Public Policy Advocates

• Justice John Paul Stevens announced he will retire after the Supreme Court’s current session. [New York Times]
• Congressman Bart Stupak (D-MI) who played a central role in the passage of the health care reform bill last month, will not seek re-election. [Washington Post]
• Leaders in the Ohio General Assembly have proposed doing away with a number of state boards and task forces. [Columbus Dispatch]
• House Democrats have introduced enabling legislation for last fall’s Casino issue, which would prevent 24-hour liquor service and free drinks. [Columbus Dispatch]

• In a reversal of the trend started in 2008, the GOP in Ohio is now seeing many registered Democrats change their affiliation to Republican [Columbus Dispatch]
• Strickland Administration officials announced that a record $2 billion will be spent on road construction projects this year. [Columbus Dispatch]
• Ohio will receive $9 million settlement from insurance giant AIG. [Columbus Dispatch]

• Hospitals hope the recently-passed Health Care Reform Bill will lower costs for treating the poor. [Cleveland Plain Dealer]
• Gov. Strickland campaigns on behalf of Third Frontier bond issue. [Dayton Daily News]
• State tax revenues for March were slightly ahead of predictions, year-to-date revenues still fall slightly below estimates.
• Former Fed Chair Alan Greenspan testified before a Federal Financial Crisis Task Force on the events that led to the sub-prime mortgage crisis. [New York Times]
• Pension plans at GM and Chrysler are underfunded by nearly $17 billion. [New York Times]

• Cedar Fair, the group that owns Ohio’s major theme parks, has cancelled a scheduled sale to Apollo Global Management. [Cleveland Plain Dealer]
• Governor Strickland proposes naming the Ohio Judicial Center after Chief Justice Thomas Moyer, who passed away last week. [Cleveland Plain Dealer]
• Ohio has the worst backlog of Social Security disability cases in the country. [Columbus Dispatch]
• Columbus City Council has passed a ban on texting while driving. [C0lumbus Dispatch]
• The federal government will seek a $16.4 million fine against Toyota for delaying their recall of cars with malfunctioning accelerators for four months. [Washington Post]

The Ohio General Assembly will be in recess this week, and will re-convene the week of April 12th.

• Chief Justice Thomas Moyer of the Ohio Supreme Court passed away unexpectedly Friday at the age of 70.  Governor Ted Strickland has asked that flags be flown at half-staff in observance of his passing. [Cleveland Plain Dealer]
• Obama Administration officials warn that U.S. unemployment rate may increase in the coming months. [Washington Post]
• Critics of Governor Strickland’s 3C passenger rail proposal cite speed as one of their chief concerns. [Cleveland Plain Dealer]
• Republican Gubernatorial Candidate John Kasich released his 2008 tax returns Friday, including a large bonus from former Wall Street giant Lehman Bros. [Cleveland Plain Dealer]
• An unexpected jump in home sales has bolstered a stock surge that has the Dow Jones Industrial Average inching up to 11,000, a level it last reached over 18 months ago. [Wall Street Journal]

• Private U.S. companies added 162,000 jobs in March, largest gain in 3 years. [New York Times]
• National Unemployment rate remains at 9.7% [Wall Street Journal]
• President Obama calls for 35.5 mpg fuel standards by 2016. [Columbus Dispatch]
• Ohio Tea Party officials begin ballot effort to fight health care reform. [Toledo Blade]

• Ohio’s largest cities are returning their census forms at a significantly lower rate than the rest of the nation, [Columbus Dispatch]
• The proposed 21% cut in Medicare payments to doctors has been delayed another 10 days as Congress tries to find a new formula. [Columbus Dispatch]
• Critics are doubtful that the Obama Administration’s proposed offshore drilling plan will increase domestic production of oil or increase support for climate change legislation. [New York Times]
• Small taxes on soft drinks have not been effective in curbing obesity rates. [Cleveland Plain Dealer]

• Obama Administration announces plans to expand offshore oil drilling. [New York Times]
• Ohio Department of Job and Family Services reports that nearly 100,000 Ohioans will exhaust their unemployment benefits eligibility by the end of April. [Cincinnati Enquirer]
• Ohio Democrats see bump in opinion polls following passage of Health Care Reform. [Columbus Dispatch]
• Health Insurance industry promises not to oppose efforts to close a loophole in the new health care bill dealing with children’s treatment. [Washington Post]
• Toledo City Council approves contentious budget fixes, including cuts to police and firefighting unions. [Toledo Blade]

• Cuyahoga County is inviting municipalities to join its health insurance plans. [Cleveland Plain Dealer]
• Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher maintains slight lead over Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner in primary battle to replace U.S. Sen. George Voinovich. [Columbus Dispatch]
• Ohio loses out on first round of Federal “Race To The Top” funds, but will compete for secondary funding. [Columbus Dispatch]
• Nation sees sudden spike in home-buying as the end of the First-time Homebuyer Tax Credit nears. [New York Times]
• GOP finding success with candidates touting backgrounds in business. [Washington Post]

House Committee Schedule

Senate Committee Schedule

Ohio Qualifies as Finalist for Federal ‘Race To The Top’ Funds
 
Ohio survived the first cut for federal Race to the Top (RTTT) funds, along with 15 states and the District of Columbia, which were named Phase I finalists by the U.S. Department of Education (DOE).  Ohio included in its Race to the Top application a $5 million bid to join eight states in a project related to a group of 40 high schools committed to project-based learning in a technology-rich environment.
 
Administration, legislative and education officials all stressed the importance of science, technology, engineering and math in Ohio’s academic and economic future at a STEM conference in Columbus.  In a statement from Governor Strickland and Superintendent Delisle, “We’ve made a major commitment to Ohio schools, because we believe that providing every Ohio child with high-quality educational opportunities will better prepare them for jobs and for life. Our selection as a finalist moves Ohio one step closer to receiving Race to the Top funds.”
 
February Report: State Tax Receipts Above Projections, Unemployment Unchanged
 
The February economic report from the state Office of Budget and Management restored some stability after a troubling January report (read more here).  February’s tax receipts were $25 million above projections, bringing the total deficit for year-to-date down to only 0.7%.  As tax returns begin to pour in between now and April 15, the state will have a better idea of whether any additional corrections will need to be made to the state Operating Budget.  Also released this week were the state unemployment figures for February, which remained steady at 10.8%.  Nationally, the unemployment also held steady at 9.7% for the month.
  
House and Senate Republicans Weigh in on GOP Auditor Primary
 
While the Ohio Republican Party has already endorsed Delaware County Prosecutor Dave Yost in the GOP primary for State Auditor, a handful of local conservative groups and House Republicans have come out in support of Rep. Seth Morgan (R-Huber Heights).  Mr. Morgan’s campaign announced the endorsement of Citizens for Community Values and Family First PAC, as well as the Greene, Brown, and Cuyahoga county Republican parties.  In addition to those groups, several of Rep. Morgan’s colleagues in the Ohio House of Representatives have endorsed his candidacy.  Meanwhile, Mr. Yost announced the support of 16 of Ohio’s 21 Republican State Senators as well as an overwhelming majority of GOP county auditors and county prosecutors.
  
Former Staffers Allege Wrongful Termination at Workers’ Compensation Council
 
Controversy swirled at the Legislature’s Workers’ Compensation Council after its director, Virginia McInerney, fired the council staff – executive assistant Stephanie Susan Irwin and staff attorneys Kim Finley and Shadya Yazback. In letters to the council chairman, Sen. Steve Buehrer (R-Delta), the three women accused McInerney of religious and age discrimination, harassment and retaliation and said she’d fired them after they refused to sign agreements forfeiting their legal claims against her. McInerney denied any wrongdoing. Finley said the fired staffers might pursue litigation.
 
Sen. Joe Schiavoni, a council member, wrote to Sen. Jon Husted (R-Kettering), chairman of the Senate Government Oversight Committee, asking him to convene hearings on the matter. Rep. Dan Dodd (D-Hebron), chairman of the House Insurance Committee and a council member, urged Buehrer to convene the council for a discussion of “potential legal consequences of these questionable firings,” and said he’s begun gathering information on the matter and will “utilize all available options to investigate this matter fully.” Dodd also said he was concerned that House Minority Leader Bill Batchelder (R-Medina), the former council chairman, learned of the firings before the current council members did.