among Springfield's citizens, said DeWine. That not only includes the health care needed by new immigrants, but also by residents who lived in Springfield previously. DeWine announced that he has directed Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff to work with the Clark County Health Department to dramatically expand access to primary care.
DeWine also said a good number of the individuals coming to the U.S. have not driven before due to far fewer cars in Haiti than there are in the U.S. And many immigrants do not have Ohio driver's licenses. The resulting traffic and transportation issues are creating "a great deal of concern for people on the road in Springfield and Clark County," said DeWine. In response, DeWine announced he has ordered the Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) to send troopers and patrol cars into Springfield to help local police department deal with traffic. DeWine said the goal is to reduce dangerous driving, regardless of who the driver is. The state is also coordinating with the local bureau of motor vehicles to offer more driver education classes and driving simulators to the Haitian community.
JUDICIAL
The Ohio Supreme Court Monday announced it is now accepting applications for transportation grants to help offset school travel expenses to visit the Ohio Judicial Center. Tours explore the neo-classic edifice at 65 S. Front Street in the state capital, where students can explore the judicial center's historical artwork, deco interior, and Supreme Court chambers and learn about the state's judicial branch, the appellate process, and how Court decisions affect the laws and citizens of Ohio, including a "mock" trial. Tours are free, and grant amounts are based on a school's one-way distance to the Ohio Judicial Center:
1 to 40 miles: $200
41 to 80 miles: $300
81-120 miles: $400
121 or more miles: $500
Teachers and administrators can apply online for grades 4-12 by going to the Supreme Court's website or by visiting tinyurl.com/2v74r2rn. The application deadline is Wednesday, Oct. 2, and grants run through June 2025.
The Ohio Supreme Court hopes to bolster victims' rights under the Marsy's Law amendment to the Ohio Constitution in a series of revisions to judicial rules. Over half of the 45-pages of proposed changes would bring Ohio Rules of Juvenile Procedure up to speed with victim protections in adult criminal courts, and amendments overall would strengthen Marsy's Law language in judicial rules, save for two exceptions. The Court is seeking public feedback on draft changes to the Ohio Rules of Appellate Procedure, Civil Procedure, Criminal Procedure, Evidence and Juvenile Procedure, with 25 pages devoted to the latter. The amendments generally strengthen the rights of victims of crime and delinquent acts to be given notice and heard in all phases of criminal, juvenile and civil proceedings, including arraignment, bail, pleas, discovery, trial, sentencing, probation or community control, revocation hearings and appeals, as well as juvenile adjudications, jurisdictional transfers, detention hearings, continuances, disposition hearings and record sealing, in addition to civil protection orders, among other judicial proceedings.
A longtime Republican campaign treasurer who pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $1 million in campaign funds was sentenced to five years' probation. U.S. District Court Judge James Graham also ordered William Curlis to pay nearly $800,000 in restitution, according to a court filing. Curlis had been a campaign treasurer for more than 100 candidates since the 1980s. Secretary of State Frank LaRose issued a statement criticizing the judge for being too lenient. "I'm glad justice has been served in this case, but I'm disappointed in the sentence compared to the crimes this person committed," LaRose said.
The Ohio Constitution's single subject rule would be pointless if HB68 (Click) is found to satisfy the requirement, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Ohio attorney David Carey told a 10th District Court of Appeals panel on Wednesday. Judges Michael Mentel, Julia Dorrian and Carly Edelstein heard oral arguments in the case, which challenges provisions of the law that ban the use of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for gender-affirming care for minors. The law also prohibits transgender women and girls from participating in women's and girls' school sports. Franklin County Court of Common Pleas Judge Michael Holbrook recently ruled that HB68 didn't violate the Ohio Constitution, and those challenging the law quickly appealed. Edelstein asked Carey to respond to the state's argument that the single subject of HB68 is "the debate over transgenderism" and that the common purpose is "protecting youth and their families from the challenges of an increasingly pressing social trend."
U.S. District Court Judge Sarah Morrison is now the chief judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, according to the court. In her new role as chief judge, Morrison will not only preside over cases and perform the other functions of an active federal judge, but also will act as the administrative judge and be responsible for overseeing the operations of the court and ensuring that the judges and court units (probation, pretrial services and the district court including the clerk's office) fulfill their constitutional, operational, and administrative duties. Morrison takes over the responsibilities as chief judge from Judge Algenon L. Marbley, who served in that capacity for five years and had the court ranked as one of the most efficient in the country during his tenure. He also led the court through the coronavirus pandemic.
LIBRARIES
September is National Library Card Sign-up Month, and the Ohio Library Council (OLC) and Dolly Parton's Imagination Library are teaming up to mark the occasion. The annual initiative coincides with the start of the school year. OLC notes that a library card "unlocks a world of possibilities," from books to kindergarten readiness programs to homework help, WiFi, creative makerspaces and more. "Getting a library card is a transformative experience for children and families," said Michelle Francis, executive director of the Ohio Library Council. "It opens a whole new world of education, entertainment, and enrichment. Libraries offer a cost effective way for parents and caregivers to access books for their children and read more frequently together. We appreciate Dolly Parton's Imagination Library of Ohio for helping us spread the word about the power of public libraries."
MANUFACTURING
The Ohio Chamber of Commerce launched its first annual "Future of Manufacturing Summit" on Capitol Square Monday with panel discussions addressing energy, workforce, innovation, capitalization/commercialization and a final roundtable on the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Manufacturing Extension Partnership. The opening session, "Meeting the Energy Needs of Manufacturing in the 21st Century," featured Executive Director Chris Ventura of Consumer Energy Alliance-Midwest in Columbus, President and CEO Rick Stockburger of BRITE Energy Innovators in Warren, Director Doug Myers of Business Development for engineering/research firm EWI in Columbus, and chamber General Counsel and Energy Policy Director Tony Long as moderator. Ventura, Stockburger and Myers addressed manufacturing's growing energy demands from the perspective of consumption, technology incubation, and engineering research, respectively. "There's a huge opportunity right now to build a clean energy economy in Ohio. It's here and growing, but the technology needs to be better," Stockburger said.
The Ohio Chamber of Commerce's "Future of Manufacturing" Summit also included discussion on how to grow the next generation of workers as well as ways of upskilling and retraining people now. A panel on that topic included Jon Graft, superintendent and CEO of Butler Tech; Ande Durojaiye, vice president of regional campuses at Miami University; Teresa Simons, executive director of the Alliance for Working Together (AWT) Foundation; and Bill Swan, talent program specialist for community engagement at Swagelok. It was moderated by Justin Barnes, director of federal affairs, workforce, small business and technology policy at the Ohio Chamber. In opening comments, Swan and Simons discussed efforts to build youth engagement in manufacturing. Swan said K-12 students see information about other careers such as health care and culinary arts that represent competition for manufacturing. He also said he uses other terms such as "makers of things" or innovators since the word manufacturing doesn't always connect with young people.
MENTAL HEALTH
As five Ohioans die by suicide each day and one young person dies by suicide every 34 hours, members of the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation (OSPF) gathered at the Statehouse Tuesday to call on the state of Ohio to break the stigma around mental health care and to talk about efforts to shift the conversation about suicide from a culture of silence to one of support. The discussion marked the recognition of Tuesday, Sept. 10 as World Suicide Prevention Day. OSPF Executive Director Tony Coder was joined by a group of suicide loss survivors he called "part of a club no one wants to be in" to discuss what the state is doing and can do additionally to address a statewide suicide rate that has resumed its steady climb since 2007 after a slight drop during 2020.
NATURAL RESOURCES
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) has partnered with the Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) for a weekend full of specialized programs in celebration of the sixth annual "Girl Scouts Love Ohio State Parks" weekend Saturday, Sept. 14 and Sunday, Sept. 15. Girl Scouts, their troops, families and friends are encouraged to visit any of 10 Ohio state parks that weekend for programs especially tailored to Girl Scouts. Programs guided by ODNR naturalists will offer opportunities for participants to enjoy outdoor recreation activities and to deepen their understanding and appreciation of nature during an experience blending adventure, education and the great outdoors. A full list of the events planned for Girl Scouts Love State Parks weekend, their locations and links to register can be found at https://tinyurl.com/wfuw5wbp.
OHIO HISTORY
The Ohio History Connection and the National Park Service will commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks' inscription into the UNESCO World Heritage List at sites in Licking, Ross and Warren counties with free events from Thursday, Sept. 19 through Saturday, Sept. 21 at the Hopewell Earthworks sites. No registration is required. Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks is the collective name for eight works of monumental landscape architecture built by Native Americans between 1,600 and 2,000 years ago in Central and Southern Ohio. Five of the earthworks sites are managed by the National Park Service, while three are managed by the Ohio History Connection. The Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks sites were inscribed to the UNESCO World Heritage List on Sept. 19, 2023, by the 21 countries on the World Heritage Committee during a meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. There are about 1,200 World Heritage sites around the globe, and the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks is just the 25th World Heritage Listing in the U.S. and the first and only one in Ohio.
PENSIONS
The Ohio Retirement Study Council voted Thursday to award a contract for the decennial actuarial audit of the School Employees Retirement System (SERS) to the consulting team of PTA/KMS/Bolton at a cost not to exceed $129,000 for the audit, which is required by law for each system at least once every 10 years. The team was hired by lawmakers more than a decade ago to advise in the pension reform deliberations that resulted in passage of five overhaul bills in 2012, one for each system. ORSC has since hired them for other work. In addition, former Rep. Gary Scherer joined the council Thursday as a gubernatorial appointee.
PUBLIC SAFETY
The Ohio Department of Public Safety (DPS) recently added two police departments to law enforcement agencies certified under minimum standards promulgated by the Ohio Collaborative Community-Police Advisory Board. Englewood (Montgomery County) and Jamestown (Greene County) have adopted statewide standards for use of force, including deadly force, and agency recruitment and hiring. DPS' Office of Criminal Justice Services (OCJS) also recertified 17 law enforcement agencies, including municipal, university, airport and Ohio Veterans Home police and two sheriff's offices. Recertification occurs on a revolving, three- to four-year cycle. Ohio is only 127 peace officers away from tipping the 30,000 mark for officers employed by OCJS-certified law enforcement agencies.
REDISTRICTING/REAPPORTIONMENT
Ohio Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Brunner rejected a request from Attorney General Dave Yost's office for her to recuse herself from a lawsuit against Secretary of State Frank LaRose and the Ohio Ballot Board over the adopted ballot language for redistricting constitutional amendment Issue 1. Yost's office filed the demand for Brunner to recuse, noting that Brunner is a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit against LaRose over a law that requires candidates for Ohio appeals courts and the Ohio Supreme Court to appear on the ballot with party designation that was passed as part of 134-SB80. However, Brunner responded Monday, saying she finds the request "without merit and will continue to participate in this case." She noted that in Issue 1 case, LaRose is named as a defendant in his official capacity for his role in "determining the forms of ballot and prescribing the ballot title for constitutional amendments submitted to the electors," while in the federal case, LaRose is named in his official capacity pursuant to his duties "for prescribing the ballots of the state regarding judicial candidacies."
Meanwhile, legislative Democrats, led by House Minority Leader Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington) and Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio (D-Lakewood), filed an amicus brief with the Ohio Supreme Court, arguing that majority Republicans "have rigged the system to put forward a misleading and dishonest ballot summary of the Citizens Not Politicians ('CNP') proposed constitutional amendment. Ironically, it was a desire to put an end to that type of self-serving behavior that led hundreds of thousands of Ohioans to work tirelessly to get an independent redistricting proposal on the ballot." They argued that the Ballot Board should be reconvened to draft and adopt an unbiased, accurate, and truthful summary of Issue 1.
Ohioans should vote against the Citizens Not Politicians redistricting constitutional amendment, former Rep. John Barnes (D-Cleveland) said Monday. "The process now has some flaws, but this is not the right answer," Barnes said during a press conference at the Lincoln Cafe in Columbus with other supporters of his new organization, the Black Equity and Redistricting Fund. "The current system is not perfect. No one said it is," Barnes said. "But what it does, effectively, is it's based on the count of all citizens in the state of Ohio. What this amendment would do is unilaterally transfer power to the few, as opposed to everyone in the state of Ohio." The Black Equity and Redistricting Fund recently filed an amicus brief supporting the ballot language adopted by the Ohio Ballot Board for Issue 1.
STATE GOVERNMENT
The Controlling Board Monday approved releasing the funds for the secretary of state's office to advertise the ballot language and arguments for and against Issue 1, despite the objections of Democrats on the panel who said the action should be delayed while a court challenge to the ballot language is ongoing. The request transferred $404,982 in funds to the secretary of state's office to meet the requirement under the Ohio Constitution to advertise the ballot language and arguments of state issues for the final three weeks before the election in the largest newspapers in each of Ohio's 88 counties.
TRADE
Gov. Mike DeWine and other dignitaries addressed Midwest U.S.-Japan Conference attendees Monday with a focus on economic ties between the two nations, particularly how Japanese companies have invested in Midwestern states and employ tens of thousands of residents. The conference marked the first time in 21 years that Ohio was the host state according to DeWine. In his opening remarks, DeWine described visiting Japan in his first overseas trip after being elected governor. He said the conference recognizes the ongoing prosperity between the U.S. and Japan, adding it celebrates a relationship between the people of the two countries
VETERANS
Gov. Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Veterans Services (ODVS) Director Deborah Ashenhurst announced the members of the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame Class of 2024. The class includes 20 inductees who will be honored for post-military accomplishments and achievements at the 33rd annual Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in November. The class represents 14 Ohio counties and four branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. Living members of the class range in age from 39 to 84, and there is one posthumous inductee. The induction ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 7, at the Fawcett Center, 2400 Olentangy River Road, at Ohio State University.
WORKERS’ COMPENSATION
During a special meeting on Thursday, the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC) Board of Directors voted to terminate its contract with Western Asset Management Company (WAMCO) as the business faces increased scrutiny from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). WAMCO had served as a manager of BWC's long credit strategy in the State Insurance Fund, overseeing about $750 million in BWC assets, BWC Chief Investment Officer Rob Palmeri said during the special BWC Investment Committee meeting, which was held prior to the special BWC Board meeting. Investment consultants RVK and Meketa Investment Group both sent memos to BWC recommending the termination of the contract with WAMCO.
WORKFORCE
Lt. Gov. Jon Husted recently announced that nearly 1,000 Ohio high school students had taken part in the 2024 High School Tech Internship program, while also noting the application process for 2025 program intermediaries has opened. The tech internship program provides high school students with "real-world" experience, according to the DeWine administration. "This is how we keep our young talent in Ohio, by connecting them to employers and career paths before they leave high school," Husted said. "When we started, many employers were skeptical that high school students were up to the task but given the fact that this year we hit a record number of intern requests shows employers and students see the value of the program." Positions in the program include software development, data, cloud and IT infrastructure, cybersecurity, and broadband/5G related roles. The number of students this year was almost twice that in 2023, and they attend over 250 schools.
[Story originally published in The Hannah Report. Copyright 2024 Hannah News Service, Inc.]
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