House Democrats on Tuesday called on Gov. John Kasich to declare a public health emergency for heroin abuse and overdose in Ohio and provide more funding to law enforcement and treatment centers to fight the problem. Lawmakers said they plan to introduce a series of bills to fund prevention and treatment proggrams and study how […]
Ohio Bill Would Raise Limits on Lobbyist Spending
April 23, 2014 by
Statehouse lobbyists would get to spend twice as much on lawmakers and would have to disclose fewer expenses under proposed legislation billed as ethics reform. The bill, which Republican sponsors say they intend to introduce next month, also includes increased transparency and accountability measures, such as requiring random audits of public officials’ financial disclosure forms […]
New Ohio Law to Allow Schools, Camps to Stock “Epi Pens”
April 10, 2014 by
State lawmakers unanimously passed a bill this week allowing schools, camps and athletic programs to stock epinephrine, which can be used to stop possibly fatal allergic reactions. The bill will become law as soon as Gov. John Kasich signs it. Currently, only students who have a prescription for an epinephrine auto-injector can use the medicine, […]
Hunting with Suppressors Moves a Step Closer
April 3, 2014 by
Members of the Ohio House of Representatives voted Wednesday to approve a bill that would allow Ohioans to hunt with noise suppressors on their firearms. Sponsored by Republican Reps. Cheryl Grossman, of Grove City, and John Becker, of Union Township, House Bill 234 would allow noise suppressors on firearms while Ohioans hunt game birds and […]
Bill Would Make it Officially Legal to Flash Headlights as Warning
April 1, 2014 by
About two months after a federal court in Missouri ruled that a driver has a right to flash his or her headlights to warn others of police speed traps, one Ohio legislator has unveiled a bill to codify that protection into Ohio law. Sponsored by Rep. John Becker, a Republican from Union Township, House Bill […]
Ohio Lawmaker Proposes Banning Synthetic Microbeads
April 1, 2014 by
A Cleveland-area lawmaker has proposed banning Ohio stores from selling facial scrubs, toothpaste and other products that contain synthetic microbeads, saying the tiny particles are polluting Lake Erie and killing fish. State Sen. Mike Skindell, a Lakewood Democrat, said the miniscule bits of plastic are too small to be caught by water-treatment plant filters and […]
Bill will Force Schools to Make Up Some Missed Days
March 27, 2014 by
Gov. John Kasich signed legislation Wednesday to give school districts some relief from the long winter that already has prompted many to exceed their allotments of calamity days. The legislation, approved earlier this month in a compromise between the Ohio House and Senate, provides schools with four additional calamity days. Districts first will have to […]
Marion’s State Rep Proposes Tougher Child Restraint Law
March 25, 2014 by
Motorists could be prosecuted for any injuries sustained by children who aren’t in a safety seat, under new legislation in the Ohio House of Representatives. House Bill 480, introduced last week, would also allow law enforcement to pull over drivers if they spot any passengers younger than age 15 who aren’t buckled or strapped in […]
Birth Parents of Adopted Children Have One Year Before Records are Opened
March 21, 2014 by
Starting today, birth parents of adopted children previously barred from obtaining birth records can decide whether to redact their name or include contact information in records available to adoptees beginning next year. A new law allows adoptees born in Ohio between 1964 and 1996 to learn their birth parents’ names and how to contact them, […]
Kasich Proposes Lower Income Taxes, Increase to Cigarettes and Drilling Taxes
March 12, 2014 by
Gov. John Kasich has proposed cutting Ohio’s income tax rates by about 8.5 percent across all brackets, using tax increases on cigarettes, oil and gas resources and business receipts to pay for it. The cuts are proposed in the governor’s mid-biennium review (MBR), a policy statement used to update last year’s budget legislation and lay […]
