Ohio Governor Mike DeWine Urges General Assembly to Pass State Budget

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine is urging the General Assembly to pass the full biennial budget before its June 30th deadline rather than to pass a temporary budget with negotiations continuing into July.

Under the Ohio Constitution, the state’s two-year budget must be passed and signed into law before the fiscal year’s end on June 30th. However, the budget legislation approved by the Ohio House and Ohio Senate differ significantly from one another.

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Ohio Senate President Huffman Disagrees That State Budget May Miss Deadline

Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman (R-Lima) said that he disagrees that the state legislature may miss the deadline to pass the state’s biennial budget.

This follows Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hills) indicating the possibility that the state legislature may miss the deadline with budget negotiations continuing into July.

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Ohio Lawmakers May Miss June 30th Deadline for State Budget

Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) indicated that the state legislature may miss the deadline for the state’s biennial budget with negotiations to continue into July.

Under the Ohio constitution, the state’s two-year budget must be passed and signed into law before the fiscal year’s end on June 30th. However, the budget legislation approved by the Ohio House and Senate differ significantly from one another.

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Ohio Think Tank Asks Court to Let States Deal with Water Pollution

On Friday, a Columbus, Ohio-based think tank submitted a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court asking justices to allow states to enforce against water pollution, pursuant to the federal Clean Water Act (CWA). 

The 1972 law set up a permitting system for corporate or infrastructural projects that result in the discharge of pollutant materials into rivers, streams or other bodies of water. Under the act, states may undertake their own permitting programs. But last July, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a ruling that South Carolina’s program is not strong enough to supersede the federal permit process and therefore citizen lawsuits can effectively nullify the state program. 

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Ohio Governor DeWine Issues Executive Order and Signs Several Bills Including One Bill Requiring Fetal Remains Be Buried or Cremated

This week Governor DeWine added several new laws to the books and required the state to pony up money for grandparents and extended family members raising their related children.

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Ohio Announces Pandemic Grants, Governor Denounces Threats

Small businesses, bars and restaurants, low-income renters, arts groups, and colleges and universities are among those eligible for $429 million in federal pandemic dollars being released by the state next week, Gov. Mike DeWine and his fellow Republican legislative leaders announced Friday.

The aid package, which the governor has promised for several weeks, is scheduled to go before a bipartisan state legislative spending panel Monday. Its passage is assured with the backing of House Speaker Bob Cupp and Senate President Larry Obhof, who joined the governor at Friday’s virtual news conference.

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Ohio Representative Diane Grendell Drafts Bill to End COVID Emergency in Ohio with ‘Restore Ohio Now’ Bill

Ohio State Representative Diane Grendell (R-Chesterland) announced Wednesday the introduction of a bill to “terminate the COVID-19 state of emergency in Ohio.”

The representative lauded Governor Mike DeWine for his swift response to COVID saying that he “responded appropriately.” However, Grendell said the administration “continues to use the state of emergency to restrict businesses and all Ohioans.”

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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.

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Ohio Republican Party Frays, Leadership Falters As 2020 Election Heats Up

  Is Jane Timken the leader the Ohio State Republican Party needs to help President Donald Trump win re-election when her party seems to be engaged in a civil war? The stakes are high in the Buckeye State. Trump and Biden are locked in a dead heat, according to a…

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DeWine Signs Student Religious Liberties Act Into Law

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed the Student Religious Liberties Act into law Friday, a bill that protects prayer and religious expression in public schools.

“No student should have to hide their faith just because they enter a public school. The Student Religious Liberties Act is carefully crafted to ensure school administrators can’t unfairly penalize students of all faiths, or no faith,” said Aaron Baer, president of Citizens for Community Values, one of twelve groups that testified in support of the bill.

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Conservatives Say Obhof’s Canceling Session Before Acton Vote is ‘Betrayal’

Conservatives are using words like “betrayal” to describe Ohio Senate President Larry Obhof’s late-night move to kill a vote on a bill to curb Dr. Amy Acton’s unrestrained powers in shutting the state down, and suggests he had an ulterior motive.

The Senate will not act this week on Senate Bill One pulling back the Health Department director’s powers, meaning it will likely fail, Fox 19 Now reported. The Senate is only having committee meetings this week and will hold a session next week.

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Making JobsOhio Transparent Is Like Making Sausage: It’s Not Pretty

JobsOhio has operated as a privatized, independent economic development agency for the State of Ohio since 2011. In all that time, a few concerned officials have tried to peel back the curtain obscuring its inner workings, too little success.

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Governor Mike DeWine Signs Interim Spending Plan, Gives Ohio Lawmakers 17 Days to Agree on a Budget

by Todd DeFeo   Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed an interim operating budget that funds the state government for 17 days, giving lawmakers additional time to debate a two-year spending plan. DeWine signed both Senate Bill 171, the interim state budget, and Senate Bill 172, a one-month funding extension for…

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Ohio House and Senate to Begin Talks Wednesday on Budget Agreement

by Tyler Arnold   Formal discussions between the House and the Senate regarding a budget agreement are expected to begin Wednesday. House Majority Leader Bill Seitz, R-Cincinnati, told The Center Square via email that some informal discussion are already underway. Although both chambers have a Republican majority and successfully passed…

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Ohio Senate’s Budget Proposal Includes More Tax Cuts Than the House’s Proposal

  The Ohio Senate’s version of the state’s biennial spending bill wants to cut more taxes than the House of Representatives’ bill proposal. At a Tuesday press conference, Ohio Senate leaders revealed their updated House Bill 166, which focused on tax cuts and making investments in Ohioans. Ohioans would receive…

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The ‘Other’ Work of the Ohio General Assembly

  Should Dunkleosteus terrelli be Ohio’s official fossil fish? Should the sugar cookie be the official cookie of the state? What about the Monarch Butterfly?  Should it become the official butterfly for Ohio? The Ohio Senate believes the answer to the first question is yes. Senate Bill 123 was unanimously passed…

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Spring Business License Applications Set New Record in Ohio

Spring fever has citizens eager to start new businesses all over the state. In March, Ohio citizens set a state record for new business license application filings. Last month, Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s office received 13,747 new business filings, beating the previous record by 873. “It’s a significant milestone,…

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Ohio Conference Committee Fails to Reach Deal on Gas Tax, Cancels Monday Meeting

The Ohio Legislature failed to agree on a transportation budget before its midnight deadline Sunday. While several items were agreed to, a comprise hasn’t yet been reached on the gas tax. As The Ohio Star reported, the Ohio House and Gov. Mike DeWine settled on an 11-cent gas-tax increase, seven…

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Top Lawmakers Say Ohio Constitution Too Easy to Change

State House Speaker Ryan Smith says Ohio’s Constitution is under attack. Special-interest groups have been asking voters to amend the state’s constitution as a way of bypassing the legislature on certain issues, he said in a radio interview with Jo Ingles of the Statehouse News Bureau. Smith said Ohio’s founding fathers did not…

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