Bill Johnson has officially resigned to become the new president of Youngstown State University, leaving his seat vacant in the U.S. House of Representatives 6th District.

The Ohio Third Frontier Commission announced Wednesday it had approved $800,000 in grants through the Technology Validation and Start-up Fund, which will help four businesses bring new technology and innovative products to the workforce.

On Tuesday, the chief tax writers in Congress announced a framework of a compromise tax bill that would temporarily expand individual tax credits and revive several business tax breaks.

The newly formed Joint Committee on Property Tax Review and Reform met for the first time on Jan. 10 to learn more about the current state of property taxation in Ohio. The committee was created as a part of HB33 (Edwards) to make recommendations on pending legislation related to property taxation.

The Governor's Office of Workforce Transformation recently updated the state's "Top Jobs" list as required every two years, providing new information on which occupations are in-demand or deemed critical.

Senators Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana, are proposing to raise the reporting threshold on transactions from companies such as Airbnb, eBay, Etsy, PayPal and Venmo from $600 to $10,000 to save headaches for small businesses and individuals who work in the gig economy.

A number of OSCPA legislative priorities continue to move through the Ohio legislature, including House Bill 105—a measure that would limit notices and late filing penalties under R.C. 718.27.

Proponents of Issue 2 say the measure aims to stop local municipalities from allowing noncitizens to vote in elections. But is the ballot measure full of hidden language that restricts the right to vote for 17-year-olds and ties the hands of future legislatures on expanding voting registration?

Ohio voters turned out in record low numbers for the Aug. 2 primary where two Republican Ohio House challengers upset party-endorsed incumbents.

Thursday was a busy day for town halls, as both OSCPA and AICPA hosted informative sessions covering a range of topics of interest to CPAs and business professionals.