Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has turned away a grassroots, public effort to create new law for the second time this year.
The first time dealt with recreation marijuana use, and the most-recent attempt was to stop vaccination mandates.
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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.
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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.
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich led 15 other attorneys general to file an amicus curiae brief on August 30 in a lawsuit requesting to halt the Biden administration’s “Interim Guidance” policy of not enforcing laws against illegal immigration when it comes to crime. The lawsuit was filed against the Biden administration on April 6 by the attorneys general of Texas and Louisiana accusing Biden of endangering Americans by no longer arresting or deporting nearly all illegal immigrants involved in crime. Brnovich and the coalition asked the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to deny Biden’s request for a stay of his policy while his administration appeals a trial court’s ruling halting the policy.
“The Biden Administration continues to intentionally violate federal immigration laws and endanger all Americans,” said Brnovich in a statement. “We continue to see the release of convicted felons, COVID-19 positive migrants, and record levels of dangerous drugs into cities across our country. These reckless policies are illegal, unconscionable and disgraceful. The Biden Administration must be held accountable.”
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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.
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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.”
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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.
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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.
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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.”
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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.
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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.”
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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.”
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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.”
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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.
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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.”
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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 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.
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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 providers bypassing an Ohio law that outlaws direct shipment of these products to residents. Ohio established this law so the state can control alcohol sales to minors, ensure appropriate tax payments, and protect state liquor businesses from illegal competition from out-of-state alcohol distributors, according to Yost’s press release. The specific distributors named in the lawsuit are Wine.com, Winc, Wine Country Gift Baskets and Ace Spirits. “These distributors are flagrantly skirting the law and keeping Ohio from collecting tax money it is entitled to,” Yost said. “We’re not talking nickels and dimes here. The tax revenue lost due to online liquor sales could be anywhere from tens of thousands to millions of dollars.” “Free markets have rules to protect buyers and sellers and promote competition,” he added. “These scofflaws are gaining a competitive advantage by not paying taxes that their home-grown Ohio competitors must.” Two companies the injunction names, Wine.com and…
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Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said he wants the public to weigh in on the question of whether internet search engines should be “allowed to favor their own products and services in search results.”
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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.
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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.”
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Attorney General Dave Yost led an effort of 15 Republican state attorneys general to file an amicus brief Monday that supports the federal government’s position of dismissing its case against Gen. Michael Flynn.
In early May, the Department of Justice (DOJ) dropped all charges against the former National Security Advisor.
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As Alice DeWine, the daughter of Gov. Mike DeWine, battles for the Greene County prosecutor position, a federal super PAC named Protecting Ohio Action Fund (POAF) has supported her campaign by spending $321,821 on it, according to The Columbus Dispatch.
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Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said he will appeal a federal judge’s ruling that exempts abortion clinics from a mandate to cancel all elective surgeries.
Several abortion providers sued the state last Monday seeking relief from the Ohio Department of Health’s order to cancel all elective and non-essential surgeries.
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Despite an Executive Order March 17 by Governor Mike DeWine directing health care professionals to postpone elective surgeries to combat the spread of the Chinese Virus and a letter two days later by Attorney General Dave Yost addressed to surgical abortion providers warning them to “immediately stop performing non-essential and elective surgical abortions,” at least one concerned Ohioan successfully made an abortion appointment. Marti Day Folck, who lives in Kettering, Ohio resident, wanted to see if the abortion clinic near her, the Women’s Med Center (WMC), was following what Yost asked them. However, she found out the exact opposite. Folck called WMC Wednesday to schedule an abortion procedure. She told the center that she was 20 weeks pregnant and asked if they were be anyway to get an abortion. The center told Folck that she could get an abortion, and that she could schedule an appointment for consultation Thursday. Folk told The Ohio Star that the WMC said she can come back next week to begin the abortion procedures, which is a two-day process. She noted that the procedure would have cost her $2,400 with $1,200 being paid with financial assistance. Folck said she doesn’t have any plan to…
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Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost rejected a proposed marijuana-related constitutional amendment Monday that aimed to regulate marijuana like alcohol.
Yost halted the amendment proposal because it did not gather enough valid signatures.
“Because your submission did not contain the verified signatures of at least one thousand qualified electors, we must reject it,” Yost wrote in the letter to the petitioning committee. “Finally, because the petition failed to meet the signature threshold, I have not made any determination concerning the fairness and truthfulness of the proposed summary.”
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Abortion clinics across Ohio are continuing to schedule surgical abortions during the coronavirus pandemic despite being told not to by state government officials.
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Ohio Democrats called Attorney General Dave Yost “opportunistic” for urging abortion clinics to close during the coronavirus pandemic.
Gov. Mike DeWine and the Ohio Department of Health issued an executive order Tuesday that required health providers to cancel all non-essential or elective surgeries that utilize personal protective equipment (PPE).
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Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost joined a bipartisan coalition this week that supports states’ rights to regulate prescription drug prices.
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Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost approved the summary of a petition for a ballot initiative that seeks major changes to Ohio’s election laws.
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The State of Ohio on Monday awarded 27 law enforcement task forces more than $2 million in grants to disrupt the drug trade and promote awareness, prevention and recovery. Gov. Mike DeWine held a presentation at the Ohio Statehouse for the announcement of the RecoveryOhio Law Enforcement Fund, according to a press release. DeWine tweeted, “Ohio’s drug task forces work day & night to investigate drug traffickers who are fueling addiction. Today I announced that $2M in extra funding will be going to 27 #Ohio drug task forces thanks to the new #RecoveryOhio Law Enforcement Fund that was part of the #OHBudget.” Ohio’s drug task forces work day & night to investigate drug traffickers who are fueling addiction. Today I announced that $2M in extra funding will be going to 27 #Ohio drug task forces thanks to the new #RecoveryOhio Law Enforcement Fund that was part of the #OHBudget. ⬇️⬇️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/TbUZa5GnSF — Governor Mike DeWine (@GovMikeDeWine) February 3, 2020 DeWine in March 2019 released the RecoveryOhio Advisory Council’s Initial Report that makes recommendations on how to address the public health crisis – mental health and substance use. The RecoveryOhio Council issued more than 70 recommendations in the areas of…
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Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost rejected a summary language of a proposed amendment this week that would have made changes to Ohio’s election laws.
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Ohioans may soon see a minimum wage constitutional amendment proposal on their November voting ballot after Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost certified its summary of petition this week.
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Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery, along with 20 other Republican attorneys general, sent a letter to the U.S. Senate Wednesday asking them to dismiss the impeachment attempt of President Donald Trump.
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Sandusky County prosecutor Tim Braun resigned from his position last week.
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Sandusky County Prosecutor (SCP) Tim Braun was suspended Tuesday by Sandusky County Common Pleas Court Judge Jeremiah Ray, according to the Toledo Blade. In December, Braun pleaded guilty to negligent assault of a female co-worker.
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An undercover task force in Ohio arrested 16 men (pictured above) for trying to sexually exploit children. This is the second successful undercover operation this year. In March, a task force targeting human trafficking arrested eight people. One person was also charged with felony drug possession. “This trap will be laid time and time again until the message reverberates – don’t buy sex in Ohio,” Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said in a statement announcing the arrests. Mahoning County Sheriff Jerry Greene had a warning for child predators who are looking to do similar crimes in Northeast Ohio. “We are very pleased with the outcome of the operation. This task force is not going to give up or let up on these types of crimes,” Greene said. “If you are someone using the internet to exploit underage children, we want you to know you may be talking to us.” The Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force was created three years ago when Ohio Governor Mike DeWine was the state’s attorney general. Youngstown is Mahoning County’s biggest city and a little less than 230,000 people live in the areas, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. “Human trafficking is a horrific crime, and…
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Attorneys General from 44 different states announced their participation Monday in a lawsuit against 20 of the nation’s leading generic drug manufactures. Both Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison have joined the lawsuit, highlighting the bipartisan nature of the issue. “Ohioans who need medicine might think generic drugs would be their cheapest option, but some manufacturers have rigged the system to avoid competition,” Yost said Monday. “That’s not how a free market works, and the conspiracy to avoid competition makes prices higher – and it’s against the law. This lawsuit is the prescription for lower medicine prices in a free market.” The lawsuit, led by the state of Connecticut, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut and explicitly names 15 defendants who are senior level executives responsible for sales and marketing. The lawsuit alleges that they “engaged in a broad, coordinated and systematic campaign to conspire with each other to fix prices, allocate markets and rig bids for more than 100 different generic drugs.” The complaint also details an “interconnected web” of top executives who frequently met with each other and communicated via text messages to sow “the seeds…
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Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost joined a coalition of 38 states urging Congress to grant federal banking system access to marijuana-related businesses. The coalition is working on getting Congress to pass the Federal Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act (H.R. 1595). Although many states have legalized medical marijuana, the federal government has regulations that block the federal bank and related banks from lending to cannabis-related institutions. Under the existing ruling, many legitimate marijuana-related businesses are forced to function as cash-only operations. Back in 2018 while Yost was a state auditor, he found an excess of flaws with Ohio’s medical marijuana system. “If you wrote a book about how not to roll out a government program, this would be exhibit A,” Yost said at the time. Now Yost is taking a firmer hand in fixing the ongoing issues in the growing medical cannabis market. In a press release from the Attorney General’s Office, Yost had this to say: “When a business is dealing strictly in cash, they’re inviting a whole host of problems. No legal business should have to operate in a manner that provides little to no security in their financial transactions.” H.R. 1595 seeks to change that and…
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Steven Dettelbach, former U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Ohio and 2018 Democratic attorney general candidate, joined nearly 800 U.S. Department of Justice alumni in suggesting that President Donald Trump obstructed justice in a Monday letter. “Each of us believes that the conduct of President Trump described in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report would, in the case of any other person not covered by the Office of Legal Counsel policy against indicting a sitting president, result in multiple felony charges for obstruction of justice,” the letter begins. It goes on to state that the “Mueller report describes several acts that satisfy all of the elements for an obstruction charge.” These acts include, according to the letter, conduct “that obstructed or attempted to obstruct the truth-finding process.” The letter claims that the “evidence of corrupt intent and connection to pending proceeding is overwhelming.” It discusses in detail the “attempts to fire Mueller and then create false evidence,” the “attempts to limit the Mueller investigation,” and the evidence of “witness tampering and intimidation.” “As former federal prosecutors, we recognize that prosecuting obstruction of justice cases is critical because unchecked obstructions—which allows intentional interference with criminal investigations to go unpunished—puts our…
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Attorney General Dave Yost along with law enforcement partners announced Friday that two individuals behind a human sex-trafficking ring in central Ohio were convicted and sentenced. The Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force charged Curtis Gossett and Jeffrey Bagley in the bust. The two men led an operation that involved recruiting women from the streets and jails, and drugging them with narcotics to maintain control over them. They trafficked dozens of women for commercial sex in Columbus, according to a press release from Yost’s office. “Women who are sold in the sex trade often think no one will believe them. These convictions are proof positive that there is justice,” Attorney General Yost said. “Our work here is not done.” Gossett received a 13 year sentence while Bagley was handed down a sentence of 10 years. Both will be required to register as sex offenders upon release. “I am very proud of the efforts of the Human Trafficking Task Force,” Columbus Police Deputy Chief Deputy Tim Becker said. “The outcome of this investigation demonstrates the commitment of the Columbus Division of Police to actively support the eradication of trafficking humans in our community and CPD will collaborate with our partners to…
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