Week in Review
Friday, September 2, 2011
BALLOT ISSUES
The Ohio Society of CPAs and the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation endorsed a "Yes" vote on Issue 2, the SB5 referendum.
The deadline for groups to request an issue be pulled from the November ballot quietly passed Tuesday with no deal on collective bargaining reforms in SB5 as the secretary of state proceeded to certify the form of official ballots. Gov. John Kasich and Republicans had offered to talk to unions about a deal to avert the referendum, but union leaders said they'd only talk if lawmakers would repeal the bill and start over from scratch.
The "Vote No on Issue 2" campaign -- the referendum to repeal Ohio's new collective bargaining law, SB5 -- picked up new allies this week when We Believe Ohio, an interfaith group of Christians, Jews, Muslims and others, urged a "no" vote on the measure, saying, "The organized initiatives underway in Ohio and other states to further destroy labor and organized workers are wrong."
As the 2011 campaign kicks into full gear, opponents of Issue 3 went on the attack, warning of unintended consequences if voters approve the Health Care Freedom Amendment. Liberal think tank Innovation Ohio was joined by two Case Western Reserve University law professors who said that the constitutional amendment was written in such a vague way that it could strike down a number of Ohio laws, including many that passed before the grandfather clause included in the amendment.
Personhood USA is working to change all 50 state constitutions to ban abortion and has launched efforts to put an amendment on the 2012 ballot in Ohio by collecting the 1,000 signatures it would need to submit language to the attorney general's office for certification. Their proposal is to define life as beginning at fertilization, which would effectively make abortions illegal.
The Ohio Manufacturers' Association endorsed a "yes" vote on Issue 2, the referendum on SB5, to uphold the collective bargaining law.
CHILDREN
The Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks (OASHF) released a new study conducted in cooperation with the national organization Feeding America that shows that 26.5 percent of children under the age of 18, or approximately 731,000 children in Ohio, struggle with hunger. For the state as a whole, 17.1 percent of the population or 1,973,510 individuals are food insecure.
ECONOMY
According to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, the index of leading economic indicators for Ohio rose 0.2 percent in July to 90.9. This indicates that employment, on a seasonally adjusted basis, will continue to grow through the coming autumn, according to the department. The number of initial claims for unemployment compensation fell, but so did total valuation of housing construction permits.
EDUCATION
The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) will roll out a new tool in September to help teachers and school administrators understand the shift to revised academic content standards over the next three years. State Superintendent Stan Heffner said Monday that content-specific "crosswalks" are already available at the department website, and that a new "comparative analysis" tool will be available next month.
A consortium of state agencies is looking to get in front of the school bullying problem in a year-long series of webinars offered by the Ohio Anti-Harassment, Anti-Intimidation and Anti-Bullying (Anti-HIB) Initiative.
Joined by the Ohio Attorney General's Office, Ohio Domestic Violence Network, eTech Ohio and the departments of health, mental health, and alcohol and drug addiction services, the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) launched the seminars with an overview of Anti-HIB, followed with recommendations for implementing policies in local schools.
After receiving additional federal funding, Ohio EPA has awarded grants to reduce diesel emissions for six school districts in addition to the 27 grants announced in June. This means children and developmental disability programs will benefit from new pollution control equipment on 100 school buses.
ELECTIONS
Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald worked to get around Secretary of State Jon Husted's directive banning boards of elections from mailing unsolicited absentee ballot applications, asking for and receiving money from the county council to have his administration, rather than the board of elections, send the applications. Husted said, in banning the mailing of the applications, he was trying to ensure uniformity among counties, and he at first said the applications might not be processed. He later backed off, but not before FitzGerald accused him of vote suppression and Cleveland-area lawmakers said the situation merited U.S. Department of Justice attention. Meanwhile, Auditor Dave Yost sent a letter to FitzGerald about the matter, asking him to specify what authority he has to spend money on something that is the function of the board of elections.
By the end of the week, however, FitzGerald and Husted announced a settlement of their dispute in which Cuyahoga County will back off this year but Husted's office will send absentee ballot applications to voters in all 88 counties for the 2012 presidential election.
ELECTIONS 2012
Two new releases from Democratic pollster Public Policy Polling showed State Treasurer Josh Mandel leading Kevin Coughlin in the race for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate, and voters taking a more negative view of U.S. House Speaker John Boehner (R-West Chester).
Speaker of the Ohio House William G. Batchelder (R-Medina) and House Minority Leader Armond Budish (D-Beachwood) late Thursday issued a joint statement announcing their support for moving the date of the 2012 primary election to the month of May, as specified in HB194. However, because of the possible referendum on HB194, they said legislation effecting this change will be introduced soon.
FEDERAL
Vice President Joe Biden is scheduled to speak at a Labor Day event in Cincinnati.
U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), a member of the deficit reduction "super committee, in Congress" urged Ohioans to submit deficit-cutting ideas to his office via his official website, portman.senate.gov.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY/STATEHOUSE
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation was asked by the Delaware County prosecutor to review the county sheriff's office handling of the investigation of a 911 call on a domestic dispute between Sen. Kris Jordan (R-Powell) and his wife, media reported.
The IRS filed a tax lien against the music lessons company operated by Rep. Andrew Brenner (R-Powell) and his wife, saying the business owes $42,000 in back taxes.
Former Rep. Robert Mecklenborg (R-Cincinnati) got 363 days of probation and a license suspension in sentencing on the drunken driving incident that led to his resignation from the Ohio House.
House Speaker William Batchelder (R-Medina) named Rep. Matt Huffman (R-Lima) the new chairman of the House State Government and Elections Committee, replacing former Rep. Robert Mecklenborg (R-Cincinnati), who resigned after a drunken driving incident. Huffman announced the committee will have hearings on congressional redistricting Sept. 6, 13 and 14.
The House GOP is taking applications until 5 p.m. Sept. 8 for those interested in filling the vacancy created by Rep. Robert Mecklenborg's (R-Cincinnati) resignation from the 30th District seat.
Representatives from the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) were the first to testify before the Ohio House Legislative Study Committee on Technology during the inaugural meeting held Wednesday.
The inaugural meeting of the House Workforce Development Study Committee ran long Wednesday as it heard from a number of representatives of state and local agencies, technical career centers and chambers of commerce about the reasons for unemployment and why Ohio's workforce is unemployed or unemployable despite the more than 53,000 jobs offered on OhioMeansJobs.com website.
Several members of the Ohio Legislature will sponsor an Ohio coal summit during the Wellston Coal Festival on Friday, Sept. 9 to hear testimony on the importance of coal to the region's economy.
Rep. Robert Hagan (D-Youngstown) and Sen. Nina Turner (D-Cleveland) said Thursday they will be introducing legislation that would require drug testing for statewide elected officials, legislators and JobsOhio board members in response to Sen. Tim Grendell's (R-Chesterland) announcing that he will be introducing legislation requiring any Ohioan receiving state assistance take a drug test.
HIGHER EDUCATION
Youngstown State University said it was ordered by the U.S. Department of Education not to disburse financial aid until the threat of a strike by its faculty is removed. An earlier strike threat was averted, but the faculty union rejected a contract proposal from the administration that did not include $1.3 million in pay raises recommended by a fact finder.
INSURANCE
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said that beginning Thursday, health insurers
seeking to increase their rates by 10 percent or more must submit their request to state or federal reviewers to determine whether the increases are reasonable or not. According to HHS, this rate review program, created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), will bring greater transparency, accountability, and, in many cases, lower costs for families and small business owners who struggle to afford coverage.
PENSION FUNDS
The Ohio Retirement Study Council (ORSC) said Friday that six firms submitted proposals by the Thursday deadline for the contract to advise council members as they evaluate potential pension reforms. According to the council, bids were received from the following firms: Hay Group; Deloitte; Milliman; Pension Trustee
Advisors/KMS Actuaries; Segal; and Bolton Partners.
REDISTRICTING/REAPPORTIONMENT
Witnesses at the Apportionment Board regional public hearing in Columbus urged board members to publish their proposed district maps for the General Assembly at least two weeks prior to the Oct. 1 deadline for adopting new maps, saying Ohioans need time to review and comment on them.
TREASURER OF STATE
State Treasurer Josh Mandel's website now includes a fully searchable state employee salary database with updated 2011 figures. This site uses information from the Buckeye Institute which information is not accurate.