A bipartisan group of Ohio lawmakers introduced a bill last week into the Ohio House of Representatives to address critical staffing issues in Ohio’s nursing workforce.
The Safe Patient Care Act, introduced by State Representatives Haraz Ghanbari (R-Perrysburg) and Elgin Rogers (D-Toledo), would ensure that patients in the state of Ohio receive the highest quality care and that nurses receive reasonable workplace protections.
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Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced this week that he named three key judicial appointments for newly created state courts.
He appointed Shawn Fry to the 13th Judicial District Criminal Court, Ashleigh Travis to the 19th Judicial District Circuit Court, and Julie Heffington to the 22nd Judicial District Circuit Court.
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On Wednesday, U.S. Senate Banking Committee Democrats voted against an amendment proposed by U.S. Senator and member of the Senate Banking Committee Bill Hagerty (R-TN) to the Secure And Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act to prevent drug cartels from laundering fentanyl and meth in the United States.
The SAFER Banking Act Introduced by U.S. Senators Steve Daines (R-MT) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) aims to allow banks and credit unions to serve cannabis businesses and their workers in states where cannabis is legal.
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A piece of legislation introduced into the Ohio House of Representatives to authorize a tax credit for landlords who allow companion animals to reside in their rental units has been assigned to a committee for review.
Assistant Majority Whip Sharon Ray (R-Wadsworth) and State Representative Juanita Brent (D-Cleveland) introduced House Bill (HB) 277, known as the Pet Friendly Rental Act on September 18th.
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Tennessee Governor Bill Lee (R) participated in Wednesday’s official groundbreaking for the Multi-Agency Law Enforcement Training Academy (MALETA) in Nashville’s Cockrill Bend.
The $415 million site campus will have housing and dining facilities for cadets and in-service employees, local and state law enforcement training facilities, and a new administrative headquarters building for the Tennessee Department of Safety & Homeland Security and the Tennessee Department of Correction.
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Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced Wednesday details of a new program to help victim service agencies supply the needs of survivors of human trafficking.
DeWine and the Ohio General Assembly established the new Direct Services for Victims of Human Trafficking Grant Program as a component of the state’s new operating budget. As part of this program, nonprofit groups now have access to $4 million in financing to effectively support the rising number of sex and labor trafficking victims needing assistance.
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Tennessee U.S. Congressman Mark Green (R-TN-07) announced on Tuesday that his Protecting Hunting Heritage and Education Act passed the House with bipartisan support to keep hunting and archery programs in U.S. schools.
This follows the Biden administration recently announced its plan to withhold funding from schools that provide these programs, claiming that under the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) passed last year, school hunting and archery classes are precluded from receiving federal funding.
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U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) is leading a bipartisan effort to push U.S. colleges and universities to support the U.S.-Taiwan Education Initiative as an alternative to China’s Confucius Institutes.
Blackburn along with U.S. Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) introduced a Senate Resolution on Tuesday, to signal that the U.S.-Taiwan Education Initiative is supported on a bipartisan basis as a censorship-free alternative to Confucius Institutes.
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The Ohio Senate GOP on Tuesday pushed back against the media’s “left-wing bias” by launching its own weekly podcast with State Senate President Matt Huffman (R-Lima).
According to Ohio Senate GOP director of communications John Fortney, Ohio’s main newspapers have an extreme left-wing bias, and their editorials attack Republicans in the General Assembly and read like Democratic Party press releases.
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On Monday, U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) demanded honesty and transparency from Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra over the reports of his Department’s mistreatment of 85,000 missing migrant children.
This follows Becerra and his Department stonewalling Blackburn in her initial request in April for documentation about his knowledge of the potential child exploitation and the Department’s retaliation against whistleblowers.
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U.S. Senator and member of the Senate Banking Committee Bill Hagerty (R-TN) joined on Tuesday the effort against a new Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposal claiming that it “would harm broker-dealers, investment advisors, and Main Street investors.”
This follows the SEC proposing a new rule on July 26th that requires broker-dealers and investment advisors, irrespective of their size, to confront challenges posed by predictive data analytics (“PDA”) and related technologies like artificial intelligence (“AI”).
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Ohio Democratic lawmakers want zero legal restrictions on abortion in the state, according to a new poll conducted by the Ohio Republican Party.
The Ohio Republican Party straw X poll last week detailed that 71.4 percent of individuals surveyed said that Ohio Democratic officials and abortion lobbyists want to remove all legal restrictions to abortion in Ohio.
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U.S. Senator and member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Bill Hagerty (R-TN) is leading the effort to prohibit U.S. asylum for members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Hagerty along with U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) along with six other Senate Republican colleagues have introduced the No Asylum for CCP Spies Act which aims to deny members of communist or totalitarian parties, like the CCP from being granted asylum in the U.S. and ensures under federal law that members of these parties are ineligible for immigration benefits.
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On Monday, U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) along with U.S. Congressmen Chip Roy (R-TX-21) and Matt Gaetz (R-FL-01) sent a letter to the National Security Advisor to President Joe Biden, Jake Sullivan requesting clarification regarding “major discrepancies” between claims made by administration officials regarding American aid given to Ukraine.
This follows Sullivan stating at a White House press briefing on September 21st, 2023 that the Biden Administration had sent approximately $79.9 billion in aid to Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022.
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Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted announced that the Ohio Board of Building Standards recently adopted the 2024 Ohio Building (OBC), Mechanical (OMC), and Plumbing Codes (OPC) rules, an approach that cut redundant and pointless bureaucratic language from these codes and reduced the Ohio Administrative Code’s word count by nearly 610,000 words ultimately making it simpler for businesses to comply.
As previously reported by The Ohio Star, in January, DeWine and Husted unveiled a plan to eliminate one-third of the Ohio Administrative Code and the Ohio Common Sense Initiative (CSI) began identifying duplicative, unnecessary, and no longer used portions of the Ohio Administrative Code. The Ohio Board of Building Standards adopting these rules is part of this initiative.
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The March for Life, in partnership with the Center for Christian Virtue (CCV), announced on Thursday the speakers for the second official Ohio March for Life next month.
As previously reported by The Ohio Star these organizations decided to team up once again to organize another march in Columbus following the tremendous success of the first Ohio March for Life last year.
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U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) addressed the Ukrainian plight for aid on Friday as lawmakers get increasingly closer to the end-of-the-month deadline to pass a government spending bill to keep the U.S. government from a shutdown.
This follows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s arrival in Washington, D.C., on Thursday to make his renewed case for $24 billion of American aid to Ukraine.
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Tennessee Governor Bill Lee (R) along with Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) President Sidney McPhee announced on Thursday that MTSU’s growing aerospace department will be moving from its current location at Murfreesboro Airport to a new state-of-the-art campus in Shelbyville.
Due to the rapidly expanding Aerospace industry, preparations for the new MTSU Aerospace-Shelbyville campus has been in the works since April. The press release says that the institution and the state have contributed a total of $62.2 million for the move.
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The Williamson County GOP has issued a medical rights resolution refusing to “blindly submit” to any effort by the federal government to reinstate COVID-19 mandates and urging state lawmakers to do more to protect Tennesseans’ medical freedoms.
“We, as the Republicans of Williamson County, as Americans, as God-fearing Conservatives, will refuse to blindly submit, and we thank our State Legislators for the protections they have already enacted and beg them to do far more to protect our Medical Freedom and to prevent such a horrific overreach from ever happening again; and we ask for Governor Lee to task our state’s Attorney General to investigate violations of the Tennessee Constitution and other Covid-19 crimes,” the resolution reads.
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NEW ALBANY, Ohio – Ohio native entrepreneur and Republican candidate for President of the United States Vivek Ramaswamy spoke to a passionate group of campaign supporters Thursday about how the nation can declare economic independence from communist China.
People packed into the one-hour event at the Axium Plastics facility to hear Ramaswamy’s strategy for “a clear and pragmatic vision for how Americans can actually and finally declare economic freedom from China while advancing American prosperity at home.”
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Tennessee U.S. Senator and member of the Senate Banking Committee Bill Hagerty (R-TN) led the Republican members of the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday in sending a letter to Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Sandra Thompson in opposition to the agency’s racial equity housing plans, which encourage discrimination based on race.
“Yesterday, I led my Senate Banking Committee GOP colleagues in sending a letter to FHFA Director Sandra Thompson calling out racial equity housing plans that encourage discrimination on the basis of race, rather than focusing on ensuring the safety and soundness of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,” Hagerty said.
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Tennessee Congressman Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) sent a letter to Department of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, seeking information regarding the Department of the Treasury’s Committee on Racial Equity (TACRE), its mission, and its intentions.
According to the treasury, it formed the committee to address topics such as financial “inclusion,” capital access, and housing stability.
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Ohio Governor Mike DeWine (R) joined state, local, and federal leaders in Columbus on Tuesday to unveil the new Central Ohio Crime Gun Intelligence Center (CGIC).
According to the press release, the center is located within the Ohio Department of Public Safety and operates in partnership with the Columbus Division of Police, Ohio State Highway Patrol, Ohio Narcotics Intelligence Center, Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation, and U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).
This new centralized law enforcement
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Tennessee U.S. Senator and member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Bill Hagerty (R-TN) joined the effort to secure the southern border by introducing companion legislation in the Senate to the House-passed Secure the Border Act of 2023.
Hagerty, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), along with nine other Senate Republican colleagues, on Monday introduced the companion legislation into the U.S. Senate.
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U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) said on Tuesday that President Joe Biden’s forced transition to electric vehicles (EV) threatens the bargaining power of the U.S. auto industry.
This follows the United Auto Workers (UAW), an American labor union, calling for a strike at the Big 3 U.S. automakers, General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis, in Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio last week. The UAW is demanding shorter work weeks, restoration of defined benefit pensions, and stronger job security as automakers transition to electric vehicles.
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Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, Lt. Governor Jon Husted, Ohio Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalik, and JobsOhio President and CEO J.P. Nauseef announced on Monday that Joby Aviation Inc. plans to build an electric air taxi manufacturing facility in the state.
According to the press release, the company will build the facility at the Dayton International Airport and anticipates the project to create 2,000 new jobs in the area.
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On Monday, U.S. Congressman David Kustoff (R-TN-08) joined alongside U.S. Congressmen Burgess Owens (R-UT-04) and Josh Harder (D-CA-10) in reintroducing legislation known as the NCAA Accountability Act, to establish due process protections for universities and individuals under investigation by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for rule infractions.
The NCAA is the largest collegiate athletic association in the U.S. with almost 1,100 member universities and 460,000 student athletes. The Association governs the athletic programs of and competition between member universities.
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Tennessee U.S. Congresswoman and co-chair of the Congressional Family Caucus Diana Harshbarger (R-TN-01) is advocating for greater resources available to those who are experiencing an unexpected pregnancy, as well as expectant mothers and families.
Harshbarger, along with 16 additional Republican Congressmen, has introduced the Life.Gov Act which aims to support the creation of a first-of-its-kind website that would provide information on local resources available to expectant families.
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On Monday, U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) said that rail giant Norfolk Southern’s property value reimbursement program for the residents of East Palestine has so far been a “complete and total disaster.”
This follows Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw announcing in May that Norfolk Southern Railroad would set up a fund to compensate East Palestine homeowners for losses in property value due to the catastrophic February 3rd train derailment that spilled hazardous chemicals into the community.
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A bipartisan group of Ohio lawmakers introduced a bill to the Ohio House of Representatives to freeze property taxes for eligible seniors.
The legislation, known as the 70 Under 70 Plan, sponsored by State Representatives Thomas Hall (R-Madison Township) and Dani Isaacsohn (D-Cincinnati), would freeze property taxes for Ohioans 70 years or older who make less than $70,000 a year and have owned their home for 10 years or more.
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Tennessee Governor Bill Lee (R) opened applications this week for the Tennessee Strong Families Grant Program to support expecting mothers and families.
According to the press release, the $20 million program aims to increase resources for moms, kids, and families while improving maternity healthcare access. It aids local nonprofit organizations across the state, including pregnancy centers.
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A Republican lawmaker introduced legislation last week into the Ohio Senate to move Ohio’s primary elections to a closed system and to allow voters to update their party affiliation at any time up to thirty days before a primary election.
Senate Bill (SB) 147, known as the Voter Registration Modernization Act, sponsored by State Senator Michele Reynolds (R-Canal Winchester), attempts to allow voters to be more civically engaged by allowing them to declare their political party affiliation in real-time increasing data, accuracy, and integrity of the voter registration process.
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U.S. Congressman Andy Ogels (R-TN-05) joined U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) in introducing legislation on Thursday to fight back against the Biden Administration’s attempt to keep hunting and archery programs out of schools.
This follows the Biden Administration recently announcing their plan to withhold funding from schools that provide these programs claiming that under the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) passed last year, school hunting and archery classes are precluded from receiving federal funding.
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On Friday, Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel announced Ohio’s state buildout for “Bank Your Vote” and launched the State Leadership Team.
The RNC launched “Bank Your Vote,” a nationwide campaign focused on maximizing pre-Election Day voting in early June of this year.
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Sources told The Tennessee Star that Tennessee Republican National Committeeman Oscar Brock is helping Geoffrey Stokes Nielson in his campaign to challenge incumbent Republican Congressman Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) in the 2024 GOP primary election.
Ogles has served as the U.S. Representative for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District since 2023. He is a member of the Republican Party. Before his election to Congress, he served as the mayor of Maury County, Tennessee, from 2018 until 2022.
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The Ohio Redistricting Commission is currently at a standstill because Senate President Matt Huffman (R-Lima) and House Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) cannot agree on who should co-chair the committee.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine officially reconvened the Ohio Redistricting Commission on Wednesday to begin the process of drawing new state legislative maps.
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Tennessee lawmakers voiced their opinions following U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-20) announcing a decision to launch a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
On Tuesday, McCarthy directed House committees to open the inquiry based on House Republicans uncovering evidence that suggests Biden may have been involved in his son, Hunter Biden’s, potentially illegal business dealings.
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Ohio Republican Secretary of State and candidate for U.S. Senate Frank LaRose announced on Wednesday he obtained endorsements from over 150 conservative leaders across Ohio in his campaign to unseat Ohio Democratic U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) in 2024.
According to a press release e-mailed to reporters, LaRose’s vast group of supporters represent a diverse background of local GOP leadership, from mayors, county officeholders, and state legislators to county Republican Party chairs and members of state and county GOP leadership committees.
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U.S. congressmen requested documents and communications related to the Biden administration allegedly selling off “excess border wall materials.”
This follows reports that the Biden administration began quietly auctioning off hundreds of millions of dollars worth of unused parts from former President Donald Trump’s border wall last month.
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U.S. congressmen are pushing back against a proposed rule listing Rio Grande mussels as an endangered species.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed this new rule on July 25th, 2023 that would list the Salina mucket and the Mexican fawnsfoot mussels as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
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On Monday, Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador (R) joined a coalition of 18 states in support of a Tennessee law protecting minors from lewd and obscene behavior.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee (R) signed the Tennessee Adult Entertainment Act (AEA) into law in March of this year which bans “adult cabaret performance” in public or in front of children in the state of Tennessee.
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A new state task force in Ohio focused on thoroughly evaluating the safety of the state’s school buses held its first meeting on Monday at the Ohio Department of Public Safety headquarters.
As previously reported by The Ohio Star Ohio Governor Mike DeWine formed the Ohio School Bus Safety Working Group last month following a Northwestern Local School District bus crash that killed one student and injured more than two dozen in Clark County.
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Tennessee State Representative Ron Gant (R-Piperton) announced that he has successfully helped secure $1 million dollars in state funds to expand the Fayette County Airport and support future economic growth in the area.
The Fayette County Airport, in operation since 1975, is a county-owned, public-use airport located approximately two miles southwest of the central business district of Somerville, in Fayette County, Tennessee.
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The Ohio Republican State Central Committee has unanimously endorsed a “no” vote on November’s Issue 2 which aims to legalize unfettered marijuana access across Ohio and passed a resolution condemning November’s Issue 1 to enshrine abortion into the state constitution.
Ohio State Issue 2 aims to impose a 10 percent tax on the sale of all cannabis products, permit adults to grow up to six plants per person or 12 per household, and legalize the possession, purchase, and sale of marijuana by Ohio residents aged 21 and older.
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Tennessee General Assembly members reacted strongly to a bizarre tweet from an organization headed by a former political candidate on Monday.
“Like the plandemic, 9/11 was probably just a coincidental opportunity for the elites to continue their take down of our Constitution. Probably not,” nonprofit organization Tennessee Stands tweeted on Monday morning.
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Tennessee Governor Bill Lee and the Ayers Foundation Trust announced this week the launch of a new collaborative statewide initiative to improve the economic prospects of rural Tennessee.
The initiative, called Come Home Tennessee, aims to reduce the number of economically distressed and at-risk counties in the state by providing the highly qualified graduates of the well-acclaimed Ayers Scholars Program and other Tennesseans with connections to regional employers and remote employment options that allow them to stay or return to their hometowns to live, work, and raise their families if they so choose.
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Tennessee Governor Bill Lee swore in Justice Dwight E. Tarwater on Friday to serve on the state Supreme Court.
As previously reported by The Tennessee Star Lee appointed Tarwater to the high court in February and the legislature confirmed him as a Supreme Court Justice in March.
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Ohio State Representative Bob Young (R-Green) announced on Friday that he will resign as state representative and chair of the Ohio House Pensions Committee next month following his second arrest in connection with an alleged domestic violence case.
As previously reported by The Ohio Star, a warrant was issued for Young’s arrest in July. He was charged with a 1st-degree misdemeanor domestic violence charge and a 4th-degree felony charge of disrupting public services at his home in Green following an alleged incident at a fundraiser. Young paid $520 of his $5,000 bond or 10 percent plus fees to secure his release and plead not guilty to the charges.
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On Thursday, U.S. Senate Democrats blocked Senator JD Vance’s (R-OH) motion for unanimous consent on his legislation to prevent the re-imposition of federal mask mandates in the United States.
This follows Vance introducing The Freedom to Breathe Act on Tuesday which aims to prohibit any federal official, including the President, from issuing mask mandates applying to domestic air travel, public transit systems, or primary, secondary, and post-secondary schools. The legislation would also prohibit air carriers, transit authorities, and educational institutions from refusing service to individuals who choose not to wear a mask.
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U.S. Congressman and Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green (R-TN-07) signed a letter this week urging the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to rethink a new rule on cybersecurity for public companies.
According to the new SEC rule, effective Tuesday, publicly traded corporations must alert the SEC of a cyberattack within four days of the event. A company’s strategies and procedures for managing cybersecurity risk must also be disclosed on a regular basis, among other requirements.
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