The Ohio legislature on Friday approved legislation to ensure that President Joe Biden will appear on the state’s general election ballot this November.
“I don’t think anybody on this side of the aisle really feels like they’re going to be voting for President Biden, but at the same time, Ohioans deserve a choice in this election, and that’s what we’re seeking to give them today,” GOP state Sen. Rob McColley said, according to NBC News.
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Ohio Governor Mike DeWine (R) on Sunday signed legislation allowing Ohioans who acquired occupational licenses in other states to utilize their credentials in the Buckeye State.
Eighteen states, including neighboring Pennsylvania, already recognize occupational licenses that their residents received elsewhere. For years, a coalition of free-market organizations, including the Columbus-based Buckeye Institute, have urged Ohio lawmakers to adopt the same policy to ease burdens on workers and make the state more economically competitive.
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Advocates for occupational licensing reform successfully urged an Ohio House panel on Tuesday to unanimously pass a Senate bill to recognize professional certifications awarded by other states.
Eighteen states, varied in their politics and geography, already recognize out-of-state licenses for most professions, including neighboring Pennsylvania. These universal-recognition laws all require the licensee to have current permission to work in his or her state and have no pending professional disciplinary matters or disqualifying criminal records. Licensees remain subject to any fees or testing required by their adopted states.
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Ohio’s Republican state legislators are in the process of appealing a state Supreme Court ruling on congressional redistricting to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The state’s high court has repeatedly ruled against maps created by Ohio’s Redistricting Commission. Despite the GOP having a one-seat majority, Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor (R) has sided with the Democrats in redistricting cases. (O’Connor, who is 71, is retiring from the court after this year.)
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The Ohio Senate passed two bills and discussed a third this week that would “check and balance” state executive orders. The two passed bills would limit essential workers’ liability for COVID-19 transmissions and grant $650 million of federal relief funds statewide, respectively.
Senate Bill (SB) 311 aims to install a balance of powers between Congress and Ohio’s Department of Health (DOH) during this and any future pandemics. In an interview with The Ohio Star, Senator Andrew Brenner (R-OH-19) explained the historical rationale behind the bill.
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio Senate Transportation, Commerce, and Workforce Committee began hearing testimonies Monday on Gov. Mike DeWine’s demand for an 18-cent gas-tax increase. The chairman of that committee, Sen. Rob McColley (R-01) (pictured, left), however, made it clear that he and his fellow Senate Republicans oppose the 18-cent figure, and even suggested an income-tax cut to offset a gas-tax increase. But Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) Director Jack Marchbanks (pictured, right) said Monday during his testimony that anything less than 18-cents wouldn’t cut it, and claimed that the smaller gas-tax increase of 10.7-cents passed in the House’s version of the transportation budget last week “falls far short of Ohio’s real need.” “As you may recall, due to flat revenues, highway construction inflation, and mounting debt payments, ODOT is in jeopardy of being unable to fulfill its mission to maintain the state’s most valuable physical asset: our state highway system. The credit cards are maxed out and the long-term health of Ohio’s transportation system is now at stake,” Marchbanks said. He argued that an 18-cent increase is necessary because the “state has avoided making the difficult decision to find a long-term solution to our transportation revenue shortfall for more…
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