The Ohio Chamber of Commerce believes the state should spend more than $1 million to create a special task force to combat the growing trend of organized retail theft.
Almost six months after the chamber formed a Crime Task Force, the group focused on organized retail theft as it issued its findings report and legislative recommendations.
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Ohio plans to build two dozen fast electric vehicle charging stations after it became the first state to open a charger funded by the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program.
The announcements come as car dealers across the country told President Joe Biden electric vehicles continue to stack up on car lots, as previously reported by The Center Square.
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Kent State University has embedded DEI efforts throughout its academics and programming in recent years, creating a new Division of People, Culture and Belonging and adding administrators, faculty, and projects centered around the ideology, a College Fix analysis found.
The new division, established in September, merged the Human Resources department and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion offices. The rebranding came as Buckeye State lawmakers considered legislation to ban mandatory DEI in higher education.
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Ohio plans to give another $175 million in taxpayer money to communities around the state to clean up contaminated properties and get them ready for use again.
The new money adds to the $350 million the state handed out for 313 projects in 83 counties earlier this year. Gov. Mike DeWine says it gives sites a second chance at life.
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The Ohio House of Representatives isn’t giving up on making daylight saving time permanent.
After passing a resolution 69-20 that urges Congress to stop the time change twice yearly, the House sent it to the Senate for consideration.
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A federal grand jury has charged the former chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO), Samuel Randazzo, 74, with crimes related to bribery and embezzlement, according to the Southern District of Ohio U.S. Attorney’s Office.
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Despite objections from teacher organizations, the NAACP, the ACLU, physicians and social workers, an Ohio House committee passed a bill to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion training at Ohio colleges and universities.
Senate Bill 83, which has passed the Senate and heads to a full House vote after an 8-7 vote Wednesday in the House Workforce and Higher Education Committee, also bans what it calls “controversial beliefs or policies,” including issues like climate change, electoral politics, foreign policy, immigration policy, marriage or abortion.”
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Less than two days from recreational marijuana use becoming legal in Ohio, lawmakers want to make some changes.
Senate Republicans added the changes to a bill that passed the House in June and would revise some of the state’s liquor laws.
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Ohio U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday in response to a recent column in The Washington Post appearing to encourage an insurrection against a potential Donald Trump presidency.
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After the COVID-19 pandemic moved nearly all public government meetings online, Ohio lawmakers believe allowing public bodies to meet virtually will increase public participation.
Rep. Jim Hoops, R-Napoleon, said he was skeptical of allowing boards to do public business virtually, but that changed following the pandemic.
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U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) introduced a bill to ensure colleges and universities comply with the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on affirmative action in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard.
In June, SCOTUS determined that affirmative action violates the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, overruling a 2003 opinion that race could be a determining factor in the college admissions process.
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A law legalizing recreational marijuana will take effect in Ohio beginning Thursday, meaning adults over 21 will be allowed to possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana and up to 15 grams of marijuana concentrate.
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Replacing property taxes with a land value tax could spur development in Ohio, according to several state economists.
Under a land value tax, property taxes would be levied based on the value of the underlying land and not on any buildings or other improvements at the site.
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Moody’s Investor Services has upgraded Ohio’s credit issuer rating to “Aaa” from “Aa1” and revised the state’s financial outlook from “stable” to “positive.”
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Two men from Columbus have pleaded guilty in a case involving the armed robbery of a United States Postal Service (USPS) mail carrier, according to the Southern District of Ohio U.S. Attorney’s Office.
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Penguin Random House, authors and teachers with the Iowa State Education Association filed a lawsuit against Iowa State Board of Education officials on Thursday, claiming that a law banning pornographic books in schools is unconstitutional, according to court documents.
Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the law, SF496, in May, which bars books discussing gender identity in kindergarten through sixth-grade classrooms and requires educators to keep parents informed if their child expresses a desire to change their gender identity, according to the Associated Press. The plaintiffs, however, argued in the lawsuit that the ban is “unconstitutionally vague.”
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The process to remove abortion restrictions in Ohio is under way after voters enshrined abortion rights in the state’s constitution in November.
Reps. Anita Somani, D-Dublin, and Beth Liston, D-Dubin, formally introduced legislation to ease the restrictions but no hearings have been set in the House.
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Morgan Keller was a gender-dysphoric female when she was sold a bill of goods wholly different than what she received when she was given synthetic testosterone treatment and weeks later had both of her breasts carved off her chest.
Keller shared her story at the Ohio Statehouse talking in support of Ohio House Bill 68 (HB 68) – legislation aimed at both protecting women’s sports from males and barring drugs and surgeries for minors who begin transitioning to a sex opposite that of their birth.
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Five Ohio public employees appealed a ruling that allowed union dues to be taken from their paychecks for months.
A lower court ruling said the issue is an unfair labor practice, giving jurisdiction to the State Employment Relations Board rather than a court.
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The Ohio Republican Party released a statement denouncing the Ohio Democratic Party’s announcement of its full slate of candidates for the 2024 state Supreme Court race.
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Ohio voters moved closer to removing redistricting from the General Assembly.
A potential constitutional amendment received approval from the Ohio Ballot Board, and now organizers begin the process of gathering enough valid signatures for the questions to appear on the ballot next year.
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Ohio gun owners moved a step closer to guarantees that federal laws could not be used to take away those guns.
The Ohio House Government Oversight Committee recently advanced the Second Amendment Preservation Act, which would stop Ohio law enforcement agencies from enforcing what the act calls unconstitutional federal gun control laws, executive orders or agency rule interpretations.
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The state of Ohio’s consultant for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is facing a state investigation after publishing a Forbes column on “decentering whiteness.”
Ohio Republican Sen. J.D. Vance announced he would pursue an investigation into BWG Business Solutions, which was founded and headed by Janice Gassam Asare, who wrote the Forbes article.
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Ohio plans to spend $500,000 in taxpayer funds to reimburse colleges and universities across the state for K-12 teacher continuing education programs called “Teacher Bootcamps.”
The program puts teachers in local businesses to expose them to in-demand career skills specific communities need. According to Gov. Mike DeWine, that will help teachers better prepare students for a career after graduation.
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Ohioans will pay less for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner this year than the rest of the nation.
The Ohio Farm Bureau Federation released its survey of prices for a shopping basket filled with a turkey, milk, pumpkin pie mix and the rest of the items that make a traditional Thanksgiving table to feed 10.
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Despite remaining below the national average, Ohio’s job market dipped in October.
According to figures released by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, the state’s unemployment average increased from 3.4% to 3.6%, while the labor force participation rate fell from 62.1% to 62%.
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The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) has analyzed historical traffic data to determine the worst times for travel in Ohio’s major metro areas this Thanksgiving.
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As the push continues to transition to electric vehicles around Ohio and the country, state lawmakers want consumers to have a choice.
Senate passage and a signature from Gov. Mike DeWine are all that’s needed to stop the state from signing on to or taking steps to mandate emissions standards through emergency protocols established in the Clean Air Act of 1970.
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A plan Ohio lawmakers say would guarantee free speech for students and staff at the state’s public K-12 schools is now in the hands of the Senate.
Specifically, the legislation requires school districts, community schools and STEM schools to have a policy against using statements of commitment to or soliciting or requiring specified individuals to affirmatively ascribe to specific beliefs, affiliations, ideals or principles concerning political movements or ideology.
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Emerson College Polling and WJW-TV Fox 8 Cleveland published results of a poll on Thursday revealing how likely voters in Ohio would vote in the 2024 presidential and Senate race.
In the 2024 presidential election, the poll shows former President Donald Trump with a 12-point lead (50 percent-38 percent) over incumbent President Joe Biden in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup in the Buckeye State while 12 percent of voters remain undecided.
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Local governments in Ohio could soon expand concealed carry laws and allow citizens to carry guns in courtrooms.
House Bill 272, which recently had its fourth hearing before the House Government Oversight Committee but has yet to be voted on, would allow local governments to create an exception to carry a deadline weapon into a building that contains a courtroom when court is not in session.
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Contractors and larger employers in Ohio could soon be required to verify the immigration status of employers based on a proposed new law.
Reps. Scott Wiggam, R-Wayne County, and D.J. Swearingen, R-Huron, recently introduced legislation that would make contractors and subcontractors verify the immigration status of employees to work on public works construction projects.
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Former Ohio state lawmaker and current business owner Kevin Coughlin launched his campaign for Ohio’s 13th congressional district on Monday. Coughlin, a Republican, is a fourth-generation resident of Summit County.
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An Ohio lawmaker already has plans for an expected boost to state revenues following voter approval of recreational marijuana.
State Rep. Cindy Abrams, R-Harrison, plans a Tuesday news conference to outline her proposed legislation that would use $80 million of marijuana tax money over the next two years as a permanent funding source for training the state’s law enforcement officers.
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The left-wing think tank, polling firm, and political advocacy group Data for Progress recently published results of its poll revealing how likely voters in Ohio would vote in the 2024 presidential and senate race.
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The U.S. Census Bureau is under fire for embracing progressive ideology around gender and sexuality and pushing for taxpayer dollars to fund it.
U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and JD Vance, R-Ohio, sent a letter to the U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert Santos calling on him to rescind its plan to incorporate a gender identity and sexuality questions to the American Community Survey, which goes to more than 3.5 million Americans each year.
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Changes are expected to come to Ohio’s newly passed legalization of recreational marijuana.
Lawmakers have 30 days to make amendments to the law that easily passed Tuesday night as an initiated statute rather than a constitutional amendment.
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Ohio Democratic lawmakers quickly went to work introducing legislation that would repeal state laws related to abortion care.
Republicans, which own significant majorities in both the House and Senate, vowed to keep fighting against abortion despite voters overwhelmingly enshrining abortion rights in the state constitution.
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Veterans are being invited to shoot for free at any Class A, B, and C shooting range throughout the Buckeye State on Veterans Day, which falls on Saturday, November 11.
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Ohio U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) took to social media Wednesday reacting to the passage of Statewide Issue 1 in Ohio.
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Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds’ endorsement this week of Ron DeSantis for president a little more than two months before the Iowa caucuses could give the Florida governor a bit of a lift, but it very well could hurt the state GOP’s future prospects.
Former President Donald Trump, who leads DeSantis by nearly 30 percentage points in the latest Iowa poll, has clearly expressed his dissatisfaction with Reynolds’ rallying around DeSantis — especially after he accused Iowa’s popular governor of playing political footsie with DeSantis earlier this year.
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Ohio voters passed both statewide issues on the ballot Tuesday, according to unofficial election results published by the Ohio Secretary of State’s office.
With the passage of Statewide Issue 1, a constitutional amendment, Ohio will now allow for late-term abortion through all nine months of pregnancy, nullifying the state’s current law, which permits abortions up until 22 weeks of pregnancy for any reason.
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Ohio State University has more than doubled its diversity staff in just five years, hiring more than 100 new DEI-related employees between 2018 and 2023, swelling the headcount from 88 to 189, a College Fix analysis found.
In 2018, Ohio State employed 88 diversity-related staffers at a cost of $7.3 million annually, according to research conducted at the time.
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With early in-person voting concluded, Ohioans head to the polls Tuesday to decide on constitutional amendments on reproductive rights and marijuana legalization.
Polls open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m.
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Ohio U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) reacted to the leaked documents part of the Covenant School shooter’s manifesto released by Steven Crowder on Monday morning.
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Anyone in Ohio can now get up to $3,000 in taxpayer funds to pay for a workforce training or tech-focused credential.
The grants, which reimburse training providers like two-year and four-year colleges and universities, began for only low-income, partially employed or unemployed people in the state and has been expanded to everyone today.
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A new vote record analysis of the Ohio legislature by the Institute for Legislative Analysis (ILA) found that lawmakers from the Buckeye State have the most “conservative voting records when it comes to cutting regulations, but very liberal records on tax, fiscal and healthcare policy.”
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Conservatives in the Indianola Independent School District need to vote in the school board election on Tuesday, November 7th. Both Rob Keller and Patty Alexander are school board candidates who realize that sexually explicit materials are not appropriate for school libraries. Please vote for them.
Please do not vote for Aaron Labertew and Eric Christensen, who are opposed to SF496, the new legislation that bars books from school libraries, such as “Gender Queer,” “Push,” and “A Court of Silver Flames,” which have explicit descriptions or visual depictions of sex acts. Labertew is also opposed to school vouchers.
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As daylight saving time nears an end, some Ohio lawmakers aren’t ready to let it go.
The Ohio House State and Local Government Committee passed a resolution that calls on Congress to make the transition to longer periods of sunshine permanent.
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Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose is defending his decision to recently purge thousands of voter registration records that have been inactive for four years and have failed to update their records within that time.
LaRose’s office purged nearly 27,000 inactive voters from the voter rolls on September 28.
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