LOVELAND MAGAZINE

News and Events from the Loveland, Ohio Area

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Since 2004

Author: Loveland Magazine

  • D.C. nears Jan. 6 anniversary with warnings about extremism, awards for courage

    D.C. nears Jan. 6 anniversary with warnings about extremism, awards for courage

    BY: ARIANA FIGUEROA Ohio Capital Journal – JANUARY 5, 2023 2:58 PM

    WASHINGTON – On the eve of the second anniversary of the U.S. Capitol insurrection, congressional Democrats and dozens of veterans on Thursday in a press conference called on incoming House Republican leaders to condemn political violence and hold their members who supported the attack accountable for their actions.

    Meanwhile, President Joe Biden is scheduled on Friday to host a ceremony where he will speak about the Jan. 6 attack, and award medals to a dozen people who “demonstrated courage and selflessness during a moment of peril for our nation,” according to a White House official.

    They will include:

    • Election workers Shaye Moss and Ruby Freeman of Fulton County, Georgia, who were targeted by Trump administration officials and falsely accused of voter fraud.
    • Rusty Bowers, the former speaker of the Arizona House who resisted pressures to overturn 2020 election results.
    • Jocelyn Benson, the Michigan secretary of state who faced armed protesters outside her home when she resisted pressure over election results.
    • Al Schmidt, a former GOP commissioner in Philadelphia and member of the Philadelphia County Board of Elections who during the 2020 election faced threats for defending the integrity of the election.

    At the veterans’ press event near the Capitol Reflecting Pool, House members Jason Crow of Colorado, Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania and Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey talked about how their values to uphold democracy started with their military service when they took an oath to protect the Constitution.

    They voiced their concerns about how many veterans were part of the Jan. 6 mob.

    “When you raise your right hand, and you take that oath to give everything to your country, that is a lifetime commitment,” Crow said. “A lifetime commitment and uniform, but continuing to fight for and preserve our democracy, and never has that been more important than the era that we live in right now.”

    Extremism worries

     U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Penn., with military veterans at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. Houlahan spoke at a press conference about the second anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol calling on the House Republican majority to denounce political violence. Photo by Ariana Figueroa/States Newsroom.

    House Democrats have held hearings and issued reports that have shown the growing worries about extremism among veterans and have recommended the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs protect veterans from those groups. Separately, an analysis by NPR found that 1 in 5 of the defendants charged for their involvement in the riot were veterans.

    “While the individuals who descended upon and disrespected these storied halls represent a very small fringe faction of the population, it is no secret that they were inspired by some of the most senior officials in our government who failed to accept the results of the 2020 election,” said Houlahan.

    She, Crow and Sherrill were in the House chamber during the insurrection, when hundreds of pro-Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in an attempt to prevent members of Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election.

    President Donald Trump was impeached for a second time for his role in the insurrection, and a special committee investigating the attack unanimously voted to refer him and others to the Justice Department for potential criminal charges, including inciting or aiding an insurrection.

    The special House panel investigating Jan. 6 found that Trump was directly involved in efforts to pressure state officials in Georgia, Arizona and elsewhere to overturn the 2020 election results in their states.

    White House awards

    Michael Fanone, who served as a Metropolitan Police Department Officer and defended the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, suffering injuries, spoke at a press conference on the second anniversary of the attack on the Capitol, calling on the House Republican majority to denounce political violence. Photo by Ariana Figueroa/States Newsroom.
     Michael Fanone, who served as a Metropolitan Police Department Officer and defended the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, suffering injuries, spoke at a press conference on the second anniversary of the attack on the Capitol, calling on the House Republican majority to denounce political violence. Photo by Ariana Figueroa/States Newsroom.

    This will be the first time Biden will give out the Presidential Citizens Medal, which is awarded to individuals who have done an extraordinary act of service for the United States or fellow Americans.

    Among the recipients will be Eugene Goodman, the U.S. Capitol Police officer who is credited with diverting rioters from the Senate floor, allowing senators and staff to evacuate.

    The president will also posthumously award a medal to the late Brian Sicknick, a  Capitol Police officer who was injured while responding to the Jan. 6 attack and later died.

    Michael Fanone, a Metropolitan Police Department Officer who responded to the Jan. 6 attack and was injured, will also receive a medal. Fanone later resigned, and has continued to put pressure on congressional Republicans to acknowledge their role in spreading the false narrative that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.

    He most recently sent a letter signed by more than 1,000 veterans to top Republican leaders on Wednesday, calling on them to denounce political violence and the Jan. 6 attack.

    Fanone, who was at the press event, said he wants MAGA Republicans to know “that myself and thousands, tens of thousands of veterans and members of the law enforcement community are paying very close attention to the things that they’ve said.”

    He singled out Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Kevin McCarthy of California, who is struggling to garner enough votes to secure the position of speaker of the House.

    “This type of chaos will happen every single day in the House as some of the most extreme politicians our country has ever seen hold our democracy hostage,” Fanone said about the speaker race that has continued for three days.

    Without a speaker, no members of Congress can be sworn in and the chamber cannot conduct government business such as committee meetings or constituent services.

    (McCarthy elected House speaker in rowdy post-midnight vote.)

    The veterans’ press conference was hosted by Courage for America, an initiative organized by progressives to speak out against extremism and counter the GOP House, and Common Defense, a grassroots organization that works to promote progressive ideas in the veteran community.

    A ‘new sense of hope’

    Sherrill, who served in the Navy for nine years, said she remembers being crouched in the House gallery, a cell phone in one hand, calling her loved ones, and a gas mask in the other.

    “I had this great sense of sorrow that it had come to this,” she said about veterans who attacked the Capitol. “The other side of my brain had really a sense of rage. How dare they?”

    “And yet as I sit here today … I think about how far we’ve come with the January 6 hearings,” she said, adding that many people who ran as election deniers lost their campaigns.

    “I feel a new sense of hope,” Sherrill said. “Our democracy is stronger and more resilient than ever, and so it’s with almost a sense of joy, that I start this new term in Congress, because I know the American people have our back.”

  • DeWine signs 23 bills into law, vetoes one

    DeWine signs 23 bills into law, vetoes one

    File photo: Gov. Mike DeWine signing a bill. Source: The governor’s office.

    BY: NICK EVANS – Ohio Capital Journal

    While Ohio House and Senate lawmakers organize committees and prepare for the coming session, Gov. Mike DeWine is putting the finishing touches on the last one. So far this week, the governor has signed 23 bills into law and vetoed one.

    The veto

    DeWine rejected HB 286, sponsored by Rep. Bill Seitz, R-Cincinnati. The bill would have allowed legal challenges for certain agency orders to occur in the county where a business or a person resides.

    The changes applied to agencies handling liquor control, workers compensation, medicine, chiropractors, nursing, and the casino control commission. Existing law sends those challenges the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, which Seitz criticized in his sponsor testimony.

    “While it is true that the current law represents a great convenience for the State’s bureaucrats and lawyers who need only to defend their decisions on their “home turf”,” Seitz argued, “these considerations are counterbalanced by the inconvenience to the Ohio citizens and businesses who must always play “an away game.”

    DeWine’s veto message was notably terse. “(HB 286) is very similar to provisions that I vetoed previously,” he wrote. “The language as drafted in HB 286 is simply too broad.”

    Those previously vetoed provisions are actually in state law. They come from SB 22 — a measure limiting the governor’s emergency powers and passed by lawmakers despite DeWine’s veto in 2021. Among other changes, it allows people challenging a rule “adopted in response to a state of emergency” to file their case in their home county.

    And a change of venue can make an enormous difference in a case. Columbus’ ongoing bid to institute local firearm regulations offers an illustrative example. After a Franklin County judge ruled against a state law blocking local gun provisions, Columbus passed a large capacity magazine ban and a safe storage ordinance. Attorney General Yost went to neighboring Fairfield County — “where roughly 11,000 Columbus residents live” his press release points out — to challenge those laws.

    Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein accused Yost of “judge shopping,” but the AG’s move secured a temporary restraining order.

    What’s left?

    The final batch of bills arrived on the governor’s desk Dec. 30. Because DeWine has ten days not including holidays and Sundays in which to act, he has until Jan. 12 to make a decision on those proposals, according to his office.

    Among the measures still outstanding are bills that institute photo ID requirements for voting and a prohibition on local tobacco ordinances. DeWine has hinted at vetoing the latter. In a separate OCJ story today, the governor’s office said the elections and voter ID bill was received Dec. 29, so they calculate the deadline for action on that to be Jan. 11.

    The governor also hasn’t taken action yet on a last minute bill which appropriates $6 billion in federal money. Because it includes spending, DeWine could issue line-item vetoes rather than scrapping the bill as a whole.

    The signatures

    Meanwhile, DeWine approved the following bills:

    SB 16: Increased penalties for assault or menacing when the victim is a first responder. The measure also gave local governments explicit authorities when dealing with a riot or mob and prohibited any limitations on firearm rights due to a state of emergency.

    SB 33: Changed Community Reinvestment Area policy to allow greater deduction to 529 education savings plans.

    SB 63: Allowed county probation offices to accept credit card payments. A House amendment added on a new liquor permit for auto-sports facilities.

    SB 131: Required the issuance of certain occupational licenses if a person has experience in that field in a different state. It also specifies individuals can’t register as a credit services organization or a fireworks manufacturer.

    SB 164: Altered animal cruelty laws and prohibited shelters from using gas chambers to put down pets. It also gives Cuyahoga County the greenlight to convert its tobacco tax to a wholesale tax and institute a new wholesale tax on vapor products.

    SB 202: Prohibited restricting parental rights due to the parent’s disability. House amendments gave lawyers credit toward judicial eligibility for out of state practice time and created a bail study task force.

    SB 288: Instituted new texting while driving provisions including making it a primary offense. Also made numerous changes to the criminal code.

    SB 302: Made changes to the state unemployment compensation system.

    HB 23: Required EMS and police officers undergo dementia-related training and raised the maximum age for new highway patrol troopers.

    HB 35: Permitted Ohio mayors to solemnize marriages.

    HB 66: Made numerous tweaks to local taxing authority and reporting as well as $30 million for minor league sports teams.

    HB 107: Revised Ohio’s elevator laws.

    HB 150: Established a rural practice incentive program to pay student loans for attorneys working in public offices or underserved communities.

    HB 178: Known as Makenna’s Law, this measure placed limits on water pressure at pools and other water parks.

    HB 254: Established domestic violence fatality review boards.

    HB 279: Shortened timeline for filing certain wrongful death claims.

    HB 353: Known as Ohio’s “Testing Your Faith Act,” this bill directed higher ed institutions to develop accommodations for students who need to be absent for religious reasons.

    HB 364: Changed application process for sewer and water infrastructure surcharges.

    HB 392: Authorized transport of police dogs injured in the line of duty. An amendment made provisions for riding in a fifth wheel trailer and mounting safety devices on a windshield.

    HB 405: Clarified rules of county hospital boards, gave coroners access to a law enforcement database and allowed treasurers to send bills electronically.

    HB 423: Designated the American Soap Box Derby Ohio’s official gravity racing program.

    HB 462: Prohibited “swatting.”

    HB 487: Altered bidding process for Ohio ballot printing contracts to allow out of state vendors/printers to participate.

    Follow OCJ Reporter Nick Evans on Twitter.

  • Public school funding set for court battle in 2023

    Public school funding set for court battle in 2023

    BY: SUSAN TEBBEN – Ohio Capital Journal

    While the trial of former Ohio House speaker Larry Householder will hold the attention of many this year, the battle over public school funding will also be subject to court drama.

    Public school districts, some individual students in public schools, and the Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy of School Funding, spent the last year fighting to keep a lawsuit on the books in Franklin County Common Pleas Court. That lawsuit aims a direct hit at Ohio’s EdChoice private school voucher program, which plaintiffs say takes away needed funding from the public schools attended by a vast majority of Ohio students.

    The private school voucher system goes against the Ohio Constitution’s demand for a “thorough and efficient system of common schools throughout the state,” the schools and their advocates say.

    Late in 2022, Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Jaiza Page denied attempts by the Ohio Department of Education, the state Board of Education, and a group of “Catholic school family intervenors” and other individuals, hoping to quash the lawsuit.

    “Plaintiffs have adequately pleaded that the difference in funding levels has resulted in students in the public-school districts being denied adequate facilities and learning supports,” Page wrote in denying the private school advocates’ request to end the case.

    The ODE and the state board argued the public school group didn’t have standing to sue, but Page rejected that argument as well, saying the problem in the case is “unique to students within the districts and is not experienced by the general public,” and could be rectified by the state.

    EdChoice, first implemented in 2005, has been a point of contention for the state legislature and public/private school advocates across the state for decades, since the first time the Ohio Supreme Court deemed the state’s education funding system unconstitutional.

    That case, DeRolph v. State of Ohio, was ruled on multiple times by the state’s highest court, but the rulings were the same: the state’s public school funding system doesn’t meet the requirements of the state constitution.

    While both the public school advocates who filed the suit and private school supporters who discredit the case use DeRolph to argue their sides, Page found the private school supporters’ interpretation that a court does not have the authority to establish per pupil funding without merit.

    “This ignores the fact that the DeRolph court held that the level of funding was unconstitutional and was a violation of the ‘thorough and efficient system’ clause,” Page wrote.

    In all the decisions, the General Assembly was ordered to come up with a new system of education funding. Ohioans have yet to see a plan come to full fruition.

    Another former House speaker, Bob Cupp, worked with fellow legislator John Patterson to put together an education plan that would later be called the Fair School Funding Plan. But the plan requires a six-year phase-in, something legislative leadership wasn’t willing to do when the budget came up in the last General Assembly.

    “For the 2023 school year, only 33% of the Fair School Funding Plan will be funded,” Page wrote in her most recent decision in the case.

    Public school students in the districts represented in the case are funded at $340, $1,700 and $2,800 per pupil, based on their grade level, in core funding from the Ohio Department of Education.

    Currently, the vouchers allow students who choose to attend private schools instead of their public school district to receive $5,500 for kindergarten through eighth grades and $7,500 for high schoolers.

    The program has seen expansions over the years, and with the passage of House Bill 110 in 2021, private school vouchers were directly funded through the state, rather than filtered through adjacent public school districts.

    A new expansion was proposed last month, though it didn’t make it through the end of the General Assembly, and will have to be reintroduced. That could be possible in the new year with a bolstered GOP supermajority full of “school choice” advocates.

    With a new budget cycle upcoming, public school advocates are hopeful more funding for the plan may be ahead, though Senate President Matt Huffman has said one priority on the topic of education for this General Assembly will be an overhaul of the entire education system in the state.

    That overhaul could include a restructuring of the Ohio Department of Education and a changing of roles for the state Board of Education, which could add a layer of fog to the state’s educational future and delay funding changes as the potentially brand new department finds its footing.

    The 134th General Assembly saw the legislation in the waning hours of their term, but the legislation ultimately fell short as amendments and the 2,000-page volume of the bill tripped up its success.

    Meanwhile, the department and the other state education leaders named in the lawsuit have until Jan. 20 to file responses in the case.

  • Ohio Redistricting: The Sequel

    Ohio Redistricting: The Sequel

    Ohio legislators will head back to the drawing board on congressional and Statehouse maps

    BY: SUSAN TEBBEN – Ohio Capital Journal

    The new year could include many different developments in the redistricting arena, but one thing is for sure: new maps have to be on the agenda.

    But this time around, majority leaders may not have as much trouble getting maps through the current approving authority: The Ohio Supreme Court.

    With the departure of Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor due to age limits, Justice Sharon Kennedy was elected to take the top spot, and Kennedy made clear how she felt about redistricting in the past, accusing the court majority of judicial overreach in rejecting maps as unconstitutional.

    The maps have gone through the ringer: Statehouse district maps have been rejected by the state’s highest court five times, and congressional maps have been turned down twice.

    After the last round of rejection, GOP members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission turned to a federal U.S. District Court for an answer, which came in the form of the temporary approval of a map passed in February, but still deemed unconstitutional by the state supreme court.

    The three-judge panel in federal court said they did not intend for the map to last ten years, or even the four years laid out in the constitutional amendment that reformed the process. The ORC could pass a map without bipartisan support, but the map would only last four years.

    The GOP took another step around the Ohio Supreme Court, by appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court on congressional redistricting, and the power of the state legislature over the state supreme court.

    The nation’s highest court has not yet decided whether it will take up the case, and is still deciding a different redistricting-related case, Moore v. Harper, which also addresses the role of the state legislature in elections.

    U.S Sen. Sherrod Brown pointed to ousted Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder’s corruption scandal as part of the problem the state is having in attempting to resolve the redistricting issue.

    “This state government is the most corrupt in the country,” Brown said on a press call. “I think there’s no question about that.”

    Householder wasn’t a part of redistricting, but his predecessor as Speaker, Bob Cupp was, along with Senate President Matt Huffman.

    “Of course, (GOP members of the legislature) know they’re losing elections all over the country based on the fact that they are out of step with the majority of voters, so they believe the only way to win is change the rules,” Brown said.

    Legislative leaders have not made any indication for sure as to when the process will start again, though the need to pass a new state budget may slow the process down.

    Voting advocates have said they are pulling together a new ballot measure, that could change redistricting yet again. Outgoing Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor has said she plans to help anti-gerrymandering efforts.

  • Education sees some funding boosts, some missed opportunities in 2022

    Education sees some funding boosts, some missed opportunities in 2022

    BY: SUSAN TEBBEN – Ohio Capital Journal

    Next year is sure to be a busy one when it comes to education in Ohio, with potential state agency overhauls and funding changes still on the agenda for the state legislature.

    The end of 2022 was capped by an 11th-hour push and ultimately failure for an attempted overhaul of the Ohio Department of Education and the state Board of Education. Senate Bill 178 was never passed in an Ohio House committee, so it was folded into another bill with controversial provisions, House Bill 151.

    House Bill 151 included bans for trans youth in participating in sports based on their gender identity, and after SB 178 was included, the bill came in at more than 2,000 pages. But despite delaying the vote until after 2 a.m. on the last day of the legislative session, the bill and its many provisions failed to garner enough votes in the House.

    LGBTQ advocates hailed the failure of House Bill 151, which still would have required the use of birth certificates to prove a student’s gender, despite the elimination of a provision that would have required a genital exam.

    “I can not begin to express my gratitude to the hundreds of community members and advocates who stood up for the rights of all transgender youth to participate in all parts of life as whole people, including sports, just like everyone else,” said Alana Jochum, executive director of Equality Ohio, after the bill failed to pass.

    Dr. Rhea Debussy, director of external affairs for Equitas Health and former facilitator for the NCAA’s Division III LGBTQ OneTeam Program, said the thrill of seeing the legislation voted down was tempered by concern that the bill even existed.

    “It’s very alarming that a group of legislators thought bullying gender expansive and intersex youth was an urgent need for the final hours of Ohio’s 134th General Assembly,” Debussy said in a statement.

    Senate Bill 178

    Education officials not only celebrated the failure of HB 151’s anti-trans legislation, but the downfall of the rapid-fire education overhaul they overwhelmingly said needed more time and more vetting.

    “OEA believes it is worth taking a hard look at how Ohio’s schools are governed and supported at the state level,” said OEA President Scott DiMauro in a statement. “However, collaboration is key.”

    Senate President Matt Huffman said he was “disappointed that our school reform bill and our attempt to do something about girls’ sports … I’m disappointed that those things failed.”

    But Huffman maintained the stance he took after the Senate passed HB 151 on to the House for a vote earlier this month, that if the education overhaul part of the bill didn’t pass during the 134th GA, it would move on to the 135th.

    “I’m glad we took the vote because we kind of have on the record who’s where, and there probably is a lot more due diligence that needs to be done on that issue,” Huffman said.

    Some ups, more downs

    While some funding changes were implemented — such as $56 million in state funding for Disadvantaged Pupil Impact Aid, increases in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds and federal monies for school security and safety — public schools are still looking for full funding of the Fair School Funding Plan (formerly called the Cupp-Patterson plan, after Speaker Bob Cupp and former state Rep. John Patterson, the legislators who created it). The plan was previously funded for the two years of the current General Assembly, but needs another four-year commitment of funds to be fully phased in.

    That plan, according to the OEA, “represents the first constitutional school funding system in the state in decades.”

    The effort for better public school funding is flanked by a lawsuit moving forward in Franklin County Common Pleas Court that seeks to nullify the EdChoice private school voucher system in the state. A coalition of school districts and individuals joined together to file the lawsuit, and Franklin County Judge Jaiza Page recently ruled against the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, who argued the lawsuit should not be allowed to continue.

    “This means we will put vouchers on trial in a court of law,” the coalition behind the lawsuit, Vouchers Hurt Ohio, wrote in an email newsletter, though the timeline for the court case could go on for some time.

    Private school vouchers are on the minds of congressional Ohioans as well, with U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown pushing for more investment in federal Head Start programs and more funding for public schools.

    “We have a state government, one of whose major aims seems to be to privatize public schools,” Brown said in a press call. “They have moved more and more money out of public education into religious schools and other private schools … and really undermined what state government should be doing and that is funding public education for the great majority of students in our state.”

    Teachers unions and public officials alike wanted to see efforts to stem the state’s teacher shortage, a rise in the teacher wages that have stagnated over the last 25 years and changes to the third-grade reading guarantee, both of which saw action in the legislature, but did not come to fruition.

    As the state’s Board of Education awaits the fate of the department and the board itself, they still have a decision to make: the search for a superintendent of public instruction.

    The board spent months on issues such as a resolution condemning racism in education, then a resolution repealing that racism measure, and finally a resolution urging the federal government not to include gender identity in anti-discrimination language that would impact education policy.

    But in their December meeting, they decided to punt on the issue of hiring a search firm to select candidates to fill the open position that heads the department.

    The board voted to wait until SB 178 was passed or rejected by the legislature, for fear that candidates for the position might change their minds once they found out how the roles of superintendent would change under the new bill.

  • In COVID’s third winter, biggest threat is three viruses at once

    In COVID’s third winter, biggest threat is three viruses at once

    BY: NICK EVANS – Ohio Capital Journal

    Ohio health officials are urging caution again this winter. But entering our third holiday season with COVID-19, the nature of those warnings is a bit different.

    Three at once

    As Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff explained, this year the threat is multiple respiratory viruses at once.

    “Unlike the last two winters, it’s not just about COVID,” he said. “But the combination of COVID, influenza, and RSV, especially for those whose health is more vulnerable or who have not been adequately vaccinated against flu and COVID-19.”

    RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, often feels like a common cold for adults and otherwise healthy children. But for infants, the elderly or immunocompromised people it can be dangerous. According to the CDC, RSV is the most common cause of bronchitis and pneumonia among kids 12 months old and younger.

    Unlike COVID-19 and flu, RSV has no vaccine.

    Precautions and metrics

    As ever, Vanderhoff’s chief precautionary recommendations are for people feeling ill to stay home and for everyone to wash their hands regularly. In situations where people must leave the house, officials recommend wearing an N95 mask.

    He also urged those who haven’t gotten vaccinated for the flu or COVID-19 to do so.

    “Vaccination is the safest and most dependable way to assure that you’re maximizing that cellular immunity I talked about,” Vanderhoff explained. “It gives your immune system its best opportunity to confront and beat the virus.”

    According to the CDC, the COVID-19 community level — a statistic based on number of hospital admissions and number of cases per 100k population — is low in many Ohio counties. Twelve rank as ‘high’ based on those metrics.

    Dr. Joe Gastaldo, OhioHealth medical director for infectious diseases, said people should be especially cautious in those counties.

    “In those scenarios, regardless of vaccination status, the recommendation is to wear a mask,” he said. “If you’re not feeling well wear a mask. I think specifically if you have an at-risk condition, or are immunocompromised, I would advise you as an infectious disease doctor to wear a mask indoors in public.”

    The CDC’s more familiar community transmission metric, based on cases per 100k population and percentage of positive tests, remains high throughout the state. All but nine of the Ohio’s 88 counties rank high for community transmission and none are low.

    As for RSV and the flu, Vanderhoff noted this year both started earlier and rose more rapidly than in past years. Both viruses have receded from their peak, he explained, but remain dangerous for some populations.

    Follow OCJ Reporter Nick Evans on Twitter.

  • What will DeWine sign? Lawmakers passed more than 30 bills on last day of session

    What will DeWine sign? Lawmakers passed more than 30 bills on last day of session

    BY: NICK EVANS – Ohio Capital Journal

    Barring an emergency, Ohio’s lawmakers have headed home for the holidays. That puts the ball in Gov. Mike DeWine’s court to sign or veto the final burst of legislation passed in the Statehouse. If the governor does nothing, legislation will take effect without his signature. But he has ten days after receiving the bills — not counting Sundays — to take action if he chooses.

    He’ll have a lot to work through between now and then. During the legislature’s overnight final session, they approved more than 30 pieces of legislation now heading to the governor. The highlights have gotten extensive coverage, but there was a lot of other legislative action as well.

    Thursday, DeWine’s office received a raft of 24 bills. The deadline for action on those is January 3.

    Here’s what passed:

    HB 513: Tax deduction for cigarette wholesalers when retailers fail to pay. A late amendment tacked on prohibitions for local tobacco regulations.

    HB 45: Began as a two month amnesty window for delinquent state taxes. Amendments appropriated $6 billion in federal COVID relief.

    HB 66: Numerous tweaks to local taxing authority and reporting as well as $30 million for minor league sports teams.

    HB 254: Established domestic violence fatality review boards.

    HB 558: Modified state’s donated drug repository program

    HB 107: Revised Ohio’s elevator laws

    HB 343: Modified crime victim’s rights

    HB 353: Ohio’s “Testing Your Faith Act” which directs higher ed institutions to develop accommodations for students who need to be absent for religious reasons.

    HB 392: Authorized transport of police dogs injured in the line of duty. An amendment made provisions for riding in a fifth wheel trailer and mounting safety devices on a windshield.

    HB 578: Created new specialty license plates and memorial highway designations.

    HB 567: Required common pleas courts post their docket online.

    HB 504: Raised penalties for disrupting religious services.

    HB 545: Privileged peer support communications.

    HB 554: Allowed state board of education to issue temporary licenses to teachers with expired certificates or licenses.

    HB 281: Updated statutory terms related to people with disabilities or suffering from mental illness.

    HB 569: Allows higher ed institutions to offer scholarships to people serving as family caregivers.

    HB 575: Set policy for regulating the solvency of fraternal benefit societies.

    HB 35: Permitted Ohio mayors to solemnize marriages.

    HB 279: Shortened timeline for filing certain wrongful death claims.

    HB 487: Altered bidding process for Ohio ballot printing contracts to allow out of state vendors/printers to participate.

    HB 462: Prohibited “swatting”

    HB 150: Establish a rural practice incentive program to pay student loans for attorneys working in public offices or underserved communities.

    SB 63: Allowed county probation offices to accept credit card payments. A House amendment added on a new liquor permit for auto-sports facilities.

    SB 131: Required the issuance of certain occupational licenses if a person has experience in that field in a different state.

    SB 202: Prohibited restricting parental rights due to the parent’s disability. House amendments gave lawyers credit toward judicial eligibility for out of state practice time and created a bail study task force.

    SB 302: Made changes to the state unemployment compensation system.

    SB 288: Made numerous changes to the criminal code.

    SB 33: Changed Community Reinvestment Area policy to allow greater deduction to 529 education savings plans.

    SB 164: Altered animal cruelty laws and prohibited shelters from using gas chambers to put down pets.

    SB 16: Increased penalties for assault or menacing when the victim is a first responder. The measure also gave local governments explicit authorities when dealing with a riot or mob and prohibited any limitations on firearm rights due to a state of emergency.

    HB 405: Clarified rules of county hospital boards, gave coroners access to a law enforcement database and allowed treasurers to send bills electronically.

    HB423: Designated the American Soap Box Derby Ohio’s official gravity racing program.

    HB 501: Made a series of changes related to township authorities including allowing them to regulate small solar facilities.

    HB 509: Updated numerous occupational licensing provisions.

    HB 458: Began as a measure eliminating August special elections except for Congress. The Senate amended the bill to include strict new photo-ID requirements for voters as well as tighter limitations on returning absentee ballots.

    HB 364: Changed application process for sewer and water infrastructure surcharges

    Plaudits and veto calls

    Already, forces are gearing up inside the statehouse and out urging Gov. DeWine to veto certain measures. Others are lending their support.

    Attorney General Dave Yost applauded the anti-swatting legislation saying, “these prank calls are designed to do one thing — cause a panic.” The Ohio Association of Election Officials meanwhile thanked lawmakers for a $7.5 million appropriation for electronic poll books.

    Democrats zeroed in on a different part of the same bill. The measure would disqualify developments using the federal low income housing tax credit from using a state credit for rehabbing historic buildings.

    “These provisions, added at the eleventh hour of a lame duck session, were added with zero input from developers and affordable housing advocates. The policies are bad for Ohioans and bad for Ohio business,” they wrote in a press release.

    Democrats also urged DeWine to veto HB 458 which would impose strict new photo ID requirements for voters.

    At the city level, mayors have criticized the bill barring local tobacco regulations. The city of Columbus approved a flavored tobacco ban just days before state lawmakers acted. And the mayors might be in luck. DeWine has hinted at a potential veto, citing his past work fighting big tobacco.

    Clarification: an earlier version of this story stated DeWine’s deadline for vetoing any legislation was December 26. That calculation was incorrectly based on when the legislature passed legislation rather than when DeWine receives it.

    Follow OCJ Reporter Nick Evans on Twitter.

  • Ohio health care leaders want child health investment by year’s end

    Ohio health care leaders want child health investment by year’s end

    Adobe Stock photo.

    BY: SUSAN TEBBEN – Ohio Capital Journal

    A coalition of health care advocates want to see congressional investment in child health care by the end of the year, including permanent funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

    The coalition, Protect Our Care Ohio, held a press event to push for improvements to maternal health, child outcomes and the issues like discrimination that can increase mortality and lower birth rates, particularly in Black Americans and Black Ohioans.

    “Our Black babies are dying at a rate of three times that of which babies, even here in Toledo/Lucas County,” said Celeste Smith, former coordinator of the Toledo/Lucas County Commission on Minority Health.

    An 2020 analysis by the Commonwealth Fund showed that maternal deaths have been increasing in the U.S., but that most of those deaths are preventable. They found that a “relative undersupply of maternity care providers, especially midwives” and a lack of “comprehensive postpartum supports” contributes to the mortality rates in the country.

    The study also found that more than half of pregnancy-related deaths happen after birth.

    The CDC found that Black babies make up the highest number of deaths per live births in the country as well, with a maternal death rate for Black mothers of three to four times the rate of white mothers.

    Part of the problem, Ohio health advocates say, is the price of health care. For those families that have insurance, often the plans they can afford leave holes in coverage. Many plans chosen for their affordability have high deductibles, even those provided by an employer.

    “Employee-sponsored health care is no longer the gold standard,” said Erika White, chair of the Healthy Lucas County CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program). “In reality, many families can not afford their employer health plans and that means the care that we need for our children is falling to the side.

    It is for that reason that the CHIP program through Medicaid is such a needed resource, White said.

    The CHIP program works through Medicaid and separate CHIP programs and is funded both through states and federal block grants.

    According to an annual report filed with the U.S. Department of Medicaid, Ohio’s child enrollment in CHIP rose more than 4% between 2020 and 2021. The increase was due to “economic and policy changes related to the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to the report.

    The Ohio Department of Medicaid has “educated state agency partners and numerous community stakeholders that work with low-income families” to increase outreach efforts, but in terms of reaching uninsured children, Ohio “does not have an effective way to measure” the outreach methods, the report stated.

    One way the problem could be helped is through the permanent authorization of funds for CHIP, which is currently active through June 2023.

    “CHIP is a block grant program, meaning Congress must act periodically to extend funding for the program,” White said.

    A lapse in the funding could mean a lack of health care access for millions of children, more than 9 million nationally in most recent figures from the U.S. Department of Medicaid.

    A spending bill being considered by Congress could be the way forward for child health care funding, and an easy way for lawmakers to show their priorities, Smith says.

    “As we reach the end of the year, Congress has not just an opportunity but an obligation to take meaningful action to confront this preventable crisis,” Smith said.

  • Christmas in Loveland through the Alex Eicher lens

    Christmas in Loveland through the Alex Eicher lens

    Loveland, Ohio – These photos were taken on December 17 by Loveland Magazine photographer Alex Eicher during the Christmas in Loveland pagent that was presented by the Little Miami River Chamber Alliance.

    Photos by Alex Eicher/Loveland Magazine © 2022

  • Four ways to help people with disabilities get work

    Four ways to help people with disabilities get work

    ROB MOORE – Ohio Capital Journal

    A bill currently in the Ohio General Assembly would eliminate the subminimum wage for people with disabilities.

    Currently, companies in Ohio are allowed to apply for a waiver from the state minimum wage to hire people with disabilities. The goal of this program is to make it easier for companies to hire people with disabilities and therefore to give more people with disabilities jobs.

    I was talking to Michael Hartnett, a policy analyst I work with at Scioto Analysis about this problem earlier today. He brought up a few options for the state to increase employment of people with disabilities without paying them less.

    Job training

    Providing more funding for job training programs for people with disabilities can help give people with disabilities skills that are valuable for employers. The federal Employment and Training Administration provides funds for training people with disabilities.

    The state of Ohio even has an office called the Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation. The Bureau specifically focused on providing individuals with disabilities the services and support necessary to help them attain and maintain employment. More funding for training programs referred through the Bureau could increase employment of people with disabilities.

    Grants for making workplaces accessible

    One reason it is hard to hire people with disabilities is because employers may have trouble accommodating workers with disabilities in traditional workplaces. For instance, if a job traditionally requires typing, people with limited dexterity would typically not be a candidate. A grant for a job that requires some typing could allow a company to hire a scribe part- or full-time to type for that person.

    One example of this type of program is the Retaining Employment and Talent after Injury/Illness Network (RETAIN) Initiative, a federal program that Ohio takes part in. Eight state teams received competitive awards to develop and run pilot programs aimed at helping workers stay at or return to the workforce following an illness or injury. A similar program could be developed for counties and cities if this program is successful.

    Subsidizing wages for people with disabilities

    The Earned Income Tax Credit is a popular wage subsidy aimed at bringing low-wage people into the labor force. A weakness of the Earned Income Tax Credit is that it is targeted at families, so people without children often have a small credit. Having a larger credit for people with disabilities or making the state earned income tax credit refundable for people with disabilities are two policy levers policymakers have for making it easier for people with disabilities to go to work.

    Mandates for accommodation

    A final option is to just tell employers they need to accommodate. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires employers to reasonably accommodate workers with disabilities. Strengthening state law around accommodations could require employers in Ohio to work harder to accommodate people with disabilities.

    A 2018 study estimated that making it easier for people with disabilities to work would bring 10.7 million people into the U.S. workforce and would increase national GDP by $25 billion. If this is the case, that means more people with disabilities in Ohio’s workforce would mean hundreds of thousands of new workers and hundreds of millions of more dollars in the state economy. This looks like a win for everyone.