The Ohio Statehouse in winter, as seen in this file photo.
Holiday wrap-up: While Capitol Letter is returning from a two-week holiday break, there was no such break when it came to Ohio politics and government news. Here’s a roundup of what happened while we were gone:
Trimming the tree: Gov. Mike DeWine signed an enormous “Christmas tree” bill laden with a diverse array of policy proposals, including a controversial measure allowing Ohio police departments to charge up to $75 per hour for dashcam and bodycam footage. Jeremy Pelzer has more on what else DeWine signed into law, as well as what he used his line-item veto pen to strike out.
Ethical veto: One of DeWine’s vetoes struck out language that would have exempted small town mayors from ethics laws around public contracts to their private businesses. As Jake Zuckerman reports, the amendment came from a hired lobbyist representing northwest Ohio mayor Ed Kidston, whose water treatment company has sought business with the town he leads.
Zoom lens: Pelzer took a deeper look into where that police video fee proposal came from, and he asked DeWine and other elected officials involved with it about the stealthy way lawmakers passed it during a 2:15 a.m. vote, right before ending their two-year session.
Booze news you can use: While the price increases of groceries has been thoroughly documented, Laura Hancock was curious about alcohol inflation in Ohio’s highly regulated liquor market. She found that with several brands, inflation since 2020 was over 10% a year. She created tools allowing readers to search the prices and inflation of nearly 600 of their favorite liquors to compare from before the pandemic and in September.
New Senator: Westlake Republican Bernie Moreno was sworn in as Ohio’s newest U.S. senator shortly after noon on Friday, amid a whirlwind of celebrations with his family members and political supporters, Sabrina Eaton writes. Several of Moreno’s Republican U.S. Senate predecessors accompanied him down the aisle for the ceremony: DeWine, former U.S. Sen. Rob Portman of Cincinnati, and U.S. Sen. J. D. Vance of Cincinnati, who will soon leave that job to become Donald Trump’s vice-president.
Florida visit: Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, who had announced he was running for governor in 2026, visited Mar-a-Lago before Christmas, along with DeWine. Husted may be in the running to fill the seat to be vacated by JD Vance, who will become vice president on Jan. 20, Hancock reports.
Big energy bill: The incoming power duo of Senate President-elect Rob McColley and House Speaker-elect Matt Huffman are working behind the scenes for some kind of sweeping energy bill, Zuckerman reports. Few know with certainty what’s inside, but at least one Republican state senator blamed the future bill for killing a vote on his pet legislation backed by the solar industry.
Work requirements: Ohio is once again asking the federal government, this time under new Republican management, to allow the state to require work or education as a term of eligibility for the Medicaid program. Zuckerman reports that if granted, it would be a first in state history.
You know the drill: At least one interested driller asked the state to open an additional 4,360 acres of Egypt Valley Wildlife Area and 383 acres of Jockey Hollow Wildlife Area, both in Belmont County, to oil and gas development. Zuckerman has the latest on the steady push for gas beneath Ohio’s state parks and wildlife areas.
Taking forever: Ex-FirstEnergy CEO Chuck Jones has been directly accused of paying a $4.3 million bribe to a state utility regulator and indirectly accused of paying another bribe to a now-incarcerated former House Speaker Larry Householder. Zuckerman explains the complicated answer to a simple question: what on earth is taking so long on the years-old accusations?
Where credit’s due: The number of students participating in College Credit Plus, a program in which high school students enroll in college courses for credit, is up over 5%, Hancock reports. A new state report shows the county with the highest enrollment in the 2022-2023 school year was Putnam, with 33% participating, and the lowest was Hamilton, with 5%.
Coming soon: A recently passed Ohio bill will require local school districts to adopt policies allowing students to take up to three days a year for religious holidays. The bill requires schools to provide alternative accommodations for missed tests and activities, Hancock reports.
Close calls: Twenty-three local races in 2024 were so close that they triggered automatic recounts. And nine resulted in a tie or were decided by three of fewer votes, which Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose says demonstrates how every vote counts, Hancock reports.
Re-formed: Last year, several applicants for political office in Ohio – including many transgender candidates – were either kicked off the ballot or scrutinized over a little-known state law requiring them to list on campaign forms other names they’ve gone by in the recent past. As Pelzer reports, LaRose’s office has now released revisions to candidate paperwork to prevent such issues from happening in the future.
Taxing issue: A legislative committee tasked with figuring how lawmakers can help Ohio homeowners with their escalating property-tax bills failed to reach consensus on the right way forward. As Pelzer reports, the committee’s final report — which just offered a lengthy list of all the various property-tax reform proposals put forward – illustrates the ideological gap among lawmakers when it comes to questions like how much state money should be involved and whether the rich should benefit equally from relief measures.
Unemployment claims: A temporary state subcontractor, whose access to Ohio’s unemployment system wasn’t shut off for months after his employment ended, is accused of approving and submitting for payment false claims of nearly $7 million. Investigators say he and a former teammate on a Kansas community college football team took a cut of claims. The pair and others have been indicted by a grand jury, Hancock reports.
Immunity boost: The Ohio 10th District Court of Appeals determined that Ohio State University has immunity from a class-action lawsuit over unrefunded fees in the spring semester of 2020, when it transitioned to online learning to prevent COVID-19 spread. OSU refunded some fees, partially refunded others, but did not refund others, such as instructional and public transit fees. The Ohio Supreme Court in March ordered the appellate court to decide on the immunity issue before other parts of the lawsuit could proceed, Hancock reports.
Team effort: One of the bills DeWine signed Thursday will allow the Cincinnati Bengals to avoid paying millions in sales taxes on a planned $120 million stadium renovation. As Pelzer writes, while the lawmaker behind the measure says it was carefully written to only apply to the Bengals and not affect Cleveland Browns stadium negotiations, it still might have to-be-determined effects on Cuyahoga County down the line.
Signed: DeWine signed a bill that expands the State Medical Board of Ohio’s authority over sexual assault misconduct, such as allowing it to suspend a license without a hearing if it receives verifiable information that a doctor was charged in court with a felony. This comes after the extent of Ohio State University athletic team Dr. Richard Strauss’ misconduct was revealed. OSU has settled with 300 survivors for $60 million, Hancock reports.
Native plants: Conservation groups are celebrating the passage and signature of a bill that would allow them to collect and share native plant seeds for non-commercial purposes. The goal of the bill is to encourage more Ohioans to plant more native plants, Hancock reports.
Here are five things we learned from the May 13, 2024, financial disclosure statement of retiring Cincinnati-area Republican state Rep. Bill Seitz.
1. Most his income came from his legislative work, his attorney work for Dinsmore & Shohl, his public retirement and Social Security.
2. He owned at least $1,000 in shares of Duke Energy, Enbridge, First Financial Bancorp., and LCNB Bank.
3. CareSource, an MCO, gifted him a $169 Cincinnati Bengals ticket and $94 in food and beverages.
4. The Cincinnati Business Committee gave him a fruit basket worth $69.99.
5. He reported another $52 in meal and beverage from Google LLC and its affiliates.
Michael DiSalle, Ohio’s 60th governor (1908-1981)
“How many — well, I don’t care how many — how many budget bills have 8 million provisions in there at the last minute that nobody saw? Lots of them. Right?”
– House Majority Floor Leader Bill Seitz, a Cincinnati Republican, answering criticism over the way lawmakers passed unexpected late-night measures, including allowing police departments to charge up to $75 per hour for police body camera footage.
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