Week in review: September 21, 2025

A summary of Ohio’s legislative news for the week ending Sept. 19, 2025

AGRICULTURE

The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODAg) said that H2Ohio enrollment and re-enrollment opened Monday, Sept. 15 for farmers in 14 counties of the Western Lake Erie Basin (WLEB). Farmers can enroll or re-enroll acreage in proven best-management practices (BMPs) for nutrients that contribute to improved water quality if they live in one of the following counties: Allen, Auglaize, Defiance, Fulton, Hancock, Hardin, Henry, Lucas, Mercer, Paulding, Putnam, Van Wert, Williams and Wood. To qualify, farmers must have an up-to-date soil test and develop an approved voluntary nutrient management plan (VNMP) to enroll into other BMPs being offered in 2026 and 2027, according to ODAg. Available BMPs include overwintering cover, subsurface phosphorous placement and manure incorporation and utilization.

BUSINESS/CORPORATE

The DeWine administration recently announced the July round of TechCred set a program record with over $12.1 million in funds awarded, breaking the previous record of more than $9.9 million in the May round. In addition to the new record, the July round saw 757 employers awarded funding that will enable Ohioans to earn 9,661 tech-focused credentials.

DISASTERS

Gov. Mike DeWine announced Monday that the federal Small Business Administration (SBA) approved his request for a disaster declaration for flooding that affected Fairfield County in late July. This declaration makes low-interest loans available to affected homes and businesses that sustained uninsured losses of 40% or more of the estimated fair replacement value. Fairfield County and the surrounding counties of Franklin, Hocking, Licking, Perry and Pickaway are eligible to apply for Business Physical Disaster Loans, Economic Injury Disaster Loans and Home Disaster Loans. The application filing deadline for physical damage is Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025, and for economic damage, the deadline is Friday, June 12, 2026. Applications for disaster loans may be submitted online using the MySBA Loan Portal or at other locally announced locations.

EDUCATION

Ohio issued report cards to hundreds of school districts, buildings and charter schools Monday for the 2024-2025 academic year, with overall test data showing a slight drop in English language arts proficiency rates and a rise in math proficiency rates. English language arts proficiency for all students dropped half a percent from 60.9% to 60.4% from 2023-2024 to 2024-2025, while math proficiency increased from 53.5% to 55.3%. Results were generally mixed for student subgroups, although economically disadvantaged students showed increases in both English and math proficiency rates, which respectively rose 2.1% to reach 49.1% and 5.2% to reach 43.5%. On the overall five-star rating system for districts, the most common rate was 3.5 stars, attained by 159 districts, followed by 4 stars, 147 districts; 3 stars, 102 districts; 4.5 stars, 95 districts; 5 stars, 47 districts, 2.5 stars, 44 districts; 2 stars, 13 districts; and no districts at either 1 or 1.5 stars.

A pilot initiative funded through Third Frontier grants will be receiving $1.3 million after approval from the Controlling Board on Monday. According to the Ohio Department of Development, the TECH Mobile Initiative "is a mobile STEM engagement initiative designed to reach underserved high schools and career centers across Ohio. The program delivers immersive, hands-on STEM experiences directly to students who may otherwise lack access to such opportunities." Members of the Controlling Board Monday, however, noted the pilot nature of the program and the fact that the source of funding -- the Third Frontier Commission -- is winding down in its funding. In other action, the Controlling Board approved more than $1.3 million for each of FY26 and FY27 for the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) to contract with STChealth LLC of Phoenix, AZ to host and support the Immunization Records System, which is being migrated from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to the states.

Liz Jensen is the new board president for the Ohio Association for Career and Technical Education (Ohio ACTE), the organization announced. The association also appointed two new board members: President-elect Frank Polen and Rebecca Bihn. Jensen replaces Brian Bontempo, who retired as superintendent of Auburn Career Center. Jensen currently serves as satellite supervisor at Miami Valley Career Technical Center.

ELECTIONS

Secretary of State Frank LaRose Tuesday said his office has referred a new batch of cases to the Ohio attorney general (AG) for potential prosecution of illegal noncitizen voting registrations and voting activity. The secretary of state's office said an ongoing audit of the voter registration database led investigators to identify 78 potential noncitizen voter registrations, including nine individuals who cast potentially fraudulent votes. The potential violations were found by the Election Integrity Unit using newly available state and federal records, LaRose's office said.

The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Tuesday upheld Ohio's ban on foreign nationals' contributing to candidates in state elections and from spending money to support or oppose ballot initiatives. The court in a 2-1 decision rejected claims by plaintiffs that the 135th General Assembly's special session HB1 (Seitz) as it relates to lawful permanent residents violates the U.S. Constitution's Equal Protection Clause, and that the ban on ballot-issue spending by all foreign nationals violates the First Amendment. The appeals court decision follows an earlier U.S. Sixth Circuit decision that overturned U.S. District Court Judge Michael Watson's decision blocking provisions of the bill that he called "flawed" as it relates to lawful permanent residents, also known as green card holders. That decision found that Ohio's law is narrowly tailored to serve a compelling interest.

ELECTIONS 2026

Democrat John J. Kulewicz, an attorney, Upper Arlington City Council member and recent author, announced this week that he will be running for Ohio attorney general, setting up a potential primary. A retired partner from the law firm Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP, Kulewicz recently authored An Ohioan's Odyssey: Lessons in Leadership, Law, and Public Service. In his announcement, he highlighted his more than 40-year legal career, including successfully arguing a case in front of the Supreme Court of the United States that protected the health care coverage of over 157 million Americans. He will likely face former Rep. Elliot Forhan in the Democratic primary.

The following endorsements were made over the week:

- The gubernatorial campaign of Democrat Amy Acton announced the endorsements of 29 Toledo-area leaders, including Sen. Paula Hicks-Hudson (D-Toledo), Rep. Erika White (D-Toledo), Lucas County Commissioners Pete Gerken and Lisa Sobecki, and State Board of Education member Teresa Fedor.

- Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers (BAC) Local 23 endorsed Democrat Sherrod Brown for U.S. Senate.

ENERGY/UTILITIES

Observers of the 10-year debate over Ohio Valley Electric Corporation (OVEC) coal subsidies had generally believed midnight, Aug. 14 to be their hard cut-off under ratemaking overhaul HB15 (Klopfenstein), leaving owner/investors American Electric Power (AEP), Duke Energy and AES to balance their books without residential or mercantile charge-offs to keep "uneconomic" generating plants running. However, AEP Vice President and Counsel Steven Nourse argues differently in a densely worded, May 30, letter to Tanowa Troupe, secretary to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) and head of its Docketing Division. Nourse seeks regulatory approval of approximately $35 million in OVEC "deferrals" or "under-recovery" incurred through Aug. 14 and exceeding the LGR's per-bill cap of $1.50 for residential and $1,500 for mercantile customers imposed by the ill-fated 133-HB6 (Callender-Wilkin). The disputed $35 million is more than a third again as much as AEP had expected to bill in the second half of 2025 -- $26 million -- without this year's ratemaking overhaul in HB15.

The Ohio Manufacturers' Association (OMA) Energy Conference Thursday opened with a morning keynote discussion featuring Sen. Brian Chavez (R-Marietta) and Rep. Adam Holmes (R-Nashport), chairs of the energy committees in their respective chambers. It was moderated by John Seryak, CEO of OMA's energy engineering consultant firm Runnerstone. In starting the discussion, Seryak said energy reliability and affordability are top priorities for OMA as that is needed to keep facilities running and Ohioans employed. Customers' being able to shop for generation of choice has led to competition, innovation and historically low wholesale prices, he continued, but the electric utilities "maintain monopolies on the wires that deliver our electricity, enabling their considerable influence on policy and sometimes policymakers." Seryak also discussed how the electric system is undergoing changes, saying that poses both risks and opportunities, and that businesses are acting on some of those opportunities. His first question to the legislators asked them to reflect on the passage of HB15 (Klopfenstein) and what they look to next.

Energy prices aren't going down anytime soon, according to Susanne Buckley of Scioto Energy. "I hate to say it, but we are in unprecedented times," Buckley told Ohio Consumers' Counsel Maureen Willis during a panel discussion at the OMA Energy Conference. "The demand growth is like something we have not seen in decades, if ever," Buckley continued. "The speed at which data centers and AI moves is exactly the opposite speed at which our utilities and grid move. So you have this major conflict of execution risk. So my feeling, and I think it's the market's feeling -- if this load is real, and that is a big if, and we don't know what it's going to be -- but if it is real, at least for the next four to five years these prices will persist." Buckley said many manufacturers have seen a 25% increase in their electricity bill since 2023, with some businesses seeing increases of 40%. Buckley said demand for natural gas is very strong, which is contributing to higher prices for energy. She also discussed capacity, saying those costs are approximately 10 times higher today than they were in 2022.

The PUCO role in the 133-HB6 (Callender-Wilkin) nuclear bailout scandal and other actions are harming the state's reputation around the world, according to Ashley Brown, former PUCO commissioner and executive director of the Harvard Electricity Policy Group. "Just last week, I got a phone call from people in Brazil who were doing a study, comparing what they do there with regulation and what we do here, Europe, Asia and other places. The comment that I got was, they had never seen such a complete failure in regulation as they've seen in Ohio," Brown said during the OMA Energy Conference.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY JOINT STATEMENT

The four leaders of the Ohio House and Senate Thursday issued a rare joint statement condemning political violence. The statement by Senate President Rob McColley (R-Napoleon), Senate Democratic Leader Nickie J. Antonio (D-Lakewood), House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima), and House Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn (D-Cincinnati) was issued more than a week after conservative influencer Charlie Kirk was murdered during an event on the campus of Utah Valley University. Other incidents of political violence included the murder of Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark Hortman earlier this year.

"In a free and democratic society, there is absolutely no place for politically motivated violence, nor should anyone encourage or celebrate this type of heinous criminal behavior," the leaders said.

"As leaders from different sides of the aisle, we felt it was vital to join together to emphasize the significance of this message as we strongly condemn the assassinations of [Kirk and the Hortmans].

"A free democracy depends on the open and peaceful exchange of ideas. Political violence destroys the bedrock upon which that freedom of expression is built. When we are worried that our words or viewpoints might lead to political violence, we are no longer able to speak our minds or advocate for our priorities.

"At the most basic level, we must put into practice a belief in each other's humanity. We are people -- fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, Ohioans and Americans -- before we are anything else. The future of our country depends on never forgetting that basic fact.

"Now more than ever, we must encourage respectful dialogue, starting here in the Legislature, across both political parties, to bring about a brighter, more peaceful future here in Ohio."

GENERAL ASSEMBLY/STATEHOUSE

Ashley Bryant Bailey will be the new representative for District 26, House Democrats announced Friday. She will succeed former Rep. Sedrick Denson (D-Cincinnati), who left before his final term was up. Bryant Bailey had already filed to run for the seat shortly before he resigned. Bryant Bailey now works with Higher Heights America, a political action committee that supports Black women running for office.

All agenda items cleared the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review (JCARR) at its meeting Monday, though JCARR Executive Director Ashley Sylvester noted "technical difficulties" with the regular agenda document which included four items from the Ohio Department of Children and Youth (DCY) that were withdrawn in August and shouldn't have appeared in the document. JCARR members had no questions on actual agenda items and heard no testimony. The regular agenda included a number of items from the Ohio Department of Commerce's Board of Building Standards on the state building, mechanical and plumbing codes. Co-Chair Rep. Jamie Callender (R-Concord) said the next meeting is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 6 and "we should be back in the House" as issues with the air conditioning on that side of the Statehouse have been resolved.

The House General Government Committee began its hearings on occupational licensure review this week, hearing from the Ohio Athletic Commission (OAC) as well as several members representing divisions of the Ohio Department of Commerce (DOC) and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA).

The Ohio Chamber of Commerce announced the recipients of its 2025 Legislator of the Year awards: Rep. Bill Roemer (R-Richfield), Sen. Michele Reynolds (R-Canal Winchester), Rep. Bride Rose Sweeney (D-Westlake) and Sen. Kent Smith (D-Euclid).

The Capitol Cafe reopened earlier this month with a new operator, with proceeds going to help a local nonprofit. L.A. Catering, a division of LifeCare Alliance, has taken over the operations of the cafe. It provides basic needs and health care services to individuals facing challenges stemming from medical conditions, disabilities, or aging in place. All proceeds from L.A. Catering go to support LifeCare Alliance programs.

GOVERNOR

After an op-ed in The Washington Times this week in which U.S. Rep. Max Miller (R-Parma) called on Gov. Mike DeWine to send the Ohio National Guard to Cleveland to address crime in the city, DeWine said on Thursday that is not how Ohio plans to use the state's National Guard. DeWine told reporters that in the past, Ohio has sent the state's National Guard to cities including Cleveland and Cincinnati when the cities' mayors have asked for help in response to a specific civil disturbance. "That's a proper use of the National Guard," said DeWine. DeWine did mention a request from Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb "three or four days ago" for help with violent offenders in the city, possibly including Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) helicopters and other tools. The governor said talks with Bibb are ongoing, and the state hasn't committed OSHP to the city in response to the request.

HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

An analysis released Friday by the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families found Ohio's rate of uninsured children rose from 4.5% in 2022 to 5.6% in 2024, compared to national changes of 5.1% in 2022 and 6.0% in 2024. That placed Ohio 28th out of the 50 states and District of Columbia, according to the center's review of U.S. Census Bureau data. Ohio also went from 122,000 uninsured children in 2022 to 152,000 in 2024, and was ranked 45th in the nation for both years.

While sponsors of a bill designed to lighten the load of medical debt on Ohioans point to more than a dozen other states that have passed similar legislation, opponents warned the House Health Committee on Wednesday the bill could disincentivize patients to pay medical bills at all and thus may ultimately lead to the closure of hospitals and clinics throughout the state. At its introduction in May, HB257 (Grim-Schmidt) was touted by sponsors as a commonsense bill designed to provide relief to Ohioans with outstanding medical debt by limiting interest rates on such debt, prohibiting the reporting of that debt to credit agencies and prohibiting wage garnishment for medical debt collections. But this week, Zachary Taylor of the Consumer Data Industry Association told the committee that several of the states that have passed similar legislation relied on guidance from a law that has since been revoked by the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under the current Trump administration. Taylor called HB257 one of the most expansive medical debt bills in the country.

HIGHER EDUCATION

Despite a public attitude toward higher education that he says has never been so skeptical in his lifetime, Gov. Mike DeWine told Ohio's college and university trustees on Thursday that while their challenge right now -- including financial challenges, declining birth rates and challenges to free speech on campus -- is great, it's never been more important for higher educators to get the moment right. Speaking to the Ohio Department of Higher Education's (ODHE) 2025 Trustees Conference, DeWine said it's never been particularly easy to be a trustee. But the world today is much more difficult. DeWine said Ohio's universities during his seven years as governor have had to right the ship and get their fiscal house in order, and many of the state's institutions have done that. DeWine credited higher education leaders in the room, many of whom he had appointed during his tenure as governor. But DeWine challenged trustees to be more creative and innovative as they lead their institutions, starting with their "customers," as DeWine put it, including college students and their families.

A new partnership announced Monday between Ohio State University (OSU) and Columbus State Community College (CSCC) promises to increase access to higher education for Ohio high school students and make college more affordable, especially for low- to middle-income students and their families throughout the state. OSU President Ted Carter and CSCC President David Harrison formalized the Buckeye Bridge program, which guarantees admission to the OSU campus in Columbus and covers tuition and mandatory fees for students who have completed an associate degree at CSCC and have a family adjusted gross income of $100,000 or less. Students must also be an Ohio resident and maintain full-time enrollment at OSU to qualify for Buckeye Bridge. "This is a big deal," said Harrison, representing "real advancement for [Central Ohio]'s prosperity."

OSU President Ted Carter gave his second State of the University address on Wednesday, detailing a wide range of ways he wants OSU to expand under the categories of academic excellence, "world-class" clinical care and student success. Carter said OSU is in a "strong" position, and "because of our financial stability and our strength, we are ready to move forward." He also noted this year's incoming class has around 8,200 students from all 88 counties in Ohio, as well as all over the U.S. and the world. Carter noted these ideas come at a time when many institutions of higher education are struggling, with some having frozen budgets, stopped hiring and eliminated academic and athletics programs. There are challenges in less availability of federal funds, he said further, and while OSU is not fully immune, it is in "a different place." Some research grants totaling "tens of millions of dollars" have been shut down, but OSU can sustain itself and is at target numbers for enrollment. It has also been able to maintain its number of around 14,000 researchers to date, though Carter said "we'll see where that goes in the future."

INTEL

Rival semi-conductor chip manufacturers NVIDIA and Intel announced this week a partnership to co-design and manufacture chips for data centers -- a deal that will include NVIDIA's investing $5 billion in the stock of the struggling Intel. The announcement comes after the Trump administration said the U.S. will be taking a 10% stake in Intel, which is building a multi-billion-dollar manufacturing plant in Licking County. In a joint release, the companies said Intel will build NVIDIA-custom x86 CPUs that NVIDIA will integrate into its AI infrastructure platforms for use in data centers. Intel will also build and sell x86 chips for personal computing that integrate NVIDA RTX GPU chips.

JUDICIAL

A trial judge was right to find former State Board of Education (SBOE) members and local school leaders lacked standing to sue over budget bill changes that stripped the board of its authority, the 10th District Court of Appeals ruled this week. In 135-HB33 (Edwards), lawmakers separated the board from what's now called the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (DEW). That left SBOE and the state superintendent with oversight of teacher licensure and discipline and school district territory transfers but gave power over other aspects of education governance to a cabinet director appointed by the governor. DEW is now led by Stephen Dackin, former SBOE vice president. In the 10th District ruling, Judges Michael Mentel, Terri Jamison and Carly Edelstein agreed with Judge Karen Phipps' trial court ruling.

The Ohio Supreme Court heard disciplinary arguments Tuesday that might be framed as a principled disagreement about the facts were a Kettering attorney and the Dayton Bar Association (DBA) not leveling such far-reaching allegations about weaponizing the legal system -- both the disciplinary process itself and the constitutional threshold for a bar member's defamation claims against a "bad-faith" and "demonstrably false" ethics complaint.

LIBRARIES

The Cleveland Public Library (CPL) did not have proper internal controls in place to detect a fraudulent payment redirect scheme that led to the library's needing to recoup nearly $400,000, according to a financial audit report to the Ohio Auditor of State's (AOS) Office by accounting firm Charles E. Harris & Associates. "The library did not have a proper internal control process in place to detect fictitious vendors," auditors wrote in a letter to the AOS office accompanying an audit report released Tuesday. "We did note that the library immediately implemented multiple vendor verification measures to prevent future business email compromise schemes."

MEDICAID/MEDICAID REFORM

Maureen Corcoran, director of the Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) since the outset of the administration, will leave her post at the end of October, Gov. Mike DeWine's office said Thursday. Corcoran is a veteran of health and human services administration, having served in senior roles for cabinet agencies or as a gubernatorial adviser in multiple administrations. She also founded and led Vorys Health Care Advisors. DeWine's office said it will announce succession plans for the agency later.

ODM is asking the Ohio Supreme Court to reconsider its recent ruling on the calculation of nursing home quality payments, saying it raises separation of powers issues and arguing that lawmakers' own appropriation decisions undercut justices' interpretation of the case. Justices ruled unanimously two weeks ago in favor of nursing home associations, which had sued, alleging ODM misinterpreted the statutory formula for calculating quality incentive payments in 135-HB33 (Edwards). Last summer, LeadingAge Ohio, the Ohio Health Care Association and the Academy of Senior Health Services sued ODM, arguing the agency wrongly conflated two terms in the budget legislation and, in the process, substantially reduced how much money facilities receive for meeting quality incentives. In an unsigned opinion, justices agreed ODM incorrectly calculated the amount of money to allocate to quality incentive payments based on the "change in price" rather than the "change in the rate for direct care costs" for nursing facilities. Earlier this month, ODM filed a request for reconsideration, asking the court to clarify whether the decision is meant to be retroactive to the start of FY25 and how ODM would comply with the ruling going forward given that doing so would require an additional $1 billion-plus in funding that lawmakers did not provide in HB96 (Stewart).

PENSIONS

Unions for educators filed a lawsuit Tuesday claiming the recent overhaul of the State Teachers Retirement System (STRS) Board of Trustees violates both their equal protection rights and constitutional rules on legislative procedure -- a suit that resulted in a temporary restraining order pending a hearing on injunctive relief that needs to happen before month’s end when the law takes effect. As a result, the State Teachers Retirement System Board of Trustees for the second time temporarily extended the terms of office for its leadership as it awaits the fate of the new governance changes now tied up in litigation. The board approved a resolution from Chair Rudy Fichtenbaum to waive the typical leadership election policy until the October meeting and extend his term and that of Vice Chair Elizabeth Jones until the day prior to HB96 (Stewart) provisions on STRS governance taking effect.

PEOPLE

Mary Rose Oakar, the first Democratic woman from Ohio elected to Congress, has died at the age of 85. Oakar represented Ohio's 20th Congressional District from 1977 to 1993. Oakar also served in the Ohio House and as a member of the State Board of Education. She also served as president of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. Her funeral is set for Saturday, Sept. 20. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions in her name to St. Patrick Church, 3602 Bridge Ave., Cleveland, OH 44113; the Ursuline Sisters of Cleveland, 6085 Parkland Blvd., Suite 175, Mayfield Heights, OH 44124; or the May Dugan Center, 4115 Bridge Ave., Cleveland, OH 44113. Tributes may be shared on the McGorray-Hanna website or sent to [email protected]. According to her biography on the Ohio Statehouse website, Oakar was one of the few Ohio women to serve in both the General Assembly and Congress. She also served on Cleveland City Council before being elected to Congress.

Mike Gibbons, who had unsuccessful campaigns for the U.S. Senate in 2018 and 2022, has died at the age of 73, according to multiple reports and the Twitter/X account of Gibbons. Conservative activist Tom Zawistowski said in a post that Gibbons had died of a heart attack while visiting his son overseas. An investment banker from Fairview Park, he co-founded private equity firm Brown Gibbons & Company. In 2018, he launched his first campaign for public office in 2018 in a bid to unseat U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, but lost in the primary to Jim Renacci.

The Ohio Municipal League (OML) announced Monday that Jonathon McGee, a veteran of senior leadership roles in state government, is its new general counsel. McGee has been chief of staff and chief legal counsel in the House, deputy chief counsel for Gov. George Voinovich and executive director of the Ohio Cable Telecommunications Association. Most recently he worked as an attorney with Callender Law Group. He has a law degree from Ohio State University and bachelor's degree from Ohio Northern University.

PUBLIC SAFETY

The DeWine administration marked the Ohio Patriot Awards' fifth anniversary Friday by honoring two dozen individuals representing the U.S. armed services, state and local law enforcement, a range of government jurisdictions and academia. They were joined by a matching group of state troopers and wildlife officers who spent their summer away from family to assist Texas flood recovery operations. The Patriot Awards, spearheaded in 2021 by state/federal Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Director Don Barker, celebrate those who have committed their lives to service and public good, as well as families with histories of military and law enforcement service spanning generations. The ceremony was timed with 9/11 observances and in recognition of more than 450 first responders and military personnel who died in the attack.

REDISTRICTING/REAPPORTIONMENT

Groups pushing lawmakers to draw what they call fair congressional district maps for Ohio rallied in Columbus Wednesday, marching and making a chain around the Statehouse while demanding an open and fair congressional redistricting process. The rally, held by Fair Districts Ohio, the Equal Districts Coalition, We Are Ohio, labor groups and faith groups, saw speakers demand lawmakers' respect voters and the rules of the Ohio Constitution. It comes just days before the Joint Committee on Congressional Redistricting is scheduled to hold its first hearing on Monday, Sept. 22 as the General Assembly takes its first crack at trying to reach a bipartisan congressional districting plan. Equal Districts also announced it was resubmitting to the General Assembly a congressional plan created in 2021 by the Ohio Citizens Redistricting Commission.

STATE GOVERNMENT

The Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC) Thursday approved the delegation of authority regarding the Special Facilities Program (SFP) provision included in HB96 (Stewart). This approval allows the OFCC to support the renovation or construction of a school building in eligible school districts. Bill Damschroder, OFCC chief legal counsel, told the commission the provision will authorize the delegation of authority to the executive director to carry out OFCC's responsibility as laid out in section 287.20 of the budget bill by means of administering the operation, application, eligibility verification, school selection and construction process of the SFP.

TAXATION

As the Tuesday, Sept. 30 deadline nears for the Ohio Property Tax Reform Working Group to submit its recommendations to Gov. Mike DeWine, the group met on Thursday to begin to put finishing touches on its list of approximately 20 items for DeWine to consider. "The idea is, there are no sacred cows," Lake County Auditor Chris Galloway told the group during a discussion of a possible recommendation to assemble another working group to incentivize local government to share services. Stephanie Starcher, superintendent of Fort Frye Local Schools, said about condensing layers of government that there is a huge difference between sharing administrative costs and condensing governments. For instance, she didn't like the idea of condensing school districts which might then have to share school bus routes. Working group co-chair and former legislator Bill Seitz added that accomplishing administrative efficiencies was also a part of sharing local services, and in some cases, it could be worth considering. Seitz noted that Ashtabula County has nine separate library districts, and many counties have a 9-1-1 system in each municipality. Seitz said he was hoping that a draft report of all the recommendations would be finished by the group's next meeting on Thursday, Sept. 25.

TECHNOLOGY/AEROSPACE

The Ohio Department of Development's (DOD) Third Frontier initiative recently announced it was taking applications for the College Technology Internship Program, helping connect participants with innovative companies in the state. The minimum pay is $15 an hour and DOD helps match candidates to companies. Interns will gain "hands-on experience across a wide range of fields, including marketing, design, engineering, mathematics, and software development," according to DOD. During the past 16 rounds of the program, 1,376 interns have been hired. Eligibility includes Ohio residents attending college anywhere in the U.S. and non-Ohio residents attending school in Ohio. Internships can occur between Nov. 1, 2025 and April 30, 2026, with applications accepted now through Friday, Sept. 26.

TRANSPORTATION/INFRASTRUCTURE

A federal lawsuit filed against the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) over its rejection of personalized license plates was recently dismissed after the agency said it would ease some of its criteria when applying for a plate online. William Saki, a resident of Lakewood, OH, and Cyris Mahdavi, a resident of Strongsville, OH, filed the federal lawsuit last week against Ohio Department of Public Safety Director Andy Wilson and Ohio Registrar Charles Norman after the Ohio BMV rejected their personalized license plate request, which in Saki's case included the word "GAY," and in Mahdavi's case, included the word "MUSLIM." In a hearing, Ohio BMV conceded it had erred in rejecting the vanity plates and that their application for plates would be approved. The BMV also agreed to review its database and unlock any words that do not meet the three-prong standard of being "offensive, disparaging or socially insensitive" as set forth in a prior court settlement in Zucco v. Caltrider.

Provided by Hannah News Service