Apportionment Board Joint Secretaries Ray DiRossi and Heather Mann Filed with the Ohio Secretary of State the Newly Proposed Ohio House and Senate Districts. Maps and descriptions are on the Secretary of State’s Website. The Apportionment Board will hold a hearing Monday, September 26, 2011 to hear testimony on the plan. Action on the new districts is expected to finalized later in the week. The Apportionment Board consists of the Governor, Secretary of State, State Auditor, and two members of the Legislature. Every ten years after the U.S. Census, the Apportionment Board is required to update General Assembly districts.
Ohio Senate
Ohio Legislature Sends H.B. 319 New Congressional Districts Legislation to Governor Kasich
09/21/2011 – Wednesday, the Ohio Senate passed H.B. 319 New Congressional Districts with a 24-7 vote. Shortly, thereafter, the Ohio House voted to concur on the consideration of Senate Amendments with a 60-35 vote. During the Senate deliberations, members added an appropriation of $2.75 million to H.B. 319, which is to help local county Boards of Election prepare for new congressional districts. The Text of HB319 .
HB319 CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING Introduced in the Ohio House and referred to House State Government & Elections Committee
HB 319 CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING Introduced in the Ohio House and referred to House State Government & Elections Committee - To establish Congressional district boundaries for the state based on the 2010 decennial census of Ohio. En. 3521.01 and to repeal section 3521.01 http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/BillText129/129_HB_319_I_Y.pdf
JobsOhio Report to General Assembly
JobsOhio Report to General Assembly -
Transforming Ohio’s economy requires a new approach to economic development, a new way of working with businesses to assist in their growth, and a new way of attracting businesses to the state. To date, the functions of economic development have been shepherded by the Ohio Department of Development (Development), however with the passage of the JobsOhio Bill (H.B. 1), Governor Kasich was authorized to form a nonprofit corporation, which is responsible for the promotion of economic development, job creation, job retention, and the recruitment of businesses to Ohio. As a result, Development executed a review of its operations to determine which functions should remain within the state agency structure and which functions should transfer to JobsOhio. …
Conference Committee Will Meet Tomorrow
Good afternoon:
Conference Committee on HB 1 announced it will meet tomorrow at 4:15PM in Statehouse Rm. 313.
Thank you.
Senate Republicans Unveil Joint Resolution
Today Senate Republicans unveiled a joint resolution, which proposes Ohio Lottery-operated slots at seven locations around the state but does not specify horse racetracks. If eventually placed on the ballot and approved by voters, the proposal calls for the operations to be licensed to the highest bidders. The resolution will be officially introduced this afternoon.
Senate President, Bill Harris (R-Ashland) sent a letter to the Governor to urge him to support the Senate’s proposal. In his letter he stated that the Governor’s proposal did not include funding from the video lottery terminals until May 2010, so Sen. Harris believes that there is ample time for voters to decide the issue on November 3rd.
We will keep you posted as additional information is made available.
Thank you.
Ohio’s Budget Impasse Continues
Political tensions grew to an all time high yesterday with the Governor accusing the Senate republicans of game-playing and using the budget for political advantage. During the House Finance and Appropriations hearing, democrat members continued to accuse the Senate republicans for delaying the budget process by not accepting the Governor’s video lottery terminal (VLT) proposal. Meanwhile, the Senate Select Committee on VLT continued its hearings on the Governor’s proposal, and have identified major areas of concerns. There is a “clawback” provision that would return the $65 million license fee paid by each racetrack owner ($455 million of the estimated $933 million the proposal is to generate for the state) if a competing casino issue that will be on the ballot in November passes. The Governor stated he does not support the “clawback” provision, but it is included in the draft legislation the Senate was asked to approve. Sen. Husted, a member of the Senate panel, responded, “If that’s not the plan, what is the plan?” The Committee is scheduled to meet again today at 10:00AM to review constitutional issues.
Yesterday, the Senate passed HB 245, which is another one-week interim budget. The bill provides 70% funding for the state to continue to operate from July 7th-July 14th. This will provide another week for Ohio’s leaders to finalize the budget. Sen. Harris and Speaker Budish are scheduled to meet this afternoon to try to work through some of the issues. There is speculation that government could shut down if a deal is not agreed to this week. The Governor has stated his concerns about a third interim budget and the federal funding the state loses everyday. Without a full operating budget, a part of government would have to shut down.
As Budget Negotiations Stall, Partisan Maneuvering Begins
The Ohio Senate begins hearings today on the Governor’s video lottery terminals (VLT’s) proposal today. The Governor’s VLT proposal is estimated to raise $933 million in revenues to help fill the current $3.4 billion deficit. Sen. Mark Wagoner (R-Toledo) will chair the Select Committee on Video Lottery Terminals. The panel also includes Sen. Jon Husted (R-Kettering), Sen. Timothy Grendell (R- Chesterland), Senator Capri Cafaro (D-Hubbard) and Sen. Dale Miller (D-Cleveland). The hearings are intended to help Senators better understand the specifics of gambling proposal the Governor has proposed. The Lottery Commission Executive Director, Michael Dolan, the Office of Budget and Management Director, Pari Sabety and other interested parties have been invited to testify. The Committee is scheduled to meet at 10:00AM on Friday, Saturday and Sunday if needed.
In response to the Senate’s plans, the Ohio House Finance and Appropriations Committee is holding hearings beginning today at 3:00PM to provide interested parties the opportunity to testify on the “impact of potential Senate budget decisions.” The hearings are also scheduled for Monday at 10:00AM and Tuesday at 2:00PM. The House hopes these hearings will put pressure on the Senate to adopt the Governor’s gaming proposal.
Senate Proposes Interim Budget Plan
The Ohio Senate announced plans this morning to pass a seven-day budget extension. With negotiations on House Bill 1 in a stalemate over expanding gambling to include slot machines at Ohio’s seven race tracks, lawmakers have determined that a compromise can not be reached by the June 30 deadline. In order to prevent a government shutdown on July 1, the Senate has added an amendment to the Industrial Commission budget (HB 16) which would give the legislature an extra seven days to finalize the biennium budget. The amendment will appropriate funding for government programs and services at 70% of FY 2009 levels.
If enacted, this will be the first time in nearly 20 years that the Ohio Legislature has failed to produce a budget by the June 30 deadline. In 1991, the General Assembly used a 30-day budget extension to determine how to deal with a $100 million revenue shortfall in a $27 billion budget. The issue currently facing the Legislature is a $3.2 billion revenue shortfall out of a total $54 billion budget.
Tagged Budget
Proposed New Ohio Congressional Maps Released Today
Proposed New Ohio Congressional Maps Released Today. 2011 Proposed Ohio Congressional MAP
The proposed new maps were released during the House State Government & Elections Committee. Notable changes include combining the Districts of U.S. Representatives Steve Austria a Republican from Beavercreek and Mike Turner a Republican from Centerville as well as district of U.S. Representatives Marcy Kaptur a Democrat from Toledo and Dennis Kucinich a Democrat from Cleveland. Ohio is lossing two congressional seats because of population shifts.