Democrats Want Investigation into DeWine, Husted

Ohio Democratic lawmakers want the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate Republican Gov. Mike DeWine and Republican Lt. Gov. Jon Husted after news reports questioned the administration’s actions after the House Bill 6 scandal came to light.

At a Thursday news conference, State House Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, said the suggestion is that the administration did nothing when possibly criminal activity came to light.

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Group Pushing Level Playing Field for Ohio Craft Beer Brewers

Beer

An Ohio policy groups wants state lawmakers to unlock competition in the brewing industry and let craft brewers compete on a level playing field.

The Buckeye Institute calls the state’s alcohol franchise law anti-competitive and favors distributors over small craft brewers.

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Ohio Businesses to Save $67 Million After Worker’s Comp Rate Cut

Office Meeting

Private employers across the state will pay $67 million less in workers’ compensation premiums after the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation board voted Friday morning to lower rates for the sixth straight year.

The 7% rate cut follows a 3.9% reduction for public employers that went into effect Jan. 1. The new private employer rate takes effect July 1.

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Ohio Launches New Online Tool to Help Families Locate and Research Nursing Homes Across the State

Nursing Home

The Ohio Department of Aging has launched a new online tool to empower Ohioans when considering a nursing home for themselves or a loved one.

The Ohio Nursing Home Quality Navigator is an online tool that provides users with detailed information about nursing homes across the state.

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Bill to Ban Foreign Money in Ohio Ballot Issues Moves Ahead

Theresa Gavarone

As Ohio’s March 19 primary begins today with early in-person voting, state senators are moving ahead with election-related legislation to stop foreign campaign contributions.

Senate Bills 215 and 137 are planned to go before the chamber’s General Government Committee.

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Teacher’s Assistant Sues Union, Ohio School District for Illegally Withholding Dues from Her Paycheck

Perry High School

An Ohio teacher’s assistant who helps special needs students is suing her school district and former union because the district withheld union dues from her paycheck even after she left the union and formally asked it to cease taking her money.

“Using the coercion of government to take money from a government employee and give it to a union without the employee’s consent is not only egregious, but the Supreme Court has held that it’s unconstitutional,” Jeffrey Schwab, a senior counsel at Liberty Justice Center who represents the Ohio teacher’s assistant, told The Daily Signal in a written statement Monday.

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Ohio Communities to Share $100 Million for Transportation Needs

Road near Charm, Ohio

Nearly 400 transit programs across the state will share more than $100 million in taxpayer funds for various projects to support public transportation.

Gov. Mike DeWine announced $106 million for 383 different projects through seven grant programs focusing on workforce mobility, senior citizens, special needs transportation, rural transit and busing.

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Ohio U.S. Senator JD Vance Speaks at Munich Security Conference, Stresses Importance of Negotiating Peace in Ukraine

Ohio U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) participated in a panel discussion over the weekend at the Munich Security Conference in Germany where he discussed the United States’ response to conflicts around the globe.

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Ohio Democrats Roll Out Gun Legislation

Allison Russo

Ohio Democrats once again are pushing gun legislation, including declaration of gun violence as a public health crisis.

The introduction of five bills that deal with universal background checks and concealed carry restrictions, among other things, comes in the week of a mass shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory parade.

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President Biden’s Visit to East Palestine Ill-Received by Residents: ‘Too Little Too Late’

Joe Biden East Palestine

President Joe Biden traveled to East Palestine, Ohio on Friday more than a year after a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials derailed to meet with residents and community leaders, including East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway who called the president’s visit “long-awaited.”

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Missouri Senator Throws Support Behind Bernie Moreno in Ohio GOP Senate Primary

Schmitt Moreno

GOP Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri endorsed Republican businessman Bernie Moreno in the contentious Ohio Senate primary on Thursday, the Daily Caller News Foundation first learned.

Moreno also has the backing of former President Donald Trump and numerous allies as he competes for a chance to take on Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown. Schmitt became the 11th senator to publicly announce support for Moreno in the primary, the campaign told the DCNF.

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Mark Wahlberg’s Ohio-Based RV Dealer Launches Virtual Showroom

Mark Wahlberg Airstream

Actor and business owner Mark Wahlberg’s Ohio-based RV dealer has launched a new virtual buying experience.

Mark Wahlberg’s Airstream dealerships in Columbus and Cleveland sell and service Airstream travel trailers and touring coaches.

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Judge Blocks Ohio’s Social Media Parental Notification Act from Being Enforced

Kids on Phone

Chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio Algenon L. Marbley granted NetChoice’s request for a preliminary injunction that stops the state’s Social Media Parental Notification Act from being enforced on Monday.

Last month, NetChoice sued Ohio to block the Social Media Parental Notification Act from taking effect.

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Senator JD Vance Explains How Ukraine Aid Package is a ‘Future Impeachment Trap’ for Trump

Sen. JD Vance (R-OH)

Ohio U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) joined Monday’s edition of Steve Bannon’s War Room to discuss the supplemental funding package currently being debated in the Senate and how it could be used as a tool to impeach former President Donald Trump if he were to be elected in November.

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Senator JD Vance Weighs in on Rumor that Democrats Will Replace Joe Biden on the Ballot

Sen. JD Vance and Trump v Biden

Ohio U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) weighed in on resurfaced discussions rumoring the Democratic Party will choose a different candidate to replace President Joe Biden as its nominee in the 2024 presidential election.

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Ohio Appalachian Region Getting $85 Million Assistance for Innovation Centers

Gov. Mike DeWine

Ohio plans to funnel $85 million in federal taxpayer dollars to its Appalachian region to develop new community innovation centers to help with education, behavioral health care and jobs.

The money is available for K-12 school districts, joint vocational school districts, regional councils of government or other political subdivisions in the state’s 32-county Appalachian region.

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Butler County Sheriff Wants Ohio State Lawmakers to Pass Legislation Focused on Curbing Terrorism Threats

Richard Jones

Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones called on state lawmakers to pass legislation focused on curbing terrorism threats posed by illegal immigration and insufficient cybersecurity based on information he learned at last month’s National Sheriff’s Association’s annual winter conference in Washington D.C.

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Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost Spearheading Effort Urging Congress to Stabilize Funding for the Federal Crime Victims Fund

Dave Yost Congress

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost led a bipartisan coalition of 41 other state attorneys general in sending a letter to congressional leaders urging the authorization of bridge funding for the federal Crime Victims Fund, also known as the VOCA Fund.

Created by Congress in 1984, the VOCA Fund provides federal support to state and local programs that assist victims of crime.

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Feds Tease East Palestine Toxic Train Derailment Findings

The federal agency responsible for determining the cause of the 2023 Norfolk Southern toxic train derailment said they’ll hold investigatory hearings in June to complete their findings.

The National Safety Transportation Board announced Wednesday that it will hold back-to-back hearings on June 22-23 at the East Palestine High School in the Ohio-Pennsylvania border town where the derailment occurred just over a year ago.

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Vance: ‘Ukraine-First’ Border Package ‘Being Shoved Down the Throat of the U.S. Senate’

JD Vance Ukraine

U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) said today that his fellow Republicans “have to” defeat the “Ukraine-first” border package being “shoved down” their throats.

“There’s an Ukraine first package being shoved down the throat of the US Senate,” Vance posted on X. “It doesn’t secure our border, gives away all leverage to achieve real border security, and no one has had time to read through the details. Let’s defeat this package. We have to.”

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Report: Poverty Impacts Learning Loss Recovery in Ohio

Students in Class

Poor students in Ohio struggle more to recover from COVID-19 era learning loss than wealthy ones, according to a new report.

The Education Recovery Scorecard, a collaboration between the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard and The Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford, shows students improved between 2022 and 2023, but poorer districts struggled.

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Ohio AG Dave Yost Sees No Need to Expedite Voter Rights Lawsuit

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost does not believe a lawsuit challenging how he ruled on a potential ballot issue that would expand voting rights deserves an expedited trial.

Yost’s recent filing related to the suit dealt only with the time element and not about any legal challenges after he rejected a proposed constitutional amendment for an Ohio Voters Bill of Rights.

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NCAA President Asks for College ‘Proposition Bets’ Ban in Ohio

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and the NCAA want to stop gamblers from placing bets on individual performances in college games – called “proposition bets” (prop bets) – hoping it will stop online threats and harassment.

In a letter to the Ohio Casino Control Commission, NCAA President Charlie Baker asked for collegiate prop bets to be removed from the legal bets that can be placed in the state. That move triggered a public comment period for operators to comment on rule changes before a change can occur.

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Ohio U.S. Senator JD Vance Calls on the Biden Administration to Fund Health Screening Program for Residents of East Palestine

Ohio U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) traveled to East Palestine on Friday to meet with residents and survey the status of the environmental cleanup of the area nearly one year after a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials derailed.

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Red Tape Closes Ohio Power Plants Before Replacements Ready

Power Plant

Despite the key positions states like Ohio and Pennsylvania hold to solve future energy problems, shifting the power grid from coal and natural gas to wind and solar isn’t as easy as flipping a switch.

A cadre of Pennsylvania legislators trekked to Columbus for a joint meeting of three House and Senate committees from the two states to be advised by energy officials on PJM, the regional power grid to which both belong.

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Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown Losing Ground Against Republican Challengers: Poll

Ohio Senate Candidates

Democratic Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown’s lead over his three Republican challengers has narrowed since November anywhere from 2 to 8 points, according to a Thursday poll.

Brown was leading businessman Bernie Moreno by 10 points, Secretary of State Frank LaRose by 5 points and state Sen. Matt Dolan by 3 points in Emerson College’s last poll on the Ohio Senate race. The senator is now ahead of Dolan by only 1 point and has a 2-point advantage over both Moreno and LaRose for potential head-to-head general election matchups, according to Emerson College’s January survey.

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Biden Vague About East Palestine Visit One Year After Train Derailment

As the one-year anniversary approaches of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, President Joe Biden says he will soon visit the area to meet with locals and assess the recovery efforts.

The White House has not confirmed when, but said that a trip to the site near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border would be made in February. The derailment of the Norfolk Southern train, just east of the town center, led to a conflagration when officials decided to burn off vinyl chloride, exposing residents and nature to chemical smoke and fumes.

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Ohio Attorney General, Lawmakers Call for Executions to Continue

Dave Yost

In the wake of Alabama carrying out a death sentence with the use of nitrogen gas, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and some lawmakers want to kick start the state’s death penalty that has been stalled since 2019.

At a news conference Tuesday, Rep. Brian Stewart, R-Ashville, said nitrogen has been made available following the Alabama execution and plans to introduce legislation to make it available in Ohio.

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Ohio Democrats Continue to Push Anti-Corruption Legislation

Nearly five years after House Bill 6 became law and six months after former House Speaker Larry Householder was sent to prison, Ohio Democrats plan to introduce legislation again to stop corruption at the Statehouse.

State Reps. Daniel Troy (pictured above), D-Willowick, and Rachel Baker, D-Cincinnati, plan a news conference Tuesday to announce the Ohio Anti-Corruption Act requiring dark money groups to identify contributors and disclose spending.

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ACLU of Ohio to File Lawsuit Challenging House Bill 68’s Ban of Gender-Affirming Care for Minors

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Ohio announced Monday it will file a lawsuit challenging the Saving Ohio Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act, which is included in House Bill 68.

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Ohio Voter Rights Expansion Proposal Rejected Again

A second attempt to significantly overhaul Ohio’s voter laws by putting a constitutional amendment on the ballot failed.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost again called the proposed amendment to expand early voting and voter registration and stop required voter roll purges misleading.

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Ohio to Expand Driver’s Ed with $4.5M in Taxpayer Funds

More and more Ohio teenagers wait until their 18th birthday to get their driver’s license, and the state plans to spend $4.5 million in taxpayer funds to try and change that.

Gov. Mike DeWine announced 34 grants through the Creating Opportunities for Driver Education program to increase driver training capacity at nearly 100 locations around the state.

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Ohio Senator JD Vance Introduces Bill to Codify Border States’ Rights to Defend Own Territory from Illegal Migrants

Ohio U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) introduced a bill on Wednesday that would “codify the right of every state along the U.S.-Mexico border to defend its own territory.”

Vance’s State Border Security Act would prevent federal agents from dismantling barbed wire or other fencing erected by state governments within 25 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border.

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Chinese Man Illegally in the U.S. Indicted on 309 Felony Charges in Ohio for Role in Gift Card Counterfeiting Scheme

Gift Cards

A Chinese man who entered the U.S. illegally has been indicted by a Coshocton County grand jury on 309 felony charges related to a gift card counterfeiting scheme, according to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s office.

Ming Xue, 32, of Hunan, Fujian – a province on the southeastern coast of China – faces 308 counts of counterfeiting and one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, according to Yost’s office.

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Ohio-Based ‘We the People Convention’ Endorses Donald Trump for President

We the People Convention (WTPC), an Ohio-based nonprofit that advocates for limited constitutional governance, endorsed former President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election this week.

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Ohio to Spend $20M to Study Depression, Suicide, Overdoses

Ohio plans to spend $20 million in taxpayer funds over the next 10 years to study the causes of depression, suicide and drug overdoses.

The research initiative, conducted with Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine, along with several stat universities, is expected to study the role of biological, psychological, and social factors that underlie what officials call an epidemic.

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Ohio Schools Set to Share Nearly $7 Million for School Safety

Ohio public and private schools can share nearly $7 million in taxpayer funds to increase classroom safety.

The $6.7 million appropriated by the General Assembly in this year’s budget goes through Attorney General Dave Yost and can be used for safety planning, training and classroom programs.

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Ohio Business Optimism Rises, Concerns Remain Real

Business Owner

Ohio businesses were more optimistic in December but still well below normal, citing inflation as their biggest concern, according to a new survey from the National Federation of Independent Business.

The most recent study showed the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index rose 1.3 points in December to 91.9 but is still well below the 50-year average of 98. It’s the 24th consecutive month the index failed to meet the long-term benchmark.

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DOJ, Three More States Join Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s Lawsuit Against the NCAA

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced Thursday the Department of Justice (DOJ), three states, and the District of Columbia all joined his antitrust lawsuit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) Transfer Eligibility Rule this week.

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Another Petition to Rewrite State’s Election Rules Submitted to Attorney General Yost’s Office

A proposed constitutional amendment that would amend Ohio’s constitution by rewriting election rules was filed with Attorney General Dave Yost’s Office on Tuesday.

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Proposed Law Would Compensate Ohio ‘Kidfluencers’

Ohio Democrats want children working as social media influencers to keep the money they earn, and they hope a celebrity can influence the rest of the General Assembly.

Actor and singer Alyson Stoner recently joined lawmakers to introduce the Kidfluencer Protection Act to ensure proper compensation for child influencers.

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More Than 100 Law Enforcement Agencies Across Ohio Awarded Grant Funds for Body Cam Programs

A total of 108 law enforcement agencies across Ohio have been awarded grant funds to cover costs associated with body cam programs, according to Governor Mike DeWine’s office.

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