Public Policy Advocates

The Ohio Department of Taxation has issued a schedule of tax workshops designed for small businesses that will be held at several locations in Ohio in 2010.

These workshops are free and are sponsored by the Internal Revenue Service and the Ohio Department of Taxation. They provide a general overview of business taxes and taxpayer responsibilities. Most workshops are being offered in cooperation with the Ohio Department of Development’s Small Business Development Centers.

Please click here for additional information, the workshop schedule, and points of contact for registration.

• A new Quinnipiac poll shows the Ohio Governor and U.S. Senate races are very close, heading into the May 4 Primary. [Cleveland Plain Dealer]
• Governor Ted Strickland has released his tax returns for the last 4 years, and has encouraged challenger John Kasich to do the same.  Gov. Strickland has publically questioned Mr. Kasich’s ties to former Wall Street giant Lehman Brothers. [Columbus Dispatch]
• Governor Ted Strickland came out in opposition to the recently-passed immigration law in Arizona. [Columbus Dispatch]
• One of the most intriguing Congressional primaries in Ohio, in the 18th district, has produced questions about whether the local Republican Party has endorsed a candidate. [Columbus Dispatch]
• Senator George Voinovich called for an increase in the federal gas tax, in order to raise money for bridge and road projects, which he believes will provide an immediate spike in jobs and infrastructure improvement. [Columbus Dispatch]
• Initial estimates for the underwater oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, have gone from 1,000 barrels per day to 5,000 barrels per day.  BP is working to fix the leak, but the oil slick is expected to begin washing up on the Louisiana shore as early as tomorrow evening. [New York Times]
• Republican leaders in the U.S. Senate ended their filibuster on the Wall Street Reform bill, and will allow debate on the bill to begin on the floor of the Senate. [Washington Post]

News from around Ohio:

• After a week of running television ads, Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher appears to have built a substantial lead over Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate.  However, over one-third of voters remain undecided. [Cleveland Plain Dealer]
• Cuyahoga County Treasurer Jim Rokakis has removed his name from consideration for the newly-created position of Cuyahoga County Executive. [Cleveland Plain Dealer]
• Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray sent a letter to members of the U.S. Senate in support of the push for Wall Street reform, and asked the Senate to maintain the power of Attorneys General to police Wall Street. [Columbus Dispatch]

News from around the Country:

• Goldman Sachs exectuives faced 11 hours of questioning by U.S. Senators over their role in the derivative scheme which led to a civil suit being filed by the SEC against the company. [Washington Post]
• Among the options being considered to control the oil leak found Saturday in the Gulf of Mexico is a controlled burn of the surface oil, to prevent it from damaging the Louisiana coastline. [New York Times]
• Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will be in Boston this afternoon to make an official announcement on plans to build a wind farm near Cape Cod, Massachussetts.  Local residents are concerned the project could become an eyesore. [New York Times]

This week the Federal government turns its focus to Wall Street, while the State of Ohio prepares for the final week of campaigning for the May 4 Primary Election.

• Yesterday Senate Democrats were unable to gather the supermajority required for cloture to begin debate on a Financial Regulations Bill. [Washington Post]
• Goldman Sachs executives will testify before a Senate Panel on Investigations regarding the recent suit filed against the company by the Securities and Exchange Commission. [New York Times]
• Republican candidates for State Auditor David Yost and Seth Morgan have both prepared television ads for the final week of the campaign. [Dayton Daily News]
• Census return rates in Ohio surged ahead of national averages in recent weeks. [Toledo Blade]

• The State of Ohio lost nearly half a billion dollars investing in Lehman Brothers, according to state records. [Columbus Dispatch]
• More Ohioans are enrolling and completing college degrees. [Dayton Daily News]
• The Hamilton County Republican Party has decided not to endorse candidates in primary races, even in the case of incumbents. [Cincinnati Enquirer]
• Around the country, school districts are facing the possibility of teacher layoffs. [New York Times]

• U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown advises Senate hopeful Jennifer Brunner to attack Republican Rob Portman rather than her primary opponent, Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher. [Cincinnati Enquirer]
• The Controlling Board approved some funds for Ohio’s 3C rail project on a party-line, 4-3 vote.  Going forward, the Board must get 5 votes for approval, which may be difficult. [Columbus Dispatch]
• Retired Military officers have called for making school lunches healthier, citing childhood obesity as a serious national security threat. [Cleveland  Plain Dealer]
• A new study suggests that mandating nurse-to-patient ratios in Ohio would lead to higher quality of care, and reduced death rates amongst hospital patients. [Columbus Dispatch]
• Recession adds to the appeal of short-term jobs. [New York Times]

Yesterday President Obama reported $5.5 million in 2009 household income, mostly coming from sales of his two books, and paid nearly $1.8 million in taxes.  The first family also reported over $300,000 in charitable contributions, in addition to the $1.4 million Nobel Prize which the President diverted to charity.   Here’s what’s going on in Ohio and the rest of the country.

• A new report from Community Research Partners suggests the Strickland Administration appoint an official whose sole focus is creating jobs for those currently out of work. [Cleveland Plain Dealer]
• Gov. Strickland will ask the Controlling Board to approve $25 million for a new passenger rail study, which may have political consequences going forward. [Columbus Dispatch]
• The Cleveland School Board may lay off as many as 650 teachers and school-related personnel. [Cleveland Plain Dealer]
• The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a civil suit against Goldman Sachs, alleging fraud. [New York Times]
• The Obama Administration issued new rules allowing same-sex partners hospital visitation rights. [Washington Post]
• A new analysis of census data suggests that for the first time, first-generation immigrants in the United States are more likely to be working in white-collar jobs than blue-collar, manufacturing, or agricultural fields. [New York Times]

Today is Tax Day.  The State of Ohio will have a much better idea of where it stands fiscally at the end of this month, with most tax revenue for the year arriving this week.

• Governor Ted Strickland announced Eric Brown as his replacement for Chief Justice Thomas Moyer.  Mr. Brown is currently a Franklin County Probate Judge, and was the Democratic nominee to replace Mr. Moyer this fall. [Cleveland Plain Dealer]
• The Ohio Liberty Council has asked the Ohio Supreme Court to overturn the Ohio Ballot Board’s decision to split a healthcare reform opt-out ballot issue into two separate issues. [Columbus Dispatch]
• GOP leaders try to predict the impact of the Tea Party movement on upcoming elections. [Cincinnati Enquirer]
• AEP may cut as much as 10% of its workforce in cost-cutting measures.  The could mean hundreds of Ohio jobs lost. [Columbus Dispatch]

• Democratic U.S. Senate hopefuls Lee Fisher and Jennifer Brunner participated in a debate hosted by the Cleveland City Club. [Cleveland Plain Dealer]
• Governor Strickland said he believes the Ohio Supreme Court is “too white” and “too male” and that those factors may influence his decision on who he will appoint to fulfill the remainder of Chief Justice Thomas Moyer’s term. [Toledo Blade]
• Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine has refused to establish a state health insurance pool, part of the recent Health Care Reform Package, because he believes the bill to be unconstitutional. [New York Times]
• A new federal tax on gasoline is being considered by members of the U.S. Senate in order to offset costs of energy and climate bills. [Columbus Dispatch]

The legislature will return with a limited committee schedule today after a two-week spring recess.  Committee Schedules for the House can be found here, and the Senate can be found here.

• Democratic Candidate for Senate Lee Fisher will begin running television ads for his primary candidacy. [Cleveland Plain Dealer]
• Meanwhile, Republican Senate Candidate Rob Portman announced more than $7.6 million cash-on-hand. [Cincinnati Enquirer]
• Republican Secretary of State Candidate Jon Husted will also be on the air with tv spots this week. [Dayton Daily News]
• The Ohio Lottery announced Ohio will join 41 other states in the Powerball drawing. [Columbus Dispatch]