Public Policy Advocates

For the second straight week, winter weather forced the cancellation of a number of legislative hearings.  The entire Tuesday committee slate as well as House and Senate voting sessions were cancelled due to the weather, along with a significant number of Wednesday hearings.  However, the snow did not slow down any of the political races, as Attorney General Richard Cordray officially announced his bid for re-election to the office he was elected to in 2008 after the resignation of Marc Dann.  Mr. Cordray announced he would be running based on his record of service for the last two years as Attorney General and before that as State Treasurer. 
 
Additionally, Thursday February 18th is the deadline for all federal and state candidates to file for office.  One of the key races to watch will be the U.S. Senate, where businessman Tom Ganley may not file against Rob Portman for the Republican nomination, despite already having run television advertisements for his campaign.  Mr. Ganley is expected to file for Ohio’s 13th Congressional District to run against Rep. Betty Sutton instead.  Meanwhile, on the other side of the Senate race, both Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner and Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher are expected to file, setting up a heavyweight fight for the Democratic nomination.  There will also be some intrigue for the State Auditor seat, as Delaware County Prosecutor David Yost and State Rep. Seth Morgan have both announced plans to vie for the Republican nomination.  We’ll have a full rundown of candidate filings once they’ve been announced tomorrow.

In his annual State of the State address today, Governor Ted Strickland declared “The state of our state is unyielding.  Unyielding in the face of the global economic turmoil. Unyielding in the face of budget cuts and job loss. Unyielding in the knowledge that we are more than our challenges. And unyielding in the belief that Ohio will always be not just our home but our hope.”  The theme of Mr. Strickland’s speech was “I believe in Ohio,” a theme he’s likely to use on the campaign trail as he seeks a second term this fall.  The Governor also outlined several new proposals and urged the joint session to give immediate consideration to some of the measures currently pending in the General Assembly.

A great focus was placed on alternative energy technology, which the Governor believes can create the jobs needed to drive Ohio out of the economic downturn.  The Governor called upon the joint session to adopt legislation eliminating the Tangible Personal Property Tax for wind and solar facilities that begin construction in 2010, produce energy by 2012, and create Ohio jobs.  He also called on the legislature to establish the “Energy Gateway Fund” using $30 million in federal stimulus money and $10 million in state funds to provide grants for alternative energy storage and distribution. 

Mr. Strickland also announced two executive agency priorities which he believes will help spur growth in the state.  State Treasurer Kevin Boyce and the Department of Development will work with banks to provide working capital for Ohio’s small businesses.  In addition, Attorney General Rich Cordray is brokering a contract between the University System of Ohio and Proctor & Gamble which will create a partnership between the Cincinnati-based company and state university faculty for research and development.  The Governor also called on the Auto Industry Support Council to develop a similar program with Ohio’s auto manufacturers.

Finally, Governor Strickland outlined a number of the cost-savings measures his Administration has undertaken including the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, which he said has saved 796 million dollars by billing third parties who should have been responsible for payment.  The Governor also expressed his pride in the fact that the number of state employees is at its lowest level since the 1980s. 

For a full transcript of Governor Strickland’s 2010 State of the State address, click here.

Governor Ted Strickland, Speaker Armond Budish and President Bill Harris announced this afternoon they have reached a compromise on House Bill 318, the Income Tax Freeze Bill which has been the source of great controversy over the last two months.  The bill, which must be passed by Dec. 31 in order to take effect for the 2009 tax year, is expected to be taken up this evening by the Senate Finance Committee.  The compromise includes the original tax freeze proposal contained in the House-passed version.  However, the 5% pay cut for legislators will be removed, and several new measures will be added to the bill. 

The most significant addition to the bill is language to allow for the Chancellor of the Board of Regents to establish criteria to determine three capital projects at University System of Ohio institutions to utilize alternative construction management methods.  The criteria will be based on the findings of a study council created by Governor Strickland to demonstrate that new construction management methods would result in significant cost savings for the state.  Also included in the additions are proposals to allow schools with fiscal challenges to apply for a waiver the all-day kindergarten requirement included in HB 1, and to direct any budget surpluses to funding for non-public, Chartered schools, whose funding was cut severely in HB 1.  A full explanation of the changes to HB 318 can be found here.

A substitute bill regarding the house-passed Tax Freeze Bill (HB 318) was expected to be adopted by the Senate Finance Committee this week.  However, the Republican caucus submitted a proposal that was immediately met with disapproval from an overwhelming majority of Senators.  Republican Senators were only able to garner 5 votes from their 22-member caucus for the new measure, while all 12 members of the Democratic Caucus stood in opposition to the proposal. 

The Republican proposal, announced by Senate President Bill Harris, kept 2/3 of the proposed Tax Freeze, while implementing the rest of the tax cut.  In order to make up the funds lost by enacting that 1/3 of the tax cut, the Senate included a number of cash management and cost cutting solutions, designed to fill the gap.  The bill also included a number of bills currently pending in the Senate which do not have any fiscal effect.  Included in the substitute bill proposal was:

-A waiver allowance for schools to opt-out of the all-day kindergarten required by House Bill 1.
-Language allowing for oil and gas drilling in Salt Fork State Park
-Allocation of casino tax revenues
-Removal of legislative pay cut language
-Shifting money from programs to combat homelessness

A full synopsis of the substitute bill proposal can be found here.

Unable to gather enough Democratic votes to adopt the substitute bill, the Senate Finance Committee recessed Wednesday without taking action on the bill.  There will be no committee hearings next week due to the holiday.  Therefore, the first opportunity to continue work on this bill will be the week of November 30th.

Cuyahoga County residents voted on rival issues regarding county reform in the wake of the corruption that has been dominating headlines for the last several months.  Issue 5 proposed the creation of a study council to analyze county government and issue a recommendation for how to re-align county officials.  Issue 6 proposed to bypass any study council, instead reorganizing county government by removing the county commissioners and replacing them with a county council and a county executive. 

Issue 5 failed by a vote of 72% to 28%, while Issue 6 passed by a nearly 2-to-1 margin.  Because Issue 6 passed and Issue 5 failed, Cuyahoga’s county government will be reorganized going forward.  Instead of a 3-member board of commissioners, each elected by a countywide vote, there will be an 11-member county council, each representing a specific Ward, led by a County Executive, which will be elected at-large.  The County Auditor and Treasurer will be combined into one position, known as a fiscal officer.  Finally, the County Engineer and Sheriff will be appointed by the county council.

Ohio’s most contentious ballot issue in 2009 was Issue 3, an amendment to the Ohio Constituion allowing for the creation of a casino in each of four metropolitan areas: Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, and Toledo.  Supporters of the issue claimed that it would create 34,000 jobs in the state, and encourage almost $1 billion in local spending, while also contributing much needed tax dollars to the state.  Opponents of Issue 3 claimed that any jobs created might not go to Ohioans, and the negative social problems associated with gambling, namely crime, prostitution, and drugs, would outweigh any financial benefits provided.

Both sides of the issue spent millions on television commercials trying to convince the voters.  In financial reports filed on October 22nd, the Ohio Jobs and Growth Committee, Issue 3 supporters, reported expenditures of nearly $32 million, while Truth PAC, Issue 3 opponents, reported expenditures of approximately $5 million.  In the end, voters approved of the plan to allow casino gambling in Ohio, passing the amendment by a narrow margin of 53% to 47% against.

Ohio Issue 2 would create a 13-member state livestock care standards board to establish standards for the care and well being of livestock.  Supporters of Issue 2 say it will provide Ohio with an expert board to set up comprehensive oversight of livestock care.  Opponents say Issue 2 is an effort by larger, “factory” farms protecting their interests, and that it doesn’t belong in the Ohio Constitution.  With the help of endorsements from Governor Strickland and Senator Voinovich, among others, Issue 2 passed easily, with 64% support.

When President Barack Obama nominated U.S. Representative John McHugh (R-NY) to be the Secretary of the Army, it created a vacancy in upstate New York’s 23rd Congressional District, which has been held by the Republican party since 1993.  This race immediately grabbed the attention of several Conservative pundits and media personalities including Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh.  The Republican nominee, state assemblywoman Dierdre Scozzafava, emerged from a 7-way primary in order to earn her place on the ballot.  One of her primary opponents, businessman Doug Hoffman, later received the endorsement of the Conservative Party in order to receive a spot on the ballot.  The Democratic party selected local attorney Bill Owens after considering roughly a dozen potential candidates.

Early prognostications were that the Republican nominee would be able to retain the seat easily.  However, the conservative base of the party began defecting, instead endorsing the Conservative Party nominee, Mr. Hoffman.  Beck, Limbuagh, and Sarah Palin, among others, endorsed Mr. Hoffman.  They viewed Ms. Scozzafava’s positions on Cap and Trade legislation, Stimulus spending, and other issues, were not in line with the conservative base of the party.  Polls taken a week before Election Day showed Mr. Hoffman and Mr. Owens receiving approximately 35% support, and Ms. Scozzafava receiving approximately 20%, with 10% undecided.  On October 31, Ms. Scozzafava suspended her campaign and endorsed the Democrat, Mr. Owens, shortly thereafter.  This development made the race fairly unpredictable heading into Election day.  In the end, Mr. Owens won the race with 49% to Mr. Hoffman’s 46%.  Ms. Scozzafava, whose name remained on the ballot due to her late departure from the race, tallied 5% of the vote.

Perhaps the most highly anticipated race of the 2009 election cycle on the national scene was the race for Governor of New Jersey.  The seat is currently held by Democrat Jon Corzine, who previously served as one New Jersey’s United States Senators.  Prior to his political career, Corzine also served as the President and CEO of Goldman Sachs.  He was challenged by United States Attorney Christopher Christie.  Christie was able to successfully use Corzine’s past dealings with Goldman Sachs to attack his economic credentials.  This race received significant outside attention, including campaign appearances by President Obama and RNC Chair Michael Steele.  In the end, Chris Christie came out on top, unseating Corzine by a 49% to 45% final margin, with Independent candidate Chris Daggett grabbing the final 6%.

The Virginia Governor’s race was not expected to be very competitive, as Republican candidate Bob McConnell had shown a solid lead in polls leading up to election day.  McDonnell, currently Virginia’s Attorney General, faced off against Democrat State Senator Creigh Deeds.  This race was a rematch of sorts, as McDonnell beat Deeds in 2005 for Attorney General by a mere 400 votes.  The Governor’s Mansion has been occupied since 2002 by Democrats Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, whose term ends this year.  However, despite the recent history of Democratic Governors as well as President Obama winning the state’s 13 electoral votes in 2008, the Republican candidate McConnell was able to win back the seat by a tally of 59% to 41%.