Under Ohio’s newly-passed budget, the legal age to purchase cigarettes and vaping products in the state will jump from 18 to 21. The 3,200-page budget document contains several pages of new tobacco-related provisions, all of which make it “illegal for any person under the age of 21 to purchase…
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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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The Buckeye Institute released its annual Piglet Booklet Wednesday, which identifies wasteful government spending across state agencies that could save Ohio taxpayers $2.5 billion. “In this year’s Piglet Booklet, The Buckeye Institute identified at least $2.5 billion that policymakers can save Ohioans. And with the increase in the gas tax,…
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One of the most divisive and talked-about bills in Ohio’s history is officially on its way to Gov. Mike DeWine’s desk and is expected to be signed into law at any moment. After months of debate and numerous committee hearings, the heartbeat bill passed the Ohio House Wednesday afternoon in…
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Ohio House Democrats unveiled their plans to close the gender wage gap with an “Ohio Equal Pay Act” Tuesday, which marked the annual “Equal Pay Day” in America. Reps. Stephanie Howse (D-Cleveland) and Randi Clites (D-Ravenna) discussed their bill at a press conference alongside several of their Democratic colleagues. “Ohio’s…
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Two Republican state representatives in Ohio introduced a bill Tuesday to ban sanctuary ordinances after the Dayton Public Schools Board of Education voted to become a “sanctuary school district” last week. House Bill 169 was introduced by Reps. Niraj Antani (R-Miamisburg) and Candice Keller (R-Middletown), who said in a joint…
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After 15 months, a bipartisan workgroup unveiled its Fair School Funding Plan to overhaul Ohio’s school-funding formula, but some still had questions about how it will accomplish what Ohioans need. Reps. Bob Cupp (R-Lima) and John Patterson (D-Jefferson) spearheaded the workgroup along with superintendents and educators from across the state,…
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Ohio House Democrats are raising concerns over the “fiscal stability” of Republican Gov. Mike DeWine’s $69 billion budget proposal released Friday. House Minority Leader Emilia Strong Sykes (D-Akron) said that while her caucus was “encouraged by the governor’s commitment to supporting Democratic policies of investing in families, maintaining access to…
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A bipartisan bill that would overturn state takeovers of low performing local schools is set to be introduced in the Ohio General Assembly next week. Under House Bill (HB) 70, a 2015 legislation, the state superintendent of public schools is required to intervene via “Academic Distress Commissions” for “each school…
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Gov. John Kasich (R-OH) vetoed the Ohio General Assembly’s gun-rights legislation Wednesday, even though the bill was removed of most of its substantial provisions before passage. As The Ohio Star reported last week, House Bill 228 was stripped of its “stand your ground” measure, which would free gun owners from…
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