Increasing Ohio’s minimum wage, making Medicaid expansion permanent and making college more affordable are among the priorities Senate Democrats said Wednesday they plan to push for during the next two years.
Much of the first six months of 2015 will be devoted to vetting the state’s two-year budget, which Republican Gov. John Kasich will propose in early February. The House, led by a Republican majority, will debate and revise the massive spending bill first, and the Senate will make more changes after.
Republicans also control the Senate, with a 23-10 majority, but Senate Democrats said that won’t keep them from accomplishing their goals.
“Our names don’t necessarily have to be on the bills, but if they make a difference in people’s lives that we represent, then that’s what we’re supposed to do,” Senate Minority Leader Joe Schiavoni, a Boardman Democrat, said.
Schiavoni said Democrats plan to seek Republican support for their bills as well as support bills proposed by the majority party.
In addition to perennial favorites such as regulating charter schools and increasing funding for local governments, senators mentioned a few new priorities during a Wednesday meeting with reporters.
Minimum wage increase
Sen. Kenny Yuko, a Richmond Heights Democrat, is working on legislation to hike Ohio’s minimum wage, currently set at $8.10 an hour and $4.05 an hour for tipped workers. A 2006 amendment to the state Constitution automatically increases the minimum wage annually to reflect inflation.
Sen. Charleta Tavares, a Columbus Democrat, said a worker needs to earn at least $12.31 an hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment. Tavares said lawmakers are working on identifying the amount they will propose.
Medicaid expansion
Sen. Capri Cafaro, a Hubbard Democrat, said she plans to introduce a bill codifying Ohio’s expanded Medicaid program.
Gov. John Kasich expanded eligibility for the federal- and state-funded health insurance program for poor and disabled Ohioans despite objections from the GOP-controlled Legislature.
The administration initially estimated about 366,000 Ohioans would sign up through the new eligibility, but more than 450,000 Ohioans have signed up and Cafaro said it would be “irresponsible and heartless” to end the expansion now that so many Ohioans have benefited from it.
College affordability
Sen. Tom Sawyer, an Akron Democrat, said Ohio’s public universities and colleges shouldn’t charge students a fee for taking more courses than a normal load. Sawyer said schools use overload fees to pay for deferred maintenance. Sawyer said the state should be paying that cost — not students.
Sawyer also plans to propose $20 million in state funding annually for grants to attend community college.
Community-police relations
Sen. Cecil Thomas, a new Democratic Senator from Cincinnati, said he plans to introduce a bill to establish a community-police relations commission. Akin to Kasich’s task force, which held its first public forum Tuesday in Cleveland, the commission would focus more long-term on ways to improve relationships between communities and their police departments.
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