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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A new Morning Consult poll shows former President Donald Trump widening the gap against his closest competitors, while former Vice President Mike Pence and Ohio entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy make some noise among the crowded field of Republican Party presidential hopefuls.
The poll, conducted June 23-25, finds frontrunner Trump at 57 percent, nearly 40 percentage points up on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (19%), his closest rival.
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A chemistry professor testified during a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) fact-finding hearing that the controlled burn of vinyl chloride from the Norfolk Southern train that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio earlier this year may not have been necessary.
Norfolk Southern officials says that the unified command made the decision to vent and burn the vinyl chloride, out of concern for polymerization, a molecular chemical reaction that may have caused the tanker cars to rise in temperature resulting in a disastrous explosion.
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Ohio Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose, who is an undeclared candidate for the U.S. Senate, told The Ohio Star that he hopes to make an announcement for a run for U.S. Senate against Ohio Democratic U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) in 2024 “soon.”
“It is a big logistical undertaking. You don’t undertake an effort this big without figuring out how you can do it successfully. I think it’s vitally important that we beat him (Sherrod Brown) next year. If I can do it right I want to do it. I hope to make an announcement soon,” LaRose told The Star.
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The Quad-City Times has apologized for a political cartoon that GOP Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy described as “shameful.”
The cartoon depicts Ramaswamy, a second-generation Indian American at a sparsely attended campaign stop of “MAGA friends” — a reference to former President Donald Trump’s Make America Great Again slogan, but more so what the cartoonist apparently believes to be the slack-jawed, racist yokels who support the MAGA movement.
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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis noted in an interview that he preferred baseball over basketball partly because the latter is played by guys who are “just freaks of nature.”
Speaking to the Christian Broadcasting Network, the 2024 GOP presidential candidate said baseball is a “thinking man’s game” that requires special skill sets, Newsweek reports.
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Opposition surrounds a proposal in the Ohio House that would increase hiring requirements at oil refineries in the state, including a mandate that employees demonstrate fluency in English.
The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) and Americans for Prosperity-Ohio (AFP-Ohio) turn their arguments against House Bill 205 – dubbed the “High Hazard Training Certification Act” – to the Senate after it passed the lower chamber earlier this week. It has not been assigned to a committee in the Senate.
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Two Republican Ohio lawmakers have introduced a bill into the Ohio House of Representatives that aims to increase penalties for reckless driving.
House Bill (HB) 56 sponsored by State Representatives Andrea White (R-Kettering) and Phil Plummer (R-Dayton) aims to stop reckless driving also known as “hooning” from creating dangerous conditions on Ohio roads.
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Life a year after Dobbs, the Left’s skewed view of conservatives, and ” sexually graphic materials” in Iowa political ads. It’s been quite a week on the presidential campaign trail.
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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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Another major Ohio business organization has come out in support of Ohio State Issue 1 which aims to alter the process of how initiative petitions can propose constitutional amendments.
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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The Ohio House of Representatives advanced a piece of Republican-backed legislation that modernizes the statutes authorizing the Cosmetology and Barber Board.
House Bill (HB) 158, sponsored by State Representatives Melanie Miller (R-City of Ashland) and Bill Roemer (R-Richfield), unanimously passed out of the Ohio House Commerce and Labor Committee advancing it to the house floor for further consideration.
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has become more than just a political irritation to President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party establishment.
The Kennedy family scion and anti-vaccine activist is roiling the waters of Biden’s bid for a second term.
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Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman (R-Lima) said that he disagrees that the state legislature may miss the deadline to pass the state’s biennial budget.
This follows Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hills) indicating the possibility that the state legislature may miss the deadline with budget negotiations continuing into July.
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The Ohio House of Representatives passed two Republican-backed pieces of legislation on Wednesday one that aims to protect women’s sports and children from exploitation in the state and one that aims to require school systems to have policies in place that allow parents to be more active in their child’s education.
The Ohio House passed House Bill (HB) 68, known as the SAFE Act, with the Save Women’s Sports Act amended into it by a 64-28 vote and HB 8, known as the Parents’ Bill of Rights, by a 65-29 vote advancing both pieces of legislation to the Ohio Senate for their review.
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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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An Ohio pro-life advocacy organization is calling for the closure of a late-term abortion facility in Cleveland following a patient experiencing a “dangerous hemorrhage” caused by injuries inflicted during a surgical abortion.
Ohio Right to Life says that Preterm Cleveland, a notoriously dangerous late-term abortion facility, “should have its doors permanently closed.”
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Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) indicated that the state legislature may miss the deadline for the state’s biennial budget with negotiations to continue 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 Senate differ significantly from one another.
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Norfolk Southern Railway announced that it intends to spend over $25 million to upgrade and revitalize East Palestine City Park as part of the railroad’s response to help make things right following the catastrophic train derailment earlier this year.
The announcement follows East Palestine City Council approving the proposed plans for the project on Monday night. Norfolk Southern will now develop a full master plan for the community park in the village’s center.
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After a bit of a lull in Iowa’s parade of presidential candidates, the summer campaign season will soon start to heat up again in the kick-off caucus state.
U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) on Tuesday announced he’ll speak at next month’s FAMILY Leadership Summit in Des Moines, billed as “the Midwest’s largest gathering of Christians seeking cultural transformation in the family, Church, government, and more.”
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The Ohio House unanimously passed Republican-backed legislation that aims to give judges in the state clear guidance in setting bail.
House Bill (HB) 191, sponsored by State Representatives D.J. Swearingen (R-Huron) (pictured above, right) and Bill Seitz (R- Cincinnati) (pictured above, left), looks to codify Criminal Rule 46, a rule that provides all state courts with instructions regarding bail-setting procedures in the Ohio Revised Code.
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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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GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is blasting a plea deal announced Tuesday that will keep President Joe Biden’s troubled son out of prison on two federal misdemeanor counts of failing to pay his taxes and a separate felony charge of possession of a firearm by a known drug user.
Multiple news outlets are reporting that Hunter Biden and his attorneys have reached an agreement in which U.S. Attorney David Weiss would recommend probation on the tax violations. The younger Biden also would avoid prison time on the gun possession charge, “subject to a pretrial diversion agreement,” his attorney said in a statement.
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It would appear Democratic presidential contender Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is better liked than the present president, his predecessor, and other GOP presidential contenders, according to a new poll.
Meanwhile, yet another poll shows former President Donald Trump’s huge lead growing in kick-off caucus state Iowa.
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The Ohio Republican Party is pushing back against the “radical extremist” group, the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio’s (ACLU), opposition to House Bill (HB) 8 which aims to require school systems to have policies in place that allow parents to be more active in their child’s education.
House Bill (HB) 8, known as the “Parents Bill of Rights,” aims to require school systems to alert parents before using materials with explicit sexual content in class, gives parents the option to review curriculum for sexually explicit content and request alternate education, requires school systems to inform parents of any changes to the mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being services given to their kids, and requires school systems to develop a parent-approved health care plan for each student.
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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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The Ohio House unanimously passed Republican-backed legislation that aims to streamline tax reporting requirements for remote workers.
House Bill (HB) 121 sponsored by State Representatives Monica Robb Blasdel (R-Columbiana County) and Adam Mathews’ (R-Lebanon) looks to modernize the municipal net profits tax filing requirements for remote workers and allow employers to designate qualifying reporting locations to consolidate their filings to a single central business location.
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Ohio businessman and Republican Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is marking this Juneteenth with a call for the “emancipation of the American mind from psychological slavery based on race.”
Ramaswamy’s message comes as his GOP opponents, South Carolina U.S. Senator Tim Scott, the only black Republican in the Senate, and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, push back on former President Barack Obama’s criticisms of their stances on race relations.
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U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-WI-07) has introduced a bill that would stop the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s war on chocolate milk in school lunchrooms.
The Milk is Indisputably Liked by Kids Act of 2023 – MILK Act — would amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to require schools to offer flavored milk under school lunch program.
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House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan sent a letter to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Friday demanding to know why an agent had told a woman that he could “go into anyone’s house at any time I want.”
Jordan revealed in the letter that a he’d recently learned of allegations about an IRS agent who had allegedly used a fake name to enter a taxpayer’s home and then threatened her. The letter explained that an agent going by “Bill Haus” showed up at an Ohio woman’s home in April, telling her that he can “go into anyone’s house at any time.”
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A bipartisan group of Ohio lawmakers introduced a bill to address the state’s infant and maternal mortality rates and improve mothers’ and infants’ health, learning, and development outcomes.
House Bill (HB) 7, known as the “Strong Foundations Act,” sponsored by State Representatives Andrea White (R-Kettering) and Latyna Humphrey (D-Columbus), aims to expand access to food, housing, transportation, and healthcare for Ohio mothers and their children.
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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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The federal indictment against former President Donald Trump doesn’t seem to be eroding his support among conservatives. New polling shows “Teflon Don” continues to hold a substantial lead over his closest Republican presidential nomination rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, in Iowa — the first-in-the-nation caucus state — and the rest of the nation.
A poll by Victory Insights shows Trump leading DeSantis by 23 points in Iowa, 44.3 percent to 21.3 percent in a full-ballot contest. When the field is narrowed to just Trump and DeSantis, the spread between the two candidates decreases, but not by much.
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The Ohio House of Representatives passed a Republican-backed legislation that attempts to save taxpayers millions of dollars statewide by modernizing the Ohio Revised Code.
The Ohio House passed the legislation with overwhelming bipartisan support by a vote of 94-1, advancing it to the senate for its consideration.
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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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In a rare split decision, the Iowa Supreme Court on Friday balked at reinstating Iowa’s “fetal heartbeat bill,” a move that keeps abortion through 20 weeks of pregnancy unfettered — for now — in the Hawkeye State.
The advisory ruling, rendered despite the fact that the U.S. Supreme Court overturned federal constitutional abortion protections a year ago, was blasted by Republicans and pro-life groups and hailed by Democrats and their abortion industry allies.
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U.S. Senator and GOP presidential candidate Tim Scott (R-SC) will join Fox News’ Sean Hannity next week for a Town Hall.
The Q&A, broadcast from Scott’s home state, airs at 8 p.m. Tuesday.
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The Ohio House of Representatives advanced a Republican-backed piece of legislation that tries to require school systems to have policies that allow parents to be more active in their child’s education.
The Ohio House Primary and Secondary Education Committee passed the legislation 10-5 advancing it to the house floor for further consideration.
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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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Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced the appointment of Republican attorney Diana Stevenson to the Barberton Municipal Court serving the Barberton, Green, New Franklin, Norton, Copley, Coventry, and Clinton communities.
Judge-designee Stevenson started her legal career in 1993 as a judicial attorney for several judges in various counties, including a year as a judicial attorney at the Ohio Supreme Court. Stevenson started working for the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office in July 1996 as an assistant prosecutor, a position she held for four years. She then worked as a magistrate for the Summit County Probate Court for 12 years. She was chosen to serve as the Barberton Municipal Court’s clerk of court in 2012. Stevenson won the 2013 election and was returned to office in 2015 and 2021.
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The Ohio Ballot Board approved new ballot language for State Issue 1 following an Ohio Supreme Court ruling that the board rewrites the proposal to address issues in the ballot text of the previously approved version.
The new version approved by the Ballot Board in a 3-2 vote split down party lines summarizes for voters what State Issue 1 would do if passed, updated a section of text that the state Supreme Court said misrepresented the new threshold of voter signatures that amendment campaigns must amass from each Ohio county to be eligible for the ballot and removed the term “any” from the title of the ballot wording.
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The packed field of candidates in the chase for the Republican Party presidential nomination looks to be getting one more contender.
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez filed his federal paperwork Wednesday to run for president.
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Ohio Governor Mike DeWine submitted a letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) requesting a second extension on the deadline for Ohio to request a major disaster declaration for damage resulting from the catastrophic East Palestine train derailment which occurred earlier this year.
The FEMA website states that a major disaster declaration provides a wide range of federal assistance programs for individuals and public infrastructure, including funds for both emergency and permanent work.
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The Ohio House of Representatives advanced two Republican-backed pieces of legislation on Wednesday that aim to protect women’s sports and children from exploitation in the state.
House Bill (HB) 68, known as the Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act, sponsored by State Representative Gary Click (R-Vickery), passed out of the Ohio House Public Health Policy Committee by a 7-6 vote advancing it to the house floor for further consideration.
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The Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the Ohio Ballot Board must rewrite some of the language that will appear as State Issue 1 before voters on the August special election ballot.
In the decision issued by Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy and Justices Pat Fischer, Pat DeWine, and Joe Deters the Ohio Ballot Board (OBB) is to address issues in the ballot text, including one that they said misrepresented the new threshold of voter signatures that amendment campaigns must amass from each Ohio county to be eligible for the ballot.
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Most of the GOP presidential candidates have committed to attending next month’s Republican Party of Iowa’s Lincoln Dinner, including former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis
The annual fundraiser, scheduled for July 28, is a must-attend event for those vying for the Republican Party nomination in the first-in-the-nation caucus state.
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Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, Lt. Governor Jon Husted, State Senator Michael Rulli (R-Salem), and State Representative Monica Blasdel (R-Columbiana County) announced that the state of Ohio is offering zero-interest, forgivable loans of up to $1 million to businesses affected by the catastrophic East Palestine train derailment earlier this year.
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Lawmakers in the Ohio Senate have reinstated Governor Mike DeWine’s requirement for verified parental consent before children use social media in their version of the state budget.
DeWine included the Social Media Parental Notification Act in the executive budget for 2023-24, which he submitted to the Ohio General Assembly in February. In April, the House Finance Committee removed the proposal from the budget in favor of a potential separate bill.
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Political outsider and GOP presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy is calling on all of his 2024 competitors — Republicans and Democrats — to commit to pardoning former President Donald Trump should he be convicted of the federal classified documents charges against him.
On the same day Trump faced his arraignment in the 37-count indictment, Ramaswamy held a press conference from the same Miami courthouse where the former president was to briefly appear.
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The Democratic League of Women Voters have said that they are adamantly against Ohio State Issue 1 which aims to change the percentage needed to amend the constitution by a statewide ballot initiative to a supermajority of 60 percent from the current 50 percent plus one.
Their opposition is inconsistent however as their own organization’s bylaws require a 66 percent vote for amendments.
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