Tag: governor Mike Dewine

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine Announces New Grant Program to Support Human Trafficking Survivors

Hannah Poling

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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Gov DeWine and Lt Gov Husted Announce Cutting Bureaucratic Language in Ohio Administrative Code through Updated Building Codes

Hannah Poling

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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Governor Mike DeWine Unveils New Crime Gun Intelligence Center in Columbus

Hannah Poling

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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Governor Mike DeWine Announces Hundreds of Air Taxis to be Manufactured in Ohio

Hannah Poling

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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Ohio Redistricting Commission at Standstill over Inability to Pick Co-Chairs

Hannah Poling

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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New Ohio School Bus Safety Task Force Holds First Meeting

Hannah Poling

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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Democratic Redistricting Challengers Ask Ohio Supreme Court to Dismiss Their Own Lawsuits

Hannah Poling

Democrats challenging Ohio’s Republican-drawn state legislative map asked the Ohio Supreme Court this week to dismiss their own lawsuits, claiming that a newly passed map this year may be worse than the map currently in use.

Democrats submitted the lawsuits in 2021 contending that the current legislative map “unduly favors the Republican Party.”

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Ohio Governor Mike DeWine Officially Reconvenes Redistricting Commission

Hannah Poling

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine officially called for the Ohio Redistricting Commission to reconvene to begin the process of drawing new state legislative maps on September 13th, 2023.

The official notice states that, after DeWine reconvenes the commission, “the appointments of any appointed members of the commission will be entered into the record, the administration of the Oath of Office will occur, the roll will be called, the co-chairpersons will be formally entered into the record and the meeting will be turned over to the co-chairpersons.”

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Ohio to Spend over $111 Million to Support Tech-Based Companies in the State

Hannah Poling

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, Lt. Governor Jon Husted, and Ohio Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalik announced that the state plans to spend approximately $111 million to support Ohio tech-based companies.

According to a press release, two new funds, the Ohio Early Stage Focus Fund, and the Ohio Venture Fund, will aid in boosting early-stage capital investments in Ohio technology-based businesses, accelerating the growth of high-potential businesses, and creating an environment that encourages the growth, retention, and recruitment of technology businesses to Ohio.

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Ohio Secretary of State Says Final Legislative Maps Need Approval by September 22nd

Hannah Poling

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose says that the Ohio Redistricting Commission needs to begin the process of drawing new state legislative maps as soon as possible because any delay could potentially conflict with the statutory requirements of election administration if final maps aren’t approved by the end of next month.

On Wednesday, LaRose sent a letter to the members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission emphasizing the importance of expediting the completion of the new state legislative maps.

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Ohio Redistricting Commission Meeting in Flux After Attorney General Says Only Governor May Reconvene Them

Hannah Poling

The first 2023 scheduled meeting of the Ohio Redistricting Commission is in flux after Attorney General Dave Yost sent a letter on Monday to the commission stating that only Governor Mike DeWine has the authority to reconvene them.

This follows the two co-chairs of the commission, State Representative Jeff LaRe (R-Fairfield County) and Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio (D-Lakewood), announcing last week that the panel would meet on September 13th to start the process of drawing new state legislative maps.

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Ohio Manufacturers Urge No Vote on Recreational Marijuana Measure on November Ballot

Hannah Poling

The Ohio Manufacturers’ Association urged Ohioans to vote “no” on a November ballot measure to legalize the possession, purchase, and sale of marijuana by Ohio residents aged 21 and older.

This follows the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association voting to oppose the ballot measure, now titled Issue 2 for the November general election, at a special meeting of its board of directors on Tuesday.

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Ohio Ballot Board Approves Language of Recreational Marijuana Measure for November Election

Hannah Poling
Cannabis Dispensary

The Ohio Ballot Board has approved the language for a November ballot measure to legalize the possession, purchase, and sale of marijuana by Ohio residents aged 21 and older.

The board approved the full ballot language as drafted by the Ohio Secretary of State’s office, now titled Issue 2 for the November general election unanimously without discussion.

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Governor Mike DeWine Says Marijuana Legalization in Ohio Would Be a ‘Mistake’

Hannah Poling

Governor Mike DeWine says that it would be a mistake if Ohioans passed a November ballot measure to legalize the possession, purchase, and sale of marijuana by Ohio residents aged 21 and older.

The proposed initiative for the November ballot submitted by The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol 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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Ohio Secretary of State Certifies Marijuana Legalization Initiative for November Ballot

Hannah Poling

The Ohio Secretary of State’s office has certified that the additional signatures submitted by a coalition of marijuana legalization activists who want to legalize the possession, purchase, and sale of marijuana by Ohio residents aged 21 and older qualifies them for the November ballot.

The proposed initiative submitted by The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol 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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Ohio Coalition Forms in Opposition to November Adult-Use Marijuana Ballot Initiative

Hannah Poling

A broad coalition of Ohio leaders has joined together in order to defeat an attempt by marijuana legalization activists to put an initiative to legalize the purchase and sale of marijuana by Ohio residents aged 21 and older on the ballot in November.

The initial coalition represents respected leaders across children’s health care, business, veterans, and law enforcement institutions including Ohio Children’s Hospital Association, Ohio Adolescent Health Association, Buckeye Sheriffs Association, Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police, Ohio Fraternal Order of Police, Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association, Ohio Veterans First, Veterans Court Watch, Smart Approaches to Marijuana, State Senator Mark Romanchuk (R-Ontario), Former Ohio Republican Party Chair Jane Timken, Phillips Tube Group CEO Angela Phillips, and Smart Approaches to Marijuana CEO Kevin A. Sabet Ph.D.

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Cuyahoga County GOP Applauds Governor DeWine for Taking Action to Curb Cleveland’s Crime Surge

Hannah Poling

The Cuyahoga County Republican Party applauded Governor Mike DeWine for taking decisive action to curb Cleveland’s crime surge as Democratic Mayor Justin Bibb “fails to protect the city.”

According to Cuyahoga County GOP Chairman Lisa Stickan, DeWine understands the importance of law and order in Cleveland and applauds him for sending state resources to assist the police department.

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U.S. Senator JD Vance Frustrated by Pace of East Palestine Derailment Cleanup

Hannah Poling

U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) is frustrated by the slow pace of cleanup from Norfolk Southern’s February train derailment and chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio.

Vance visited the derailment site and met with local leaders to discuss the cleanup status on Monday evening. According to Vance, the cleanup was supposed to be completed in July but now in the middle of August, it’s still nowhere near completion.

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Norfolk Southern Agrees to Enhance Safety Measures at East Palestine Derailment Site

Hannah Poling

Norfolk Southern has agreed to enhance safety measures for workers cleaning up the site of its February derailment and chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that the rail giant entered into an agreement with the federal government and the Teamsters’ rail maintenance worker division to enhance working conditions and crew training after federal inspectors discovered the company had broken a number of regulations, including not requiring or enforcing the use of protective gear.

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Ohio Adult-Use Marijuana Activists Submit Additional Signatures for November Ballot

Hannah Poling

A group of marijuana legalization activists delivered thousands of 6,545 additional signatures on Wednesday to the Ohio Secretary of State‘s Office in an attempt to put an initiative to legalize the purchase and sale of marijuana by Ohio residents aged 21 and older on the ballot in November. This follows the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office ruling last week that the original petitions submitted by The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol did not contain enough valid signatures to be put on the November ballot. The coalition needed to gather over 124,046 signatures by July 5th to qualify for this November’s ballot. The group submitted 222,198 signatures to the secretary of state’s office before the deadline; however, the secretary of state’s office ruled that only 123,367 were valid signatures. Although the measure fell short, the coalition had 10 additional days to get the few hundred valid signatures needed to put them over the top and refile to get on the November ballot. Boards of elections have eight days after receiving new petitions to verify signatures. After everything is verified, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose‘s Office will verify everything and state whether it meets the requirements to appear on the…

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Ohio to Award over $35 Million in Retention Incentives for Thousands of Ohio First Responders

Hannah Poling

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced Wednesday that the state is awarding over $35 million in retention incentives to thousands of Ohio first responders in recognition of their dedication to public safety and ongoing commitment to public service.

Over 10,000 law enforcement officers, firefighters, and EMS personnel from 309 agencies will receive the retention incentives totaling over $35 million as part of the Ohio First Responder Recruitment, Retention, and Resilience Program, which DeWine created last year to address first responder burnout caused by under-staffing and overall job stress.

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Ohio Lt. Governor Jon Husted Names Aaron Crooks as New Chief of Staff

Hannah Poling

Ohio Lt. Governor Jon Husted announced on Tuesday that he named Aaron Crooks, former director of Legislative Affairs for Governor Mike DeWine, to serve as his new chief of staff.

Crooks, of Upper Arlington, has served as DeWine’s director of legislative affairs since 2021. As director of legislative affairs, he oversaw the development and promotion of the administration’s legislative agenda with the General Assembly and other stakeholders in that capacity. He worked for CareSource, OhioHealth, and the Office of Health Transformation before joining the DeWine-Husted administration. In 2002, he took a position with the Ohio Senate.

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Ohio Governor DeWine Appoints Attorney Chris Berhalter to the Belmont County Court of Common Pleas

Hannah Poling

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced the appointment of Republican attorney Chris Berhalter to the Belmont County Court of Common Pleas General and Domestic Relations Division serving the community of Belmont County.

Judge-designee Berhalter (pictured above), of Martins Ferry, has served as Belmont County Court Judge Northern Division since 2014. Before that, he began his law career in 1996 at Sommer, Librati, & Berhalter. He became a partner in the firm in 2000. Voters then elected him as Belmont County Prosecuting Attorney, where he served for 10 years.

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Ohio Governor DeWine Appoints Attorney Michael DeLeone to the Lake County Court of Common Pleas

Hannah Poling

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced on Tuesday the appointment of Republican attorney Michael DeLeone to the Lake County Court of Common Pleas Juvenile Division serving the community of Lake County.

Judge-designee DeLeone will take the seat formerly held by Judge Karen Lawson who passed away in February. The judge-designee will assume office on August 14th, 2023. DeLeone will serve the remainder of the unfinished term and needs to run for election in November 2024 to retain the seat for a subsequent term.

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Ohio Adult-Use Marijuana Activists Fail to Collect Enough Signatures for November Ballot

Hannah Poling

On Tuesday, the Ohio Secretary of State’s office ruled that the petitions submitted by a coalition to legalize the purchase and sale of marijuana by Ohio residents aged 21 and older did not collect enough valid signatures to be put on the November ballot.

The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol has proposed an initiative 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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Ohio to Award over $26 Million in Grant Funding to Support Student Achievement

Hannah Poling

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced on Monday that Ohio is awarding over $26 million in grant funding to support accelerated learning for Ohio students.

Six high-quality tutoring vendors across the state will receive grant funding totaling over $26 million as part of the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief to provide tutoring services across the state at no cost to schools and districts.

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Ohio Governor DeWine Announces New Cybersecurity Training for Local Governments

Hannah Poling

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted announced that CyberOhio is now to provide free services to local governments to improve their preparedness and resilience towards cybersecurity threats.

Local governments will be guided through three levels of cybersecurity preparedness by the new Ohio Persistent Cyber Improvement (O-PCI) program. Each level of cybersecurity advancement will include five steps: education, training, exercise, mentoring, and improvement.

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Ohio Governor DeWine Appoints Attorney James Payne to the Vinton County Court of Common Pleas

Hannah Poling

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced the appointment of Republican attorney James Payne to the Vinton County Court of Common Pleas, General and Domestic Relations Division serving the Ross, Gallia, Jackson, Hocking, and Athens communities.

Judge-designee Payne, of McArthur, has been the Vinton County prosecutor for the past two-and-a-half years. Before that, he started his own law practice that year in South Point, a village consisting of about 3,500 individuals in Lawrence County, where he had lived most of his life after beginning his career as a judicial attorney in Lawrence County in 1994.

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Ohio Adult-Use Marijuana Activists Submit Signatures for November Ballot Initiative

Hannah Poling

A group of marijuana legalization activists delivered thousands of signatures to the Ohio Secretary of State’s office on Wednesday in an attempt to put an initiative to legalize the purchase and sale of marijuana by Ohio residents aged 21 and older on the ballot in November.

The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol submitted 222,198 signatures to the Secretary of State’s office before the deadline to go before voters in November.

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Ohio Governor DeWine Signs $86 Billion State Budget with 44 Vetoes

Hannah Poling

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed the state’s $86 billion biennial operating budget containing tax cuts for individuals and businesses, higher income limits for school vouchers, and a new requirement for parental approval of social media accounts for children under 16.

DeWine vetoed a total of 44 budgetary measures, including a two-week sales tax holiday, legislation that would have prohibited the regulation of tobacco and nicotine products, and legislation that would have prohibited higher education institutions from forcing students to have specific immunizations.

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Ohio Governor DeWine Requests Presidential Disaster Declaration for East Palestine

Hannah Poling

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine requested on Monday that President Joe Biden issue a Major Presidential Disaster Declaration for damage resulting from the catastrophic East Palestine train derailment that occurred earlier this year.

This follows two groups of protestors, Unity Council for the East Palestine Train Derailment and River Valley Organizing, pressuring the Ohio Governor to submit a disaster declaration before the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Monday deadline.

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U.S. Supreme Court Sends Back Ohio Redistricting Case

Hannah Poling

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Ohio’s highest court must reconsider the congressional districting of the state that the Ohio Supreme Court previously ruled unlawful.

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a summary judgment, a decision made without listening to oral arguments, reversing the Ohio Supreme Court’s judgment from last July that the congressional districting process unfairly favored the Republican Party.

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Ohio House Speaker Is Now Confident in Lawmakers Meeting State Budget Deadline

Hannah Poling

Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) says that he is now confident in lawmakers passing the state’s biennial budget before its June 30th deadline.

This follows his previous statement that with the approximately 800 differences between the biennial budgets passed by the Ohio House and Ohio Senate, it is likely that the state legislature may miss its end-of-the-month deadline and need to pass a temporary budget until they can strike a final deal.

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Ohio State Lawmakers Pass Resolution Urging Relocation of U.S. Space Command Headquarters to Ohio

Hannah Poling

The Ohio House of Representatives passed a Republican-backed Concurrent Resolution to urge the Federal Government to officially name Wright Patterson Air Force Base, in Dayton, Ohio as the permanent location for the U.S. Space Command headquarters.

The Ohio House Passed House Concurrent Resolution 8 by a 90-2 vote advancing the resolution to the Ohio Senate for their review.

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Republican Ohio House Veterans Oppose Interim Budget Amendment to Homestead Exemption Bill

Hannah Poling

Six Republican Ohio House veterans wrote a letter opposing a committee adding a seven-day interim budget to a bill that gives military families a tax break.

On Monday, the House Rules and Reference Committee approved an amendment to include this budget to Senate Bill (SB) 43 to expand the situations in which surviving spouses of disabled veterans may receive the “homestead” tax exemption.

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Amazon to Make Second-Largest Private Sector Investment in Ohio History

Hannah Poling

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted announced that Amazon Web Services is expanding its data center operations in central Ohio making the second-largest single private sector investment in Ohio’s history.

DeWine said that Amazon Web Services will invest an estimated $7.8 billion by the end of 2029 expanding its data center operations in the state and creating hundreds of new jobs. The new data centers will be equipped with networking hardware, computer servers, data storage devices, and other types of technology infrastructure needed to support cloud computing.

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Ohio Governor Mike DeWine Urges General Assembly to Pass State Budget

Hannah Poling

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 Governor DeWine Pushes for $13 Million from State Budget for Narcotics Intelligence Center Expansion

Hannah Poling

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine is pushing for $13 million of the state’s biennial operating budget to be used for the expansion of the statewide Narcotics Intelligence Center.

The Governor discussed the funding during the Ohio Narcotics Intelligence Center’s Law Enforcement Drug Summit on Thursday saying that this $13 million increase is pivotal as it better allows them to assist local law enforcement agencies across the state with handling drug-related violent crimes.

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Ohio National Guard Commander Awarded for Being a Role Model Despite Pushing Journalist in East Palestine

Hannah Poling

The two-star commander of the Ohio National Guard who made national headlines for pushing a journalist during an East Palestine news conference earlier this year has been given a leadership award for being “a role model for others.”

Major General John C. Harris Jr. received the Harry S. Hertz Leadership Award from the Baldrige Foundation on Wednesday for his role-model leadership “challenging, encouraging, and empowering others to achieve performance excellence.”

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U.S. Senate Candidate Matt Dolan Launches Statewide Ad Campaign Targeting Sherrod Brown

Hannah Poling

Republican State Senator Matt Dolan (R-Chagrin Falls) launched a statewide ad campaign on Tuesday in his bid for U.S. Senate against Democratic U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) in 2024.

The 60-second digital advertisement is the first statewide ad buy in his bid for the U.S. Senate, targeting Brown and his “blind loyalty” to President Joe Biden.

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Ohio Supreme Court Rules August 8th Special Election Can Continue as Planned

Hannah Poling

The Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the August 8th special election to vote on Ohio State Issue 1 aimed at altering the process of how initiative petitions can propose constitutional amendments can legally proceed as scheduled.

Ohio State Issue 1 if approved by voters would mandate a 60 percent approval percentage for any future constitutional amendments, call for signatures from all 88 counties, and do away with the opportunity to “cure” petitions by collecting additional signatures if necessary.

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Ohio Governor DeWine Appoints Attorney Elizabeth Ellis to the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas

Hannah Poling

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced the appointment of Republican attorney Elizabeth Ellis to the general division of the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas serving the community of Montgomery County.

Judge-designee Ellis from Dayton, Ohio, is an assistant prosecutor at the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office. She has held this position since 2021. Ellis previously headed the civil section for the Greene County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for 19 years. She has also held positions with the Greene County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office as the juvenile division’s chief appellate counsel and director.

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Protesters Interrupt Ohio House Session to Demand an East Palestine Disaster Declaration

Hannah Poling

Protesters interrupted a session of the Ohio House this week demanding that Governor Mike DeWine declare a state of emergency in East Palestine as a result of the catastrophic train derailment earlier this year.

The group’s Unity Council for the East Palestine Train Derailment and River Valley Organizing gathered to pressure the Ohio governor to submit a disaster declaration before the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) July 3rd deadline. Also, the groups protested in the Rotunda at the Ohio Capitol Building and marched into DeWine’s offices.

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Ohio Senate Passes State Budget Proposal

Hannah Poling

The Ohio Senate passed its version of the state’s new two-year $85.7 billion budget bill on Thursday highlighting significant reforms for education policy, tax policy, and home ownership programs.

The latest version of House Bill (HB) 33 passed out of the Ohio Senate by a 24-7 party-line vote. Now approved, the legislation will go to a conference committee to work out differences with the House budget.

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