Gongwer News Service Ohio

Gongwer News Service Ohio For more than 100 years, Gongwer News Service Ohio has been Ohio's premier source for news and information on state government and politics.

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A deal to revise the recreational ma*****na legalization law approved by voters appeared to flame out yet again Tuesday....
06/25/2025

A deal to revise the recreational ma*****na legalization law approved by voters appeared to flame out yet again Tuesday.

The House Judiciary Committee was set to meet at 10 a.m. to potentially accept a substitute bill and possibly vote on a Senate proposal (SB 56) to overhaul the voter-initiated statute.

That meeting, however, was canceled. The bill was previously removed from the panel's agenda on three separate occasions.

BREAKING: A Franklin County judge has found the state's EdChoice Voucher program violates the "thorough and efficient" r...
06/24/2025

BREAKING: A Franklin County judge has found the state's EdChoice Voucher program violates the "thorough and efficient" requirement for K-12 education funding in the Ohio Constitution and should be terminated.

Common Pleas Court Judge Jaiza Page ruled in favor of plaintiff school districts in striking down the longstanding law but stayed her decision pending what's expected to be an immediate appeal.

More details in today's Gongwer News Service Ohio Report.

https://bit.ly/47cQsXX

01/29/2025

A Trump Administration directive to halt disbursement of most federal assistance and grants sowed confusion in Ohio and nationwide before a judge temporarily put it on hold Tuesday.

U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan issued an administrative stay preventing the pause from going into effect through Monday shortly before its 5 p.m. implementation deadline, according to media reports.

Acting federal budget Director Matthew Vaeth on Monday issued a memo calling for federal agencies to institute a "temporary pause" on financial assistance programs to determine whether they align with President Donald Trump's priorities and recent executive orders.

The proposed freeze spurred questions at the state and federal levels regarding its full scope and legality. It notably included carveouts allowing Medicare and Social Security payments – along with other benefits provided directly to individuals – to continue.

The memo lays out a Feb. 10 deadline for agencies to report back to the Office of Management & Budget regarding spending affected by the freeze.

01/17/2025

Lt. Gov. Jon Husted is going to Washington.

Gov. Mike DeWine has appointed Husted to replace U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Cincinnati), who previously resigned his seat ahead of being sworn into the vice presidency on Monday. (See Gongwer Ohio Report, January 10, 2025)

Husted in recent weeks had been the rumored favorite to land the appointment, although entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy appeared to be gaining steam earlier in the week with reported support from Donald Trump.

12/18/2024

Several revisions to prior capital appropriations and numerous other changes were substituted into a pending Senate measure that advanced in the House on Tuesday.

Along with stripping out the original contents of SB 54, which ended up enacted with the state budget measure, the House Finance Committee added those changes and some new spending proposals.

The latter includes $15 million to reimburse county election boards for the cost of running the May election, which will likely feature a statewide vote on reauthorizing the bond-backed State Capital Improvement Program to fund local infrastructure needs.

12/17/2024

Amazon Web Services announced Monday a major expansion plan for its data center footprint in Ohio – a state already grappling with increasing energy demand.

In announcing the investment, which builds off the company's earlier $7.8 billion investment plan, the DeWine Administration billed it as the "second largest planned by a single private sector company" in the state.

It brings the company's total planned investment in the state from 2015 through 2030 to more than $23 billion.

Read the full article on our website. Login required.

https://bit.ly/3DfrvlE

12/13/2024

With federal COVID relief dollars drying up, the state's next two-year transportation budget is likely to be scaled down significantly compared to the current spending outline.

The Department of Transportation is requesting $9.5 billion over the biennium, down from the $13.5 billion it received over the current two-year period.

The current transportation budget (HB 23) is the largest in the state's history, inflated by an influx of federal dollars for the long-awaited Brent Spence Bridge project and a transfer of an operating budget line item.

In its next budget, ODOT plans to continue its focus on safety and improving quality of life, according to its preliminary budget request submitted to the Office of Budget & Management.

10/30/2024

Campaigns and political caucus funds appear to be making up for lost time after an unusual degree of underspending on general election advertising.

In the last week-and-a-half, about $1.8 million more has been deployed for ad time in races across both chambers. Much of that new spending is driven by key toss-up seats, including the 31st, 35th, 36th, 49th and 72nd House districts.

A review of data from ad-tracking firm AdImpact now shows the total Statehouse general election ad spend eclipsing the $3 million mark, compared to the nearly $1.3 million registered as of Oct. 18.

10/15/2024

Secretary of State Frank LaRose's directive placing new restrictions on the use of absentee ballot drop boxes will remain in place for the ongoing election, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled Friday.

The high court's 4-3 decision declined to overturn a directive requiring county election boards to post signs on the receptacles stating that individuals who are returning ballots beyond their own must enter the board's office to sign an attestation form.

09/19/2024

Ad reservations for Ohio's U.S. Senate race have now passed the $400 million mark, keeping it on track to be the costliest race on record.

The latest data from AdImpact shows the battle between U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Cleveland) and Republican Bernie Moreno, a Cleveland car dealer, has seen $408 million in ad buys or reservations so far – $57 million of which was spent in the three-way Republican primary.

Moreno's most generous supporters include the Senate Leadership Fund ($60 million), One Nation ($41 million) and Defend American Jobs ($38 million).

Brown and his allies, meanwhile, have $168 million in reservations, supported by top contributors WinSenate ($67 million), Brown's campaign ($52 million) and Duty and Honor ($48 million).

08/13/2024

The staff that would be hired by a proposed Citizens Redistricting Commission – and not the members themselves – has spurred discussion ahead of November's vote on creating the panel.

The former chief legal counsel for the Ohio Senate raised the issue during a panel discussion on redistricting at the National Conference of State Legislatures' annual summit.

Frank Strigari said Michigan has faced significant challenges drawing maps after an independent commission was put in place in that state.

https://bit.ly/46M8SjF

06/24/2024

The House's point person on ma*****na issues is not optimistic that lawmakers will reach an agreement on matters related to the legalization of the drug before breaking for summer next week.

Rep. Jamie Callender (R-Concord) said members of the Senate are still attempting to make changes to the voter-approved initiated statute that he believes go against the will of the electorate.

Among those are efforts to reduce the number of home-grown plants each adult in the state is entitled to from the current maximum of six.

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