Ohio

House Democrats Pass Spineless Legislation to Overhaul Elections

COLUMBUS – State Representative Robert Mecklenborg (R-Green Township) today denounced the passage of Substitute House Bill 260 from the House Elections and Ethics Committee. The legislation passed along party-lines and gives the Ohio Secretary of State ultimate veto power over local Board of Elections appointees. In addition to the power to break any tie vote on the number and location of early voting centers in each county; and authority to dictate to the local boards how to allocate their voting machines and ballots.

Columbus – State Representative Terry Boose (R-Norwalk) today spoke in support of the hearing that House Bill 25, a plan to restructure state government, will receive next week in the House State Government Committee. House Republicans introduced the proposal to explore innovative cost-saving measures that make state government run more efficiently and responsibly.

Rep. Blessing invites colleagues for open discussion to solve casino shortfalls

Columbus– Issue 3 passed and Ohio is facing the possible development of casinos in its four largest communities including: Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, and Toledo. State Rep. Louis W. Blessing Jr. (R-Cincinnati) announced intentions to support legislation that will be placed on the May ballot, when enacted it will require the construction of these casinos and defines the timelines of each.

Columbus—State Representative Clyde Evans (R-Rio Grande) today announced his intention to introduce a constitutional amendment to address the shortcomings of Issue 3, which passed a public vote on Tuesday.

In a press conference at the Ohio Statehouse, Evans stressed that the constitutional amendment would not change the casino services that Ohioans voted into effect, but instead would provide accountability and fairness in the new casino law.

You can click on each county to see results on State issues
http://vote.sos.state.oh.us/pls/enrpublic/f?p=130:15:0
and lucas county results - board of elections
http://www.lucascountyoh.gov/documents/Board%20of%20Elections/GEMS%20ELE...
Wood county results http://www.co.wood.oh.us/BOE/GEMS%20ELECTION%20RESULTS.htm

Vote No on all of the Constitutional Amendments. None of these things belong in our constitution. Gambling for one does not need to be writen into our constitution. That is not what our constitution is for or about.

It's Time for New Blood in Oregon. Please Vote tomarrow. Nov. 3rd. And put some new people in city govt. And on the school board.

New for city council: Kathleen Pollauf and Sandy Bihn

New for Oregon School Board: Diane Gadus

Lets support these people.

Also, not vote for any of the others and send a real message!

It's time.

Welcome to Short Notes from October Session dates of the 128th General Assembly. This is a summary of what happened on the floor of the House in Columbus. This is not meant to be a formal summary of the bills, but meant to provide from my point of view what happened. I know that some readers may disagree with my point of view and I actually appreciate that. I love to learn about issues, study them and process them through my understanding.

WKYC details what it is all about:
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CLEVELAND -- Should budget-crunched Ohio borrow $200 million to pay Mideast conflict era veterans a bonus for their service?

That's the question facing voters Election Day in Ohio Issue 1.

Ohio has traditionally given veterans bonuses for their service. The tradition dates back to World War I.

World War II, Korea, and Vietnam-era veterans also got small "thanks" payments, to show Ohioans' appreciation.

COLUMBUS—Ohio House Republican Leader William G. Batchelder (R-Medina) today was joined by his fellow caucus members in signing and delivering a letter to Governor Strickland, regarding their deep concern of the federal government’s universal health care plan.

Entrepreneurship is the modern-day driver of job creation and progress. According to the Small Business Administration, small businesses generate as much as 80 percent of new jobs and represent 99.7 percent of employers in the United States. It is crucial that as Ohio struggles to its feet during this recession, state leaders strive to improve our business environment so that small businesses can thrive.

Issue 3 may open floodgates for criminals without proper regulations

COLUMBUS—House Republican Leader William G. Batchelder of Medina, today announced his commitment to safeguarding casino licenses and preventing individuals who have committed crimes in the past from obtaining a casino license, if Issue 3 is approved by voters this November.

Reps. Hottinger & Grossman: Urge Immediate Action by House

COLUMBUS—State Representatives Jay Hottinger (R- Newark) and Cheryl Grossman (R- Grove City) today introduced House Bill 326 that would shrink Ohio’s estate tax liability, a proposal included in “The Future of Ohio” plan introduced earlier this fall by House Republicans.

Governor Strickland & House Democrats stick taxpayers with the bill

COLUMBUS— House Republicans today offered a number of alternatives to legislation put forward by Democrats that will retroactively increase the tax burden on Ohio’s families by 4.2 percent in 2009. Currently, state income tax rates are to be reduced by a total of 21 percent over a five-year period, according to House Bill 66 of the 126th General Assembly. Governor Strickland and House Democrats have supported increasing the state income tax to fill the void created by their budget shortfall.

ore than 1 million colorful license plates that have been sitting in a warehouse for months finally will go on sale in late November.

The pastel-hued plates, which include renderings of a barn and a Wright brothers airplane, will cost the same as a standard-issue plate - $2.50 -- state officials said yesterday.

COLUMBUS—State Senator Jon Husted (R-Kettering) introduced an important resolution this week that calls on leaders in Washington to reduce barriers in elections law that negatively impact the ability of our nation’s military personnel and other Americans located overseas to register to vote and cast a ballot.

“Current voting procedures, both at the state and federal level, fail to recognize the unique logistical and geographical challenges that the dedicated men and women in our armed forces and other Americans living overseas face in order to exercise their right to vote,” said Husted.

On Tuesday, October 13 at 12:15pm EST, please join Ohio Gubernatorial candidate John Kasich, former Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, and a live studio audience of young Ohioans for an interactive webcast. In an effort to reverse the brain drain that is crippling Ohio’s competitiveness, Tuesday’s conversation will center on the imperatives of creating jobs and revitalizing Ohio’s anemic economy.

COLUMBUS – Ohio House Republican Leader William G. Batchelder (R-Medina) and Assistant Republican Leader Louis W. Blessing (R-Cincinnati) today stated in a letter to The Office of Budget and Management and The Ohio Department of Taxation their desire for a change in the tax and expenditure analysis created for Issue 3 on the November ballot.

Wilkowski fires back at Bell by saying, "There is a Good Old Boys Club in Toledo that has had too much power for too long. It’s called the Mike Bell for Mayor campaign and it is
run by Tom Noe Republicans like Bob Reichert and disgraced Finkbeiner Democrats like John Irish. That’s not what I call independence."

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