Pro-Life Activists Warn Ohio Ballot Initiative Would Eliminate Health and Safety Regulations and Parental Consent for Minor Abortions

A ballot measure that would amend the Ohio state Constitution to remove current health and safety protections for women and girls seeking abortion and parental consent requirements for minors seeking the procedure has advanced following certification by the state attorney general’s office.

Pro-life organizations are rallying to oppose the “The Right to Reproductive Freedom With Protections for Health and Safety” initiative that they say will endanger the lives of women and girls seeking abortions.

Read More

Anti-Life Groups Propose Amendment to Enshrine Abortion in Ohio Constitution

Two anti-life organizations submitted language for a new ballot initiative Tuesday that would enshrine abortion in the Ohio Constitution despite existing pro-life laws. Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom and Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights (OPRR) filed the language for their ballot initiative, titled The Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety amendment, with Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost (R), according to a press release.

Read More

Biden’s Federal Contractor Vaccine Mandate Loses in Court Again

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost applauded a federal appeals court decision to block the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal contractors.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals based in Cincinnati agreed late Thursday with a lower court ruling that imposed a preliminary injunction on the proposed mandate that would have also required tens of millions of Americans to wear face masks at work.

Read More

Franklin County, Ohio Court Soon to Decide Whether to Continue Voucher Case

In the next few weeks, Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Jaiza Page (D) is poised to decide whether a lawsuit against Ohio’s private-school choice program will go forward. 

Litigation against private school choice in the Buckeye State has been in the works since last year when dozens of school districts under the aegis of Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy of School Funding posited that the state’s EdChoice program harms the state’s ability to properly fund its public schools. The districts suing the state, which now number more than 130, filed their action in January. 

Read More

Ohio Attorney General Yost to Host Anti-Trafficking Summit in January

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost (R) will host his Fourth Annual Human Trafficking Summit next January 26 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. 

Seventeen workshops will take place at the event, including examination of the trauma inflicted on trafficking survivors, best practices for serving those who have endured such crimes, discussion of why individuals solicit sex and review of state policies to reduce the demand for labor trafficking.

Read More

Ohio Attorney General Announces Preliminary Agreement with Walmart on Opioid Addiction Liability

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost (R) announced on Tuesday that he and 15 other state attorneys general have negotiated a preliminary deal with the multinational retailer Walmart, from which Ohio would get $114 million for opioid recovery programs.

The $3.1 billion national agreement comes after Yost and other prosecutors sought accountability for what they characterize as the superstore’s failure to safely and securely dispense high-strength prescription pain relievers through its more than 5,100 pharmacies across America. Other state prosecutor’s offices who worked alongside him include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, New York, Tennessee and Texas.
The agreement comes after Yost and other prosecutors sought accountability for what they characterize as the superstore’s failure to safely and securely dispense high-strength prescription pain relievers through its more than 5,100 pharmacies across America. Other state prosecutor’s offices who worked alongside him include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, New York, Tennessee and Texas.

Read More

Ohio Election Day Roundup: Results for National Elected Offices, State Offices, and Statewide Ballot Issues

After a long campaign season for the Ohio midterm election, voting numbers from county boards of elections are pouring in and being added to the unofficial results on the Ohio Secretary of State’s Website.

According to the Ohio Secretary of State, results are unofficial until they have been reviewed and certified once the official canvass has been completed by November 29th.

Read More

Cygnal Ohio Poll Shows Vance and DeWine Getting Bigger Leads

A poll released this weekend by the data company Cygnal shows Ohio Republican candidates for governor and U.S. Senate widening their leads against their Democratic opponents. 

The survey of 1,776 likely voters shows J.D. Vance, the author, attorney and venture capitalist running to succeed retiring Republican Senator Rob Portman, with a 4.6-percent lead over Democratic Congressman Tim Ryan (D-OH-13). Among those polled, 9.2 percent said they were undecided. 

Read More

Two New Polls Widen Vance’s Lead in Ohio Senate Race

JD Vance

Data from two new surveys have contributed to a slightly widening lead for Republican J.D. Vance in his Ohio Senate campaign against U.S. Representative Tim Ryan (D-OH-13). 

One of the polls comes from the Democrat-aligned group Data for Progress, which finds that Vance has garnered 49 percent of the 1,016 likely voters with whom the organization spoke. 

Read More

AG Yost Rejects Proposal to Raise Ohio’s Minimum Wage

A citizen group trying to use a constitutional amendment to raise Ohio’s minimum wage eventually to $15 doesn’t need to start over but it does need to make changes to its plan if it hopes to eventually get it on the ballot.

Attorney General Dave Yost rejected the group’s proposal, calling it misleading to a potential signer. He also said it had numerous omissions.

Read More

Ohio Will Appeal Hold on ‘Heartbeat Law’

The state will appeal a court’s decision to stop Ohio’s heartbeat law while abortion-rights groups challenge it in state court, Attorney General Dave Yost announced.

As expected, the state filed its notice of appeal of Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Christian Jenkins’ temporary restraining order that stopped the law from going into effect while a lawsuit challenging it continues.

Read More

Republicans Poised to Run the Table in Ohio as Vance, DeWine, Yost, and LaRose All Lead in New Poll

by Debra Heine   Republican author and lawyer J.D. Vance leads Democrat Rep. Tim Ryan 46 percent to 44 percent in the U.S. Senate race in Ohio, according to GOP polling firm Cygnal. The survey of likely general election voters in Ohio also gave Republican Governor Mike DeWine a strong…

Read More

Ohio AG Moves to Cut Attorneys’ Fees in FirstEnergy Settlement

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost wants a judge to cut attorneys’ fees by $10 million as ratepayers near a settlement in a class action lawsuit with FirstEnergy.

Yost filed an objection in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Ohio against the lawyers’ plan to receive a third of the $49 million settlement that still needs final approval from Judge Edmund Sargus.

Read More

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost: No Evidence of Raped and Pregnant 10-Year-Old Girl Traveling to Indiana for Abortion

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost told Fox News Monday night there is no evidence of a 10-year-old girl in his state who was raped, became pregnant, and traveled to Indiana for an abortion, as Joe Biden claimed during his remarks justifying his executive order that attempts to undermine the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

“Not a whisper,” Yost told Fox News’ Jesse Watters on Primetime. “We have a decentralized law enforcement system in Ohio, but we have regular contact with prosecutors and local police and sheriffs. Not a whisper anywhere.”

Read More

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost Calls on Congress to Pass Microchip Production Legislation

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, joined by a bipartisan group of his counterparts in other states, urged action from Congressional leaders on legislation to encourage the production of microchips.

Because of the technological reliance on the product, Yost argued that microchips should become a national priority in order to reduce foreign reliance.

Read More

Ohio Abortion Clinics Remain Open After Heartbeat Abortion Law in Effect

Ohio’s heartbeat abortion law that bans the procedure once a fetal heartbeat can be detected was in effect soon after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade.

The state’s nine abortion clinics, six of which perform surgical abortions, are still open, however, according to a report Monday at WKSU public radio.

Read More

House Passes Bill Allowing Ohio Election Officials Limited Connection to Private Groups

Confusion for some Ohio boards of election forced a new bill that walks back at least part of a law stopping election officials from working with nongovernmental entities.

The Ohio General Assembly tacked the legislation onto its budget last year. Despite assurances from lawmakers and Secretary of State Frank LaRose the ban would not create an issue for local election officials, Attorney General Dave Yost issued an opinion in January that said the new law criminalizes partnerships with private groups, but most routine work is OK.

Read More

Judge Orders Ohio Home-Improvement Contractor That Deceived Dozens of Customers to ‘Stop Operating His Business Immediately’

Dave Yost

Neil Wolfe, a longtime home-improvement contractor who deceived dozens of his customers and then repeatedly flouted a judge’s injunction, has been held in civil contempt and ordered to stop operating his business immediately, according to a press release by Attorney General Dave Yosts’s office.

Read More

Attorney General Yost Announces $80 Million Settlement Reached with Company That Caused Environmental Damage Through PCB Contamination

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced an $80 million settlement with the Monsanto Company Thursday that “forces the company to pay for the long-standing environmental damage it knowingly caused in Ohio with its toxic products.”

“Ohio has been absorbing the health and environmental costs of PCB contamination for decades, and the cleanup will likely continue for even longer,” Attorney General Dave Yost said. “This settlement not only holds Monsanto accountable for its actions but also provides significant financial resources to assist in environmental cleanup.”

Read More

More Than 300 People Turn Out for Educational Forum on Elder Abuse Presented by the Ohio Attorney General

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost

More than 300 people joined an online educational forum presented this week by the Ohio Attorney General’s Elder Abuse Commission aimed at helping older Ohioans avoid financial exploitation, a common form of elder abuse, according to a press release by the Attorney General’s office.

Read More

Ohio Study Links Stimulus Checks with Spike in Opioid Deaths

Republican Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost released a study Thursday and suggested there is a link between the distribution of COVID-19 pandemic-related stimulus checks and high rates of opioid-related overdoses in his state.

The pandemic and the epidemic of drug overdoses in the U.S. have created a “perfect storm” for high rates of overdose deaths, the authors of the study wrote.

Read More

Ohio Man Sentenced to 42 Years in Prison for Human Trafficking

An Ohio man, Grant Rose, has been convicted on 15 different charges relating to his role in a human trafficking scheme with his girlfriend, according to a release from Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.

Rose and his girlfriend, Susan Walendzik, trafficked a minor and controlled her by getting her addicted to narcotics and fueling her addiction.

Read More

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost Encourages #FreedomConvoy Donors to Contact His Office

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost wants to hear from Ohioans impacted by GoFundMe’s initial decision to refund or redirect donations given to demonstrators protesting COVID-19 restrictions in Canada, according to a press release by Yosts’s office.

Read More

Petition to Ban Ohio Vaccination Mandates Turned Away for Third Time

Another attempt by a grassroots group to create an Ohio law that would ban vaccination mandates was turned away by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.

Yost rejected the summary of a petition for the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Choice and Anti-Discrimination Act, a proposed statue that would require the state to protect the privacy and freedom of Ohioans to abstain from vaccinations or gene therapy without being discriminated against.

Read More

Volkswagen Settles Lawsuit with Ohio over Environmental Claims

Volkswagen will pay the state of Ohio $3.5 million in a lawsuit settlement over claims the company violated state environmental laws by manipulating computer software in its cars to hide carbon dioxide emissions, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced.

The settlement ends a lawsuit filed in 2016 by the attorney general’s office. It is separate from a lawsuit filed the same year by the attorney general’s office on behalf of consumers who claim they were misled by Volkswagen’s assertions of vehicle performance.

Read More

Ohio Attorney General Yost Sues Facebook for Securities Fraud After Alleged Misleading Disclosures

Dave Yost

Ohio Attorney Dave Yost has taken social media behemoth Facebook to federal court for misleading investors on how the negative effects of its content management algorithms in an effort to boost its stock performance while deceiving shareholders.

The civil lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for Northern California on behalf of the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS) and other Facebook investors, charged Facebook and its senior executives violated securities laws  by purposely withholding information about the negative effects its products have on the health and well-being of children and the steps the company claimed it had taken to protect the public.

Read More

Ohio AG’s Office Freezes $3 Million in Sam Randazzo’s Assets in Case Related to House Bill 6 Probe

Sam Randazzo and Dave Yost

The office of Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has frozen more than $3 million in assets of former Public Utilities Commission of Ohio Chairman Sam Randazzo as part of a state civil lawsuit tied to the ongoing federal criminal probe of a Statehouse corruption scheme.
Yost’s office also has sought a court order to appoint a receiver to go after another $3 million in assets Randazzo allegedly had transferred to accounts his attorneys control immediately after Yost had announced he had a court order to seize up to $8 million in assets in a mid-August.

Read More

States, Not Congress, Could Pose the Biggest Threat to Tech Companies

Despite calls for increased regulation of the tech industry, Congress has yet to pass any major legislation, leaving it up to the states to take action curbing tech companies’ power and influence.

Meanwhile, state legislatures have introduced and enacted legislation on data privacy, antitrust, and content moderation, while state attorneys general have issued a number of legal challenges alleging anticompetitive business practices.

Read More

Second Push to Legalize Marijuana in Ohio Moves Ahead

The same week an Ohio group announced its plans to start the formal process to put marijuana legalization in front of the General Assembly, two lawmakers introduced legislation to legalize its recreational use.

“It’s time to lead Ohio forward,” Rep. Casey Weinstein, D-Hudson, said. “This is a big step for criminal justice reform, for our veterans, for economic opportunity, and for our individual liberties.”

Read More

Group Takes Step Toward Legal Marijuana in Ohio

A group pushing for legalizing marijuana in Ohio began the formal process to send proposed legislation to the General Assembly.

The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol submitted the language of its plan to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. The submission of the first 1,000 signatures, according to group spokesman and attorney Tom Haren, will require Yost to review and approve the petition language within 10 days.

Read More

States Join Coalition to Stop California from Setting U.S. Automotive Standards

Ford dealership shop

A coalition of 16 states is urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to not reinstate a waiver allowing California to implement its own carbon emissions standards that essentially regulate the automotive industry for the rest of the U.S.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton joined a coalition led by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, which also includes attorneys general from the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah and West Virginia.

Under the Clean Air Act, the Trump administration created national standards for vehicle carbon emissions for model years 2021 through 2026. The policy revoked a waiver previously granted to California in order to treat all states as equal sovereigns subject to one federal rule, the attorneys general explain in their 12-page letter.

Read More

Ohio Wins Injunction over Biden Administration’s ‘Tax Mandate’

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost

Three weeks after a federal judge said Ohio could move ahead with a lawsuit against the Biden administration’s plan to tie federal funding to a state’s agreement to not cut taxes, the same court granted Ohio a permanent injunction to stop the practice.

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio stopped the regulation that Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said unconstitutionally restricted the state’s power to cut taxes, Yost announced Friday.

“The Biden administration reached too far, seized too much and got its hand slapped,” Yost said. “This is a monumental win for the preservation of the U.S. Constitution – the separation of powers is real, and it exists for a reason.”

Read More

Court Reverses Dismissal of Ohio Lawsuit Against U.S. Census Bureau

U.S. Census 2020

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati has reversed a trial court decision and will allow Ohio’s lawsuit against the U.S. Census Bureau to move forward.

Attorney General Dave Yost sued in February for the bureau to release information to allow the state to meet constitutional deadlines to redraw congressional and state district lines. A district court dismissed the suit in March.

Read More

Ohio Attorney General Pleads for Patience Around Bryant Shooting Investigation

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has spent a lot of time pleading for patience and talking of the dangers of rushing to judgement in reaction to the shooting death of a 16-year-old girl by Columbus police officers.

Community organizers, however, are calling for a U.S. Justice Department investigation of the Columbus Police Department, and Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said there is lack of trust between the community and police.

Yost consistently has said half-facts lead to half-truths, tweeting two days after the death of Ma’Khia Bryant, “Let’s get all the facts and find the whole truth.”

Read More

Ohio Attorney General Continues Court Fight Over American Rescue Plan Taxing Provision

Dave Yost

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost says Congress crossed a line and U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen struggles to explain whether states retain authority to set their own tax codes if they accept money from the recently passed American Rescue Plan.

Yost responded Thursday with a motion in support of his lawsuit for a temporary restraining order to stop the federal government’s tax mandate in the ARP. Yost believes the mandate holds states hostage and takes away Ohio’s control of its tax structure and economic policy.

“Congress crosses the line separating permissible encouragement from impermissible,” Yost’s latest motion reads. “Ohio stands to receive $5.5 billion. In the pandemic-caused economic crisis, Ohio cannot realistically turn that down.”

Read More

Ohio’s Portman, Yost Voice Opposition to Expanding U.S. Supreme Court

Dave Yost

Saying a plan to increase the number of justices on the U.S. Supreme Court would question the court’s legitimacy, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has called on Congress to ignore any potential legislation that would expand and politicize the court.

Yost joined a growing group of attorneys general from around the country criticizing what they see as an attempt at “court packing” and throwing their support behind the bipartisan Keep Nine amendment currently in the U.S. House.

“The Court’s orders are followed because the Court is seen as legitimate – even when we don’t like a particular decision. Tampering with the Court to drive political outcomes will dismantle that legitimacy,” Yost said Thursday in a news release. “I support the Keep Nine amendment because it will forever take the threat of Court packing off the politicians’ table – Republicans or Democrats – and protect the court from politics.”

Read More

DeWine Signs Partial Repeal of Ohio’s Controversial Nuclear Power Bailout

Nuclear power plant

A little more than eight months after the billion-dollar government bailout of the state’s nuclear energy industry led the arrest of former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, Gov. Mike DeWine officially put it to rest.

DeWine signed House Bill 128 into law late Wednesday. It repeals the nuclear provisions of the infamous House Bill 6.

Gone is the bailout for the Perry and Davis-Besse nuclear power plants in northern Ohio. Also eliminated was the ability for FirstEnergy to have its revenue levels relatively the same even during years when energy consumption decreases. HB 128 directed refunds of money already collected under the guarantee.

Read More

Ohio Lieutenant Governor Says Federal ‘Tax Mandate’ Could Harm Job Creation

Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted says restrictions in the recently passed federal American Rescue Plan will limit economic development and job growth in the state.

Husted, responding to a federal lawsuit filed by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost that asks for the plan’s “Tax Mandate” be stopped, said the restrictions could affect the state’s ability to attract jobs with tax credits and other means.

“The precedent Congress is attempting to set here is that anytime the federal government sends money to state and or local governments, they could add strings to control the tax policies of all 50 states. This is both arrogant and unconstitutional,” Husted said in a statement. “At a practical level, this could affect economic competitiveness of the state attempting to attract jobs with job creation tax credits or other tax-based economic incentives.”

Read More

Ohio AG Responds to Criticism of American Rescue Plan Lawsuit

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost continues to receive support and criticism from groups throughout Ohio a day after announcing a lawsuit challenging requirements in the federal American Rescue Plan.

Policy Matters Ohio, a nonprofit progressive think tank, called Yost’s decision to seek an injunction to stop the state’s obligation to not cut taxes if it accepts more than $5 billion off base.

Read More

Ohio AG Files Lawsuit Against Health Care Giant for Overcharging Medicaid

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost claims in lawsuit filed Thursday a health care giant raised prices for taxpayer-funded care to maximize company profits.

Yost said Ohio sued Centene Corp. in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, alleging its subsidiary, Buckeye Health Plan, used a web of subcontractors for the provision of pharmacy benefits to be able to misrepresent pharmacy costs. That, Yost said, resulted in millions of dollars of overpayments by the Ohio Department of Medicaid.

Read More

Ohio A.G. Yost Takes Aim at Another Provision of House Bill 6, Potential Energy Rate Hikes

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost took another swing Thursday at stopping provisions from controversial nuclear bailout House Bill 6 from impacting the state’s energy customers.

Late last year, Yost sued to stop ratepayer fees from being implemented that would have provided $150 million in money to Energy Harbor. Thursday, he filed a motion to stop FirstEnergy from executing another rate hike allowed in the legislation.

Read More

Ohio Attorney General Files Another Lawsuit to Stop Nuclear Bailout Fees

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost took another shot at trying to stop new consumer fees from the state’s controversial energy company bailout bill.

Yost recently filed a second lawsuit to block the annual collection of $150 million from additional customer fees from going to Energy Harbor, what he called the successor to FirstEnergy’s nuclear plants.

Read More

Ohio AG Believes Nuclear Companies to Testify Publicly

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost wants the companies at the center of the House Bill 6 controversy to open their books and appear before a committee established to decide whether to repeal the law.

Yost said FirstEnergy and Energy Harbor are profitable and should answer questions before the House Select Committee on Energy Policy and Oversight. In a letter to the committee, he responded to concerns that a lawsuit he recently filed prevents the companies from testifying.

Read More

Leading Ohio Republicans Ask Larry Householder to Resign After His Recent FBI Arrest

Leading Ohio Republicans have called on Speaker of the House Larry Householder (R-Glenford) to resign after his recent arrest for allegedly participating in a $60 million bribery scheme.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) arrested Householder along with Matt Borges, the former Ohio Republican Party chairman; Jeffrey Longstreth, a longtime political strategist for Householder; Neil Clark, the former budget director for the Ohio Republican Caucus; and Juan Cespedes, a Columbus lobbyist.

Read More

Dave Yost Files Lawsuit Targeting a Pharmacy Benefit Manager Company for Allegedly Making Millions by Overcharging Ohio

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost filed a lawsuit against Express Scripts, a pharmacy benefit manager (PBM), for allegedly breaking multiple contracts that allowed the company to profit millions from overcharges to the state.

A PBM is a company that controls the drug benefit program for employers or health plans according to verywellhealth.com.

Read More

AG Yost Files Injunction Trying to Stop Illegal Alcohol Sales in Ohio

  Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost filed a preliminary injunction on Wednesday aimed at trying to stop the illegal flow of liquor sales in Ohio. This injunction, which is one of the first-ever lawsuits surrounding the 21st Amendment, comes after a month-long investigation that showed many out-of-state wine and liquor…

Read More

AG Yost Submits Brief Asking GM to Give Back Its $60 Million State Tax Credits After Breaking Agreement by Closing Lordstown Plant

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost submitted a brief to the Ohio Tax Credit Authority that demanded General Motors (GM) repay $60 million the company received in state tax credits after breaking its promise to Ohio and the Mahoning Valley.

Eleven years ago, GM started collecting tax credits for its Lordstown plant. In exchange for its tax credits, the auto giant said it would maintain Lordstown plant operations till 2028 and retain 3,700 jobs through 2040, according to Yost’s press release.

Read More

Ohio AG Tells Ohioans Who Believe Their Unemployment Compensation Overpayment Notices Were Sent By Mistake to Appeal

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost released a statement Tuesday encouraging all Ohioans who received a notification about an overpayment of unemployment compensation to appeal their cases if they think their notices were sent by mistake.

“It’s no secret that despite the state’s Herculean efforts, it was crushed with the unprecedented volume of new claims flooding in simultaneously,” Yost said. “We will aggressively pursue any cases of fraud, but we want to make sure any non-fraudulent cases referred to us for collection have been thoroughly reviewed and appealed as is your right.”

Read More