An activist-led petition for marijuana legalization in Ohio could be on the November ballot now that state lawmakers have declined to evaluate the change.
The 34-page bill proposed by The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol aimed to impose a 10 percent tax on the sale of all cannabis products and legalize the possession, purchase, and sale of marijuana by Ohio residents aged 21 and older.
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Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and his Department of Safety Director Andy Wilson have announced that the state of Ohio is awarding nearly $500,000 in funding to law enforcement agencies throughout the state to help aid in the recruitment of new officers.
31 law enforcement agencies in 21 counties will receive the grant funding totaling $445,449 as part of the second round of funding offered as part of the new Ohio Law Enforcement Recruitment Grant Program. The program was created by Gov. DeWine in 2020 to enable police departments throughout Ohio to focus on recruiting efforts.
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A bipartisan group of Ohio lawmakers introduced a bill to modernize and streamline the adoption process across the state.
House Bill (HB) 5, known as The Adoption Modernization Act, sponsored by State Representatives Sharon Ray (R-Wadsworth) and Rachel Baker (D-Cincinnati), aims to provide financial support for expecting mothers, expedite kinship care, and clarify Ohio law to help streamline the adoption process.
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Oberlin College’s record on lawsuits is so bad that it hired a new role this school year – a dedicated risk manager.
The college most famously paid out $36.6 million to local Gibson’s Bakery after its administrators were found complicit in damaging and false accusations of racism against the town staple. The damaging accusations of racism came after a bakery employee chased several black individuals who stole alcohol in November 2016 out of the store.
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A bipartisan group of Ohio Lawmakers introduced a bill prohibiting intimate examinations on anesthetized and unconscious patients without their consent.
House Bill (HB) 89, sponsored by state Representatives Brett Hillyer (R-Uhrichsville) and Munira Abdullahi (D-Columbus), aims to require specific consent from patients before doctors, nurses, and medical providers-in-training perform intimate pelvic, prostate, or rectal exams as part of their training while patients are unconscious for an unrelated procedure.
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U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) claims that President Joe Biden is “playing Russian roulette with the country’s finances” for refusing to negotiate on the current state of the debt plan.
This follows House Republicans passing the Limit, Save, Grow Act last week, which aims to address the debt ceiling and implement common sense spending reforms to limit wasteful spending, save taxpayer dollars, and grow the economy in hopes that Biden would negotiate with them.
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The Ohio Republican State Central Committee unanimously voted to oppose a proposed constitutional amendment to enshrine abortion in the state Constitution during their Friday meeting.
The Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom, a coalition of radical pro-abortion activists that includes Planned Parenthood, Pro-Choice Ohio, the Abortion Fund of Ohio, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Ohio, along with the Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights, proposed “The Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety.”
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On Friday, the Ohio Republican Party State Central Committee voted to endorse Ohio Supreme Court Justice Joe Deters, Franklin Court of Common Pleas Judge Dan Hawkins, and Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas Judge Megan Shanahan for the 2024 Ohio Supreme Court elections.
According to Ohio GOP Chairman Alex Triantafilou, all three candidates have judicial experience, and their success as prosecutors show that they are committed to fighting crime hard and making Ohio safer for all Ohioans.
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U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) introduced legislation to increase online transparency and support products made in the USA.
The Bipartisan Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) Online Act, sponsored by Vance and U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), would ensure that all products sold online list their country of origin to protect Americans’ right to know where the things they purchase are manufactured, as well as the promotion of American-made products for internet buyers.
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Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced on Wednesday that a preliminary injunction was issued against Michael Peppel and his sham charity, Ohio Clean Water Fund, who stole thousands of dollars after pretending to raise money for East Palestine residents in the wake of the disastrous February 3rd train derailment.
Yost claimed in his initial lawsuit and request for a temporary restraining order that Peppel, a resident of Leetonia, and other individuals had pocketed at least $131,000 of the approximately $141,000 collected from more than 3,000 donors to allegedly help the community of East Palestine.
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Ohio Republican businessman and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2024 Bernie Moreno said that if President Joe Biden and U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) want people to take them seriously when they claim they don’t want open borders, then they should extend Title 42 and finish building former President Donald Trump’s wall.
His statement follows Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday agreeing to send 1,500 U.S. soldiers to the Mexico border at the Biden administration’s request. However, as Title 42, a pandemic-related immigration policy, is slated to expire next week, the soldiers will only be used for administrative work.
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Ohio residents are tired of corporate welfare. They’re tired of politicians bailing out major corporations with their tax dollars. Unfortunately, however, the 2023 Piglet Book released by the Buckeye Institute this week prove that this sad reality is happening more often than ever.
Over $3 million on marketing for the state’s wine grape growers. Nearly $4 million on grants for sporting events. Over $160 million on “earmarks” — spending provisions that secretly award companies that don’t have to go through the government’s competitive and thorough vetting process large rewards. Ohio is doing all of this on the taxpayers’ dime. Frankly, that’s unacceptable.
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The Ohio Republican Party State Central Committee is scheduled to meet on Friday to consider endorsements for the three Ohio Supreme Court seats up for grabs in 2024, as well as a resolution to support the Ohio Constitution Protection Amendment.
In the Ohio Supreme Court, Democratic Justices Michael Donnelly and Melody Stewart are up for re-election and Republican Justice Joe Deters must run for retention in 2024 and re-election in 2026. It will give Republicans an opportunity to hold 6 of 7 seats in the high court. Currently, the GOP has a 4-3 majority in the state Supreme Court.
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On Tuesday, moderate Republican House Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) once again delayed a floor vote on the Ohio Constitution Protection Amendment, House Joint Resolution (HJR) 1, which aims to alter the process of how initiative petitions can propose constitutional amendments.
The measure, if approved, 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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Google announced on Wednesday the addition of two new data centers in central Ohio.
According to the firm, one of the centers will be constructed in Lancaster and the other on South High Street in South Columbus, bringing Google’s total investment to date in the state to over $2 billion. According to Google, it has generated nearly $13 billion in economic activity for businesses and nonprofits.
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A former Republican lawmaker is advocating for the state of Ohio to secure the primary election system and stop party raiding.
Currently, Ohio voters do not need to specify a party when registering. By requesting the ballot of the party primary they want at the time of voting, they can cast a ballot in either the Republican or Democratic primaries. Additionally, voters have the option of switching between parties during various elections throughout the year.
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A newly formed political action committee (PAC) has been set up to push House Republicans to vote on the Ohio Constitution Protection Amendment which aims to alter the process of how initiative petitions can propose constitutional amendments
Save Our Constitution PAC is urging lawmakers to set an August election for Ohio voters to decide on the proposed amendment. The measure, if approved, 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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On Monday, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced that expanded access to one of the nation’s most effective resources for investigating and averting serious gun crimes is now available to law enforcement officials in Ohio.
The National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) is a database that contains digitized photos of spent cartridge cases recovered from crime scenes or fired from firearms that law enforcement took into custody. The database essentially serves as a massive library of ballistic “fingerprints” because every gun leaves its own distinctive microscopic imprint on the cartridge cases it ejects.
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The Ohio Senate has unanimously passed legislation that aims to require local boards of education to draft “non-exhaustive” lists of religious holidays and excuse students for up to three days each academic year.
Senate Bill (SB) 49 known as the “Religious Expression Days” (R.E.D.) Act sponsored by State Senator Michele Reynolds (R-Canal Winchester) would require schools to accommodate “any missed assignments including tests” and teachers would have to accept these absences “without question” while maintaining “alternative accommodation requests confidential.”
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Ohio Republican U.S. House Representatives are calling on President Joe Biden to negotiate with Republicans on common sense reforms that address the nation’s growing debt problem.
This follows House Republicans passing the Limit, Save, Grow Act last week, which aims to address the debt ceiling and implement commonsense spending reforms to limit wasteful spending, save taxpayer dollars, and grow the economy.
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Former two-time candidate for U.S. Congress Brandon Lape announced on Monday that he is exploring a run for Ohio House District 98 in 2024. State Representative Darrell Kick (R-Loudonville), who is currently in that seat, will not be able to run again because of term limits which, in theory, would create an open seat, but new districts will have to be drawn again.
Lape, from Loudonville, ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Ohio’s 7th Congressional District against Incumbent Bob Gibbs (R-OH-07) and Democrat Quentin Potter in the November 2020 General Election. He lost to Gibbs and gained 3.3 percent of the vote.
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A Bipartisan group of Ohio Lawmakers has re-introduced a bill to generally prohibit the installation of an electronic tracking device on someone else’s property without the other person’s consent.
Senate Bill (SB) 100, sponsored by State Senators Nathan Manning (R-North Ridgeville) and Nickie Antonio (D-Lakewood), aims to establish the use of tracking devices for menacing or stalking purposes as its own offense under Ohio law – a move that the bill’s sponsors say closes a loophole in current state statutes.
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The Ohio House’s plan to increase starting pay for teachers in the state to $40,000 still leaves it below the average starting pay across the country, according to a recent report.
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Two Ohio Republican state senators have re-introduced legislation that aims to prohibit fees and insurance requirements from owning a gun.
Senate Bill (SB) 58, sponsored by State Senators Theresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green) and Terry Johnson (R-McDermott), tries to protect Ohio’s Second Amendment rights by ensuring that no Ohioan will be required to possess or purchase firearm liability insurance or pay a fee for the possession of a firearm, parts, components, ammunition, or a knife.
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Supporters of legislation that aims to alter the process of how initiative petitions can propose constitutional amendments have told Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) that they have the support of at least 59 House Republicans who want a floor vote on the resolution.
It will take a three-fifths majority of the 99-member House to pass the resolution to put before voters House Joint Resolution (HJR) 1 requiring 60 percent voter approval for future constitutional amendments.
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Norfolk Southern announced on Wednesday that it expects the costs associated with February’s East Palestine, Ohio train derailment to amount to $387 million. The company anticipates the sum to rise over time, which doesn’t represent the final amount the railroad’s insurance providers will pay out.
The $387 million estimate includes the $30.9 million the railroad promised to assist locals and the residents of East Palestine in recovering from the incident, cleanup costs, community support, restoration payments, legal and advising fees, and an early estimate of claims and settlements.
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Columbus venture capitalist Mark Kvamme, who many Republicans thought to be a potential GOP contender to run for U.S. Senate against Ohio Democratic U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) in 2024, announced that he would not be running for Senate and instead endorsed Republican businessman Bernie Moreno.
Moreno previously filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to run for Senate in 2024 and to challenge Democratic incumbent Brown. He officially announced his campaign last week, saying that it’s time for a new generation of political outsiders to come in and get the job done to put America First.
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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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Alex Triantafilou, the newly elected head of the Ohio Republican Party, responded to the announcement that President Joe Biden is running for reelection, calling it “ill-advised.”
“Plain and simple – Joe Biden is not fit for office,” Triantafilou said Tuesday evening.
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An Ohio House Panel has passed the state operating budget including a $1 billion tax cut, higher income limits for school vouchers, and a ban on TikTok from government devices.
On Tuesday, the plan to spend more than $86 billion over the subsequent two fiscal years contained in the 5,300-page proposal known as House Bill (HB) 33 passed the House Finance Committee with bipartisan support.
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A Delaware County Judge has blocked the gun control legislation passed by the Columbus City Council on December 5th meaning the city cannot restrict firearm magazines or implement gun storage requirements.
In a ruling issued on Tuesday, Delaware County Common Pleas Judge David M. Gormley placed an injunction on the legislation. Ohio think tank, The Buckeye Institute, filed a lawsuit against the city of Columbus’ gun restrictions in February on behalf of six anonymous residents to protect the rights of Ohioans to keep and bear arms. The lawsuit named the city, Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin, and Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein as defendants.
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Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said on Monday that he would sign a bill allowing an August special election to decide whether to alter the process of how initiative petitions can propose constitutional amendments if both chambers of the state legislature pass it.
The proposed August election would decide whether the voter threshold for initiative petitions should be raised to 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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A former Village of Swanton city official has been ordered to pay the village thousands in restitution and serve over a year in prison after she was convicted of stealing from the community.
Ohio Auditor Keith Faber said in a press release that Judge Scott Haselman sentenced Kari Rowe, who was the utility clerk for the Village of Swanton, to 18 months in prison on theft in office charge, a third-degree felony, after admitting she stole nearly $64,000 from the Fulton County community. Haselman ordered Rowe to pay over $128,000 in restitution, including the funds she stole and audit costs, to the Village of Swanton.
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Governor Mike DeWine announced Tuesday that Ohio is providing over $42 million in new grants to support physical safety and security upgrades at hundreds of local schools across the state.
According to DeWine, “Our educators care deeply about the safety of Ohio students, as evidenced by the thousands of schools that came forward with solid security improvement plans that they intend to carry out with this funding.”
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According to Ohio Lt. Governor Jon Husted, if lawmakers do not pass a separate bill that includes the requirement for verified parental consent prior to children’s use of social media by June 30th, lawmakers should add it back into the state budget due for Governor Mike DeWine’s signature by that date.
“The Lt. Governor’s support for the Social Media Parental Notification Act remains very strong and he will continue to advocate for its passage this spring. The budget, along with the social media provision, is currently under consideration in the Senate and we are urging members’ support there as well,” Husted spokesperson Haley Carducci told The Star.
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Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and his Environmental Enforcement team have unveiled a $1.1 million initiative to help communities statewide crack down on polluters.
“Shine a Light on Dumpers” is a multi-faceted initiative to stop illegal open dumping of solid waste in Ohio neighborhoods, including scrap tires, construction refuse, and more.
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An Ohio Pro-Life group, Ohio Right to Life, responded on Friday to a piece of legislation introduced by U.S. Congresswoman Emilia Sykes (D-OH-13) that aims to penalize pro-life pregnancy resource centers while encouraging more violence and vandalism towards them.
On Thursday, Sykes introduced the Stop Anti-Abortion Disinformation (SAD) Act which directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to “prohibit unfair or deceptive advertising related to the provision of abortion services and authorizes the FTC to enforce these rules and collect penalties from organizations in violation.”
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An Ohio Republican state representative introduced legislation to protect patients from insurance companies denying or reducing reimbursement for emergency service claims.
House Bill (HB) 99, sponsored by State Representative Susan Manchester (R-Waynesfield), will require insurers to conduct an emergency physician review of a claim before denying or reducing reimbursement for an emergency services claim and prohibit insurers from denying coverage of emergency claim based solely on the final diagnosis of the patient.
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Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced the appointment of Republican magistrate Nathan Shaker to the Wayne County Municipal Court.
Shaker, of Wooster, Ohio, will be taking the seat formerly held by Republican Judge Timothy VanSickle. To retain the seat, he must win the general election in November 2024. VanSickle is leaving the position as he was elected to the Wayne County Court of Common Pleas. Shaker will assume office on May 1st.
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Two Ohio Republican state representatives have introduced legislation to ease the financial burden on Ohio families raising children.
House Bill (HB) 118, known as the Baby Products Tax Exemption Bill, sponsored by State Representatives Nick Santucci (R-Howland Twp.) and Melanie Miller (R-City of Ashland), aims to exempt certain baby products from the sales and use tax.
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Longtime Ohio conservative Republican leader Scott Pullins announced on Thursday he is exploring a second run for Ohio House District 98 in 2024. State Representative Darrell Kick (R-Loudonville), who is currently in that seat, will not be able to run again because of term limits which, in theory, would create an open seat, but new districts will have to be drawn again.
Pullins, from Knox County, ran for election to the Ohio House District 98, which includes all of Knox County and parts of Morrow and Holmes counties, against Kick in the August 2022 Republican primary. He lost to Kick but gained 43 percent of the vote.
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As a bipartisan group of Ohio lawmakers push to move Ohio’s presidential primary elections from March to May, a Republican state Representative has introduced an amendment to the state budget to retain Ohio’s March primary for the 2024 election.
Every four years, during the presidential election season, Ohio’s holds their primary election in March. The state generally holds other statewide primaries in May but in 1996, the Ohio Legislature changed the presidential primary to March.
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Governor Mike DeWine announced on Thursday that Ohio is providing nearly $50 million in new grants to local governments to support construction, renovation, and security improvement projects at nearly a dozen local jails across the state.
According to DeWine, “the funds will help these jails better meet the demands of our modern criminal justice system and keep both staff and inmates safe.”
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Supporters of exporting liquid natural gas (LNG) from Philadelphia got unambivalent backing from Democratic former Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan at a state hearing at the city’s Navy Yard on Thursday.
The liberal ex-lawmaker who unsuccessfully opposed Republican J.D. Vance for the U.S. Senate from Ohio last year is now on the leadership team of the pro-natural-gas Natural Allies for a Clean Energy Future. In that capacity, he appeared before the LNG Export Task Force to strongly urge the creation of an LNG terminal at the Port of Philadelphia.
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Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost filed an amicus brief on Wednesday with the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit urging it to affirm states’ authority to remove local prosecutors who refuse to put the law ahead of their personal politics.
Yost claimed in a news release that states have a right to defend their constitutions against local prosecutors who, by pledging not to enforce laws they dislike, essentially wield veto power over lawfully enacted legislation.
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The Ohio Senate advanced a Republican-led resolution on Wednesday that tries to alter how initiative petitions can propose constitutional amendments and a bill to allow for special elections to be held in August for certain purposes.
Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 2 and Senate Bill (SB) 92 passed along party lines. The resolution passed 26 to 7. The bill passed 25 to 8, with State Senator Nathan Manning (R-North Ridgeville) voting with the Democrats.
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Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw testified to the Ohio Senate Select Committee on Rail Safety on Tuesday, over two months after the February 3rd train derailment in East Palestine.
Ohio Senators questioned Shaw over a wide range of topics related to the derailment and subsequent controlled release of toxic chemicals that negatively impacted the environment and the health and safety of residents, including long-term community assistance programs, two-person crew requirements, and safety requirements for tanker cars.
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The Ohio House introduced its version of the state budget on Tuesday, including a $1 billion tax cut, higher income limits for school vouchers, and a ban on TikTok from government devices.
The second iteration of a plan to spend more than $86 billion over the subsequent two fiscal years is contained in the 5,300-page proposal known as House Bill (HB) 33.
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On Tuesday, Ohio State Senators amended a piece of legislation 4-1 that aims to alter the process of how initiative petitions can propose constitutional amendments.
There are currently two pieces of legislation Republican lawmakers in both the House and Senate are working to put on the ballot in August that would require 60 percent of voters to approve constitutional amendments.
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The Ohio Republican Party said in a press release Tuesday that if U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) cared about the working people of Ohio, he would cooperate with Republicans on the other side of the political aisle to restrict spending and reduce costs rather than take money out of Ohioans’ pockets to fund President Joe Biden’s radical agenda.
According to the Ohio Republican Party’s Communication Director Dan Lusheck, tax day is the Democrats’ “favorite day of the year.”
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