Tag: Republican Caucus

Ohio House Speaker Stephens Denies Debate or Amendments on State Operating Budget

Hannah Poling

The Ohio House passed its version of a two-year operating budget on Wednesday despite objections from Republican lawmakers that no amendments were allowed to be made. The state operating budget includes a $1 billion tax cut, higher income limits for school vouchers, and a ban on TikTok from government devices.

House Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) advanced the budget to a vote without allowing for any debate or amendments. There were 24 amendment proposals to the budget that Republicans say should have been debated prior to the vote.

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Ohio State Representative Calls on House Speaker Stephens to Move the Ohio Constitutional Protection Amendment to the House Floor

Hannah Poling

State Representative Scott Wiggam (R- Wayne County) sent a letter on Tuesday to moderate Republican House Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) urging him to move the Ohio Constitution Protection Amendment to the House floor as soon as it passes out of committee for an August election.

This follows Stephens removing Wiggam from his position as chair of the House Constitutional Resolutions Committee and the committee all together due to Wiggam signing a discharge petition last week to accelerate the Ohio Constitution Protection Amendment, also known as House Joint Resolution (HJR) 1, which aims to alter the process of how initiative petitions can propose constitutional amendments.

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Lucas County GOP Unanimously Censures Republican Lawmakers Who Backed Speaker Stephens

Hannah Poling

The Lucas County Republican Party voted unanimously this week to censure the Republican representatives who voted in favor of newly elected House Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill).

Last month, lawmakers elected moderate Republican Stephens as the new speaker to succeed State Representative Bob Cupp (R-Lima) despite the Republican Caucus‘ previous selection in November of State Representative Derek Merrin (R-Moncolva) as the new speaker. Although the GOP caucus voted for Merrin as Speaker of the House in December, Stephen fought in collaboration with the Democrats to collect votes and garner a win.

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Ohio House Speaker Stephens Denies Debate or Amendments on GOP Leadership or House Rules

Hannah Poling

The Ohio House approved a new rules package Tuesday despite objections from Republican lawmakers. The provisions set the guidelines for the upcoming session. House Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) advanced the House rules to a vote without allowing for any debate or amendments. Republicans who supported state Representative Derek Merrin (R-Monclova) for speaker argued that Stephens excluded them from the process.

Lawmakers controversially elected Stephens as speaker earlier this month to succeed state Representative Bob Cupp (R-Lima). The choice came despite the Republican Caucus‘ previous selection in November of Merrin as the new speaker. Although the GOP caucus voted for Merrin as Speaker of the House in December, Stephen fought in collaboration with the Democrats to collect votes and garner a win.

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Ohio State Representative Merrin Unveils Proposal of Ethics Reform Package

Hannah Poling

Republicans in the Ohio House are pushing to modify the state’s ethics laws to, among other things, limit elected officials’ ability to serve on corporate boards and require more transparency from lobbyists and utility board applicants.

Representative Derek Merrin (R-Monclova Township), flanked by 11 of the 43 Republicans who backed him for speaker, unveiled proposed legislation, called the “Ohio Ethics and Financial Disclosure Reform Act,” which would make lobbyists disclose all of the money they receive from each client and forbid elected officials from serving on corporate boards of directors after being elected.

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Ohio GOP Majority Discusses Next Steps Following Election of Jason Stephens for House Speaker

Hannah Poling

About a week after 22 Republicans sided with the Democrats to elect moderate State Representative Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) as Speaker of the Ohio House, State Representative Derek Merrin (R-Monclova) invited his 45 supporters to a closed-door meeting Wednesday at the Ohio Statehouse to discuss their next steps.

This follows Merrin losing the vote for speaker over Stephens, who won with 22 Republicans and all 32 Democrats voting for him despite the Republican Caucus‘ previous selection in November of Merrin as the new speaker.

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State Representative Marilyn John Expresses Outrage over Ohio House Speaker Election

Hannah Poling

State Representative Marilyn John (R-Shelby) voiced her outrage at the recent selection of the Ohio Speaker of the House of Representatives at a meeting of the Richland County Ohio Republican Party on Monday.

Earlier this month, lawmakers elected moderate Republican Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) as the new Speaker of the Ohio House to succeed state Representative Bob Cupp (R-Lima). The choice came despite the Republican Caucus‘ previous selection in November of state Representative Derek Merrin (R-Moncolva) as the new Speaker.

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Ohio Republican Party Censures GOP Lawmakers Who Backed New House Speaker

Hannah Poling

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio Republicans censured 22 lawmakers on Friday for voting with Democrats to choose the new Speaker of the Ohio House, saying they had disregarded their obligations to the party and the public.

Earlier this week, a number of Republican lawmakers joined forces with Democrats to choose State Representative Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) as speaker. The choice comes despite the Republican Caucus‘ previous selection in November of State Representative Derek Merrin (R-Moncolva) as the new speaker.

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New Arizona Senate Republicans Appointed to Serve as Majority Caucus Leaders

Neil Jones

The Arizona State Senate Republicans have announced new leaders who will serve the majority caucus in the next legislative session, with Senator Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert) taking the reigns as Senate President.

“Senator Petersen is a third-generation Arizonan and has worked in the real estate industry for more than two decades. His duties as Senate President will include being the primary leader of the Senate, presiding over legislative sessions and ensuring senators abide by procedural rules,” as stated in a press release from the Senate Republicans.

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Showdown in the Tennessee House GOP Caucus

Laura Baigert

  The stage is set for a dramatic showdown on Monday afternoon in downtown Nashville between about a dozen Republican state legislators, led by an increasingly vocal State Rep. Mike Carter (R-Ooltewah), and Tennessee Speaker of the House Glen Casada. At issue is whether the 73 member Tennessee House Republican Caucus will undertake a secret ballot vote to issue a statement on whether they continue to maintain confidence in Glen Casada as Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives. The controversies surrounding the embattled Speaker have been identified and amplified by local mainstream media outlets led by NewsChannel 5 and The Tennessean. Phil Williams of NewsChannel 5 led the attacks on the Speaker with a report earlier this month that alleged (1) the Speaker’s staff altered the date of an email sent to the Speaker by social justice warrior and Vanderbilt Divinity Student Justin Jones to “frame” him for violating a court order and (2) the Speaker exchanged offensive text messages in 2016 with Cade Cothren and an unnamed former aide. Cothren, chief of staff to Speaker Casada since January of this year, admitted to sending the offensive texts in 2016, and resigned his position. Speaker Casada subsequently confirmed that…

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House Speaker Glen Casada Provides a Statement to the Republican Caucus Regarding Media Reports and Allegations

Admin

  Nearly two weeks after the Tennessee State Capitol was roiled with reports of misconduct by House Speaker Glen Casada and his then-Chief of Staff Cade Cothren, Casada’s office has issued his most detailed response to the allegations to date. The Statement, first made available to Members of the House Republican Caucus, attempts to distinguish between claims that Casada says are true and those that are false. Cothren himself answered many of the same allegations earlier this week in an exclusive interview with The Tennessee Star.  The Star has also detailed the misreporting of various “facts” by certain media outlets over the past week. In the statement, Casada points out: “In recent days, we have seen numerous false and misleading allegations and reports in the media and online related to actions taken by Speaker Glen Casada and this office. We think the public deserves to know the facts. As part of our action plan to bring greater clarity and transparency to the coverage of these issues, we have prepared this summary of some of the most outrageous and unsubstantiated charges and allegations.” Casada acknowledges that “there were a small number of inappropriate text threads privately shared between then Tennessee House…

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