State and federal officials in Ohio on Tuesday announced they will seek to defund and investigate Planned Parenthood in the wake of controversial videos depicting organization officials. At an anti-abortion rally at the Ohio Statehouse, state Rep. Bill Patmon, a Cleveland Democrat, said he’s co-sponsoring new legislation that would cut off all state funding to […]
Lawmakers propose plan to reform the drawing of Ohio’s congressional districts
July 23, 2015 by
Two state senators, a Republican and a Democrat, announced a plan Wednesday to reduce partisan politics from the way Ohio draws its 16 congressional districts. Sens. Frank LaRose, a Copley Republican, and Tom Sawyer, an Akron Democrat, want to apply changes already proposed for drawing Statehouse districts to the drawing of the congressional districts. “Now […]
Ohio House Bill would protect ministers, groups that refuse to marry gay couples
July 15, 2015 by
New legislation in the Ohio House seeks to ensure that ministers and religious groups couldn’t be penalized for refusing to marry gay couples. Under House Bill 286, introduced Tuesday, ordained ministers or religious societies could not be subject to civil or criminal liability for refusing to perform or host gay marriages. State and local officials […]
Campaign for redistricting reform kicks off in Ohio
July 9, 2015 by
The campaign to change the way Ohio draws its Statehouse districts will spend the next four months persuading voters to say “yes” to Issue 1 on the November ballot. Fair Districts for Ohio, which kicked off its campaign Wednesday, will be chaired by the former state representatives who led the charge last year to revise […]
State tax cut will actually mean higher taxes next year for many small businesses
July 8, 2015 by
The state budget signed into law last week by Gov. John Kasich will grant state tax relief for most Ohioans, but also will trigger a one-year tax increase for many small businesses and self-employed individuals. Businesses or self-employed people making up to about $270,000 a year will pay more because of the way the budget […]
Townships, small villages to see increase in state funding
July 8, 2015 by
While local governments stand to gain $70 million more in state funding during the next two years, most cities and large villages will see a chunk of that money redirected elsewhere. The overall increase, to $782.8 million in the next two years, comes because local funding is tied to an overall jump in state revenue. […]
State to sell privately run Marion prison
July 1, 2015 by
State lawmakers on Tuesday approved legislation to allow the sale and privatization of a second Ohio prison. House Bill 238, which cleared a final House vote, would put the North Central Correctional Institution in Marion on the auction block. Gov. John Kasich intends to sign the legislation, according to gubernatorial spokesman Rob Nichols. The money […]
Ohio dumps PARCC for statewide testing
July 1, 2015 by
Ohio became the latest state to pull out of the PARCC Common Core testing consortium after months of angry complaints about the new online tests having too many technology glitches and of eating up far too much learning time for students. In signing the state’s two-year budget bill Tuesday night, Gov. John Kasich agreed with […]
Governor signs new state budget, uses 44 line item vetoes
July 1, 2015 by
Gov. John Kasich signed a $130.3 billion budget bill Tuesday that will govern Ohio’s spending the next two years, but not before using his line-item veto to eliminate 44 provisions. Among the items Kasich eliminated from the spending document were provisions that would have required the Ohio Lottery Commission to add electronic keno and bingo […]
Supreme Court decision could help redistricting reform for Ohio
June 30, 2015 by
Monday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling in favor of Arizona’s redistricting commission means Ohio could act quickly to reform its process for drawing congressional district maps. Late last year, Ohio lawmakers passed revisions to the state legislative redistricting process with large bipartisan support in both chambers. Ohio Republicans then cited the Arizona case as the main […]
