Week in review: June 22, 2025

A summary of Ohio’s legislative news for the week ending June 20, 2025

ADDICTION/SUBSTANCE ABUSE

Ohio is poised to receive an estimated $198 million from Purdue Pharma and former owners as part of a $7.4 billion OxyContin settlement with 49 states, five U.S. territories and the District of Columbia -- the largest agreement under nationwide opioid litigation. Purdue manufactured and "aggressively marketed" opioids for decades as part of the largest drug crisis in American history, the Ohio Attorney General's Office says. The Sackler family has ceded control of the company and is permanently barred from selling opioids in the U.S.

AGING

Employee turnover at the Ohio Department of Aging (ODA) has outpaced other state offices since 2019, straining the agency's communication between the state agency, local agencies and constituents, according to a report from the Ohio Auditor of State's (AOS) Office. The AOS audit reports that knowledge gaps inhibited ODA's ability to respond to questions as local agencies spent time bringing new ODA employees up to speed. The same communication issues affected auditors' ability to complete the performance audit, with the report noting auditors "occasionally struggled to obtain information in a timely manner. In part, this was due to individuals lacking the institutional knowledge to answer questions. Further, we encountered instances where we were told information did not exist only to have it provided to us later in the audit." ODA Director Ursel J. McElroy responded that the audit did not find deficiencies in several areas of the department's operations and pointed to ways ODA is already approaching the audit's recommendations. "Importantly, the audit and other recently released financial audits found no ODA deficiencies in programmatic performance, internal controls related to financial and data reporting, fraud assessment activities, grants management, or oversight operations," McElroy wrote in a letter to Auditor of State Keith Faber responding to the performance audit.

During World Elder Abuse Awareness Month, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) and Ohio Department of Aging (ODA) remind Ohioans to help seniors by being aware of the signs of elder abuse and how to report it.

AGRICULTURE

Ohio legislators joined the Ohio Agriculture Conservation Initiative (OACI) in Findlay recently to witness local farmers' efforts to protect water quality. The farm tour highlighted three Northwest Ohio farms implementing science-based conservation practices, according to a news release from OACI. The tour demonstrated the real-world impact of the H2Ohio program, OACI Chair Jeff Duling said.

The Ohio Soybean Association (OSA) supports the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA) renewable volume obligation (RVO) proposal for 2026 and 2027, the organization announced Monday. The proposed rule makes significant increases in volume requirements for biomass-based diesel, up to 5.61 billion gallons in 2026 from 3.35 billion gallons in 2025, OSA said in a news release.

The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODAg) will tentatively begin aerial treatments to control populations of the Spongy Moth (formerly Gypsy Moth), an invasive species in Ohio, the week of June 23 -- weather permitting. Treatments will be applied in the following counties: Guernsey, Hancock, Knox, Sandusky and Wood.

FY26-27 PROPOSED BUDGET

Executive and legislative budget forecasters went in opposite directions and met in the middle Tuesday when they updated their expectations for tax revenues in the coming biennium. Office of Budget and Management (OBM) Director Kim Murnieks and Legislative Service Commission (LSC) Director Wendy Zhan testified to the Conference Committee on HB96 (Stewart) at its first meeting, during which conferees agreed to work off the Senate version and adhere to traditional rules requiring a majority of both House and Senate conferees to approve a conference report. Rep. Brian Stewart (R-Ashville), chair of the conference committee and House Finance Committee as well as the bill sponsor, said with House plans for a budget floor vote on Wednesday, June 25, he's expecting a vote in conference committee the preceding Monday or Tuesday. He expressed no worry about finding the votes if needed to waive a waiting period spelled out in House rules for conference committee reports that include appropriations. OBM cut its outlook for both FY26 and FY27. Its overall revenue forecast marked a slight increase of $35 million from the executive version, but that's only because FY25 is expected to end with $281 million more than expected, offsetting drops in expected revenues of $20 million in FY26 and $226 million in FY27. LSC boosted its forecast by $93.6 million in FY26 and $180.5 million in FY27. LSC also expects improved revenue collections for FY25, increasing its forecast by $294.2 million. Ultimately, changes in the OBM and LSC forecasts brought the two agencies closer together. Both project around $29.6 billion for FY26, while the FY27 forecasts aren't far apart -- $30.3 billion for OBM and $30.4 billion for LSC.

The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) budget, HB81 (Stewart), is headed to the governor’s desk after final votes Wednesday in the House and Senate. Meanwhile, Senate President Rob McColley (R-Napoleon) said the Ohio Industrial Commission budget, HB80 (Stewart), is being held as the backup vehicle in case operating budget negotiations bog down -- something he said is unlikely.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT/URBAN REVITALIZATION

The Ohio Department of Development (DOD) recently announced $5.75 million in grant funding for 14 communities in 13 counties to revitalize downtowns, provide public services and upgrade water and sewer infrastructure. The funding comes from the Flexible Grant (FG) and Residential Public Infrastructure Grant (RPIG) programs but is supported through the federal Community Development Block Grant. FG projects need to be unique in nature, thus not eligible for another funding source, or a result of an unexpected circumstance that cannot wait for other funding cycles. The RPIG program grants funds for drinking water and wastewater projects, as well as household connections.

ELECTIONS

The Strong Ohio Communities Coalition, which successfully sought support for public works amendment Issue 2 in the May 6 primary, filed its post-primary report Friday showing it had received $141,000 in final contributions and exhausted that plus the $348,215 it had on hand, totaling $489,215. The coalition's pre-primary report previously showed it had raised nearly $700,000.

ELECTIONS 2026

Blue Ash Mayor Jill Cole has announced that she is running for state representative in Ohio's 28th House District which is currently held by freshman legislator Rep. Karen Brownlee (D-Cincinnati). A Republican, Cole launched her campaign pledging to bring practical, transparent leadership to Columbus and put the needs of families and neighborhoods first.

The following endorsements were made over the week:

- The 314 Action Fund endorsed Dr. Amy Acton for governor.

- Ohio Value Voters announced their endorsement of Jon Husted for the U.S. Senate.

ENERGY/UTILITIES

Fired FirstEnergy Senior V.P. of Product Development, Marketing and Branding Dennis Chack was questioned by attorneys for the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association and Ohio Consumers’ Counsel as part of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio’s probe of the nuclear bailout scandal.

FEDERAL

A new Quinnipiac University Poll released this week finds a majority of respondents opposed to the federal Republican tax and spending bill dubbed the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act." The poll was conducted among 1,265 self-identified registered voters nationwide from Thursday, June 5, through Monday, June 9. Among respondents, 53% oppose the federal bill, while 27% support it and 20% do not have an opinion.

GAMING/GAMBLING

The U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals should side with the state of New Jersey in a lawsuit brought by prediction market company Kalshi, Attorney General Dave Yost said in an amicus brief filed with the court on Tuesday. Kalshi is one of several companies that offer sports event trading, which Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) Executive Director Matt Schuler has said is no different than sports gambling. In March, Schuler wrote cease-and-desist notices to Kalshi, Robinhood and Crypto.com, demanding that they stop offering sports event contracts to Ohioans.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY/STATEHOUSE

House Republicans seated Noble County Commissioner Ty Moore of Caldwell as the new District 95 representative at Wednesday’s session, after a screening panel announced him as the caucus’ choice to succeed former Rep. Don Jones (F-Freeport), who left to lead the Ohio Farm Service Agency.

Aside from passage of the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) budget, HB81 (Stewart), Wednesday’s Senate session included passage of SB172 (Roegner), regarding immigration enforcement; SB4 (Gavarone), regarding election integrity; road naming bills HB50 (King), SB52 (Schaffer) and SB119 (Brenner); HB64 (D. Thomas-Deeter), regarding senior discounts for hunting and fishing licenses; HB65 (Klopfenstein-Peterson), regarding day and week designations related to agriculture; and SB85 (Smith-Craig), creating the Ohio NAACP license plate; and concurrence with House amendments to SB147 (Reineke), regarding waste disposal.

Aside from concurrence with Senate changes to the BWC budget, Wednesday’s House session included passage of HB247 (K. Miller-Lawson-Rowe), regarding dangerous dogs; HB20 (Hall-Plummer), to increase penalties for obstructing official business of emergency responders; HB23 (Roemer-Williams), to create an escape convict alert program; HB52 (Deeter), regarding the practice of certified registered nurse anesthetists; HB116 (Demetriou), regarding blockchain and cryptocurrency; HB122 (Lampton-T. Hall), regarding tax credits related to organ donation; HB141 (Baker-Abrams), regarding pediatric extended care centers; HB168 (Williams-Brennan), regarding child enticement crimes; HB207 (Lorenz-Rogers), designating June as “Male Wellness Month” and the third Monday in June as “Take Your Dad to the Doctor and Dentist Day”; HR147 (Robb Blasdel), urging Congress to investigate the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency response to the East Palestine derailment; HCR13 (Hoops-Robinson), urging Congress to designate the Buckeye Trail as a National Scenic Trail; SB114 (Patton), prohibiting law enforcement quotas for arrests and citations; and SB138 (Johonson), regarding mental health and substance abuse treatment.

In other legislative action, House Small Business Committee reported out HB288 (Roemer-Sweeney), regarding timely payment to contractors for private construction projects; House Transportation Committee reported out road naming bills HB316 (LaRe), HB325 (Holmes-Ritter) and SB95 (Reynolds-Craig); Senate Financial Institutions, Insurance and Technology Committee reported out HB80 (Stewart), the Ohio Industrial Commission budget; Senate Government Oversight and Reform Committee reported out SCR10 (Lang-Craig), encouraging support for the Ohio Commission for the U.S. Semiquincentennial; Senate Transportation Committee reported out SB212 (Timken), to create the “Play Golf Ohio” license plate; and SB182 (Patton), a road naming bill.

HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

The state of Ohio approved the sale of Summit County's largest employer, Akron-based nonprofit medical provider Summa Health, to the for-profit Health Assurance Transformation LLC (HATCo) Wednesday for a base price of $485 million. Operating 19 hospitals in Northeastern Ohio, Summa will transfer its 36-year-old regional health system to a subsidiary of General Catalyst, a global investment firm based in Cambridge, MA. In a letter Wednesday to HATCo and Summa, Ohio Attorney General's Charitable Law Section Chief Daniel Fausey cited 10 conditions for the sale, including the transfer of another $15 million in cash and $15 million in equity to a surviving nonprofit foundation to benefit Ohioans in Summit and surrounding counties served by the health system.

A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction blocking the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from cutting congressionally-approved funding for local infectious disease programs, Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein announced Wednesday. The proposed cut by HHS would have caused Columbus Public Health (CPH) to lose more than $3.1 million, according to a news release from Klein's office.

HIGHER EDUCATION

Capital University announced that Jared R. Tice will become its next president. Tice's appointment, which followed a nationwide search, will be effective Friday, Aug. 1., following the retirement of David L. Kaufman, who has served as the university's 17th president since June 2020. Tice comes to Capital from Catawba College in Salisbury, NC, where he most recently served as senior vice president and chief strategy officer. Before that, he was Catawba's senior vice president for the college experience and dean of students. He also has held positions at Barton College and West Virginia Northern Community College.

HOUSING/HOMELESSNESS

The Ohio Department of Development has announced $4 million in grant awards to help four nonprofit organizations assist more than 200 individuals and families experiencing homelessness in their communities. Funding comes from the HOME American Rescue Plan (HOME-ARP) Non-Congregate Shelter program, which provides a safe and private living environment for people experiencing homelessness by supporting the creation and expansion of non-congregate shelters across Ohio.

MARIJUANA/HEMP

House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima) told Hannah News he was "disappointed" the House would not be voting Wednesday on its changes to SB56 (S. Huffman), following the Tuesday announcement that a possible substitute bill and vote had been dropped from the House Judiciary Committee's agenda. Huffman explained "additional issues" were raised by the Senate on Monday night and he wasn't willing to give up on House priorities for the sake of June passage. He further said "in theory" this could be added to the budget, but he didn't think that was "a very good path." Senate President Robert McColley (R-Napoleon) seemed more optimistic than Huffman when asked after Wednesday's session about the state of negotiations. "I wouldn't say that anything has changed. I think the conversations have gone pretty well on it. I think maybe there was a misunderstanding as to where we might have been on the bill," he said.

MEDICAID/MEDICAID REFORM

House Finance Vice Chair Mike Dovilla (R-Berea) and the Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) in recent months have been corresponding, sometimes in tense fashion, on whether the state agency is doing enough to identify and disenroll people who do not qualify for Medicaid coverage. Dovilla asserts that information he gathered from LexisNexis, which is involved in providing data to help with eligibility verification, shows large swaths of the enrolled population are potentially ineligible, to the tune of billions of misspent dollars. ODM, however, says Dovilla misunderstands details of the program, how federal rules govern eligibility criteria, and who is subject to asset tests as a condition of staying on Medicaid. The department argues he's making inaccurate extrapolations based on information from LexisNexis that does not provide the full picture.

Gov. Mike DeWine signed an executive order this week to allow the Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) to temporarily adopt emergency rules related to the hospital assessment that provides money for federal Medicaid matching funds. The order states that ODM must prepare for implementation of the state budget in the new biennium by immediately changing rules to set assessments amounts for FY26 to "codify existing practice that assessments and other related hospital provider taxes will not exceed the indirect hold harmless guarantees prescribed by the United States Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services under the Social Security Act ...."

OHIO HISTORY

The America 250-Ohio Commission's meeting Friday at the Ohio History Connection included an update on the budget process, with Executive Director Todd Kleismit detailing to members how that has now gone to conference committee. The House-passed budget had provided $7.75 million in FY26 and $2.5 million in FY27, while the Senate version changed that to $8.75 million in FY26 and $2 million in FY27. The Senate also removed a House earmark for $250,000 to be allocated for marketing and event operations for the America's River Roots Festival, and added a requirement the line-item "be used for grants across the state in support of the U.S. Semiquincentennial."

POLITICS

In recent decades, the divide between economic winners and losers in America has been deepening, Harvard professor of government and philosophy Michael Sandel told the City Club of Cleveland on Tuesday. While that divide starts with the growing divide among the population in income and wealth, it also manifests in changing attitudes toward success that accompany inequality. Sandel has recounted America's civic struggles between the 1990s and today in his book, Democracy's Discontent: A New Edition for Our Perilous Times, which follows his 1998 book, Democracy's Discontent: America in Search of a Public Philosophy.

PUBLIC SAFETY

Ohio will go live with the most "comprehensive overhaul of law enforcement training in decades" on July 1 when law enforcement academies begin to renew their curriculum with modern-day policing strategies, Attorney General Dave Yost says. His Blue Ribbon Task Force recommendations have set new basic training standards for peace officers statewide.

STATE GOVERNMENT

Reps. Mike Dovilla (R-Berea) and Brian Stewart (R-Ashville) served as spending hawks Monday at a Controlling Board hearing capped by formal objections to a fourth of all held agenda items. The Ohio Department of Youth Services (DYS) generated the biggest policy concerns over a resident CrossFit program that has doubled its appropriation over each of the last two years.

The state of Ohio has joined a multimillion-dollar settlement with dozens of other state securities regulators following an investigation into five investment firms, the Ohio Department of Commerce (DOC) Division of Securities announced Tuesday. The more than $9.3 million settlement follows investigators' allegations that Edward Jones, LPL Financial, RBC, Stifel and TD Ameritrade charged unreasonable commissions to retail customers on small-dollar transactions, DOC said in a news release.

TAXATION

Proposed current agricultural use value (CAUV) calculations would result in an average farmland value of $1,448 per acre for tax year 2025, a reduction from $1,616 in 2024, according to Ohio Department of Taxation (ODT) figures presented during a virtual public hearing Tuesday. Joshua Roloson from ODT's Department of Tax Equalization provided an overview of how the CAUV formula works and how the trends in crop prices, production costs, interest rates and other factors influenced proposed 2025 CAUV values.

The enactment of property tax reform bill HB335 (D. Thomas) could result in 20,000 teachers leaving the state, Ohio Education Association (OEA) President Scott DiMauro said Tuesday. "HB335 would be absolutely devastating for Ohio's public schools," DiMauro said during a Statehouse press conference hosted by House Democrats. Among other provisions, HB335 would prohibit all political subdivisions except townships from levying inside millage.

Attorneys with expertise in tax law and bond issuance Wednesday flagged constitutional issues and litigation risks associated with the broad House property tax proposal to largely eliminate inside millage. Meanwhile, Senate President Rob McColley (R-Napoleon) indicated that the core feature of the bill is unlikely to be included in the final budget. Taft-era Tax Commissioner Tom Zaino, representing the Ohio Taxpayer Protection Coalition, spoke about HB335 (D. Thomas) to the House Ways and Means Committee, which also received a memo from five prominent law firms that act as bond counsel for local taxing authorities. The bulk of testimony Wednesday was taken in writing and constituted dozens of opponents representing local schools and governments. Some opponents did get a chance to speak before the committee broke for the day's House session.

House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima) discussed HB335 (D. Thomas) with reporters after the House Rules and Reference Committee meeting Wednesday, saying the property tax bill is "part of a menu of things that are being considered by the House and Senate" but that the Legislature needs "to do something in this budget about real estate taxes" as standalone legislation would likely not pass both chambers. Huffman additionally described HB335 as "probably the most draconian of all of those [options]" and said that it could adversely affect people who are "fairly conservative in how they spend money." It is at "one end of the spectrum," he continued, and some form of action will be taken.

House Minority Leader Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington) and House Finance Committee Ranking Member Bride Rose Sweeney (D-Cleveland) criticized property tax provisions in HB335 (D. Thomas) during remarks to reporters after the House Rules and Reference Committee meeting Wednesday, with Russo saying her caucus opposes the bill. She pointed to House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima) describing it as "draconian" and noted there has been opposition from schools and public safety groups.

TRANSPORTATION/INFRASTRUCTURE

More Ohio Turnpike drivers with unpaid tolls will soon have their vehicle registrations blocked by the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV), Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission (OTIC) General Counsel Jennifer Monty Rieker said Monday. Currently, turnpike users only see their registrations blocked after accumulating $50 in unpaid tolls, Rieker said. Under the OTIC's new policy, drivers with $20 in unpaid tolls would be subject to a BMV hold on their registration, she said. Drivers with $20 in unpaid tolls currently have their accounts sent to collections, but a BMV hold is not placed on their registration.

Govs. Mike DeWine and Andy Beshear released new details on the Brent Spence Companion Bridge that will be built to further connect Ohio and Kentucky, including image and video renderings of what the completed bridge will look like. The selected design is a cable-stayed independent deck bridge where the cabling system will be similar to other modern bridges such as the Veterans Glass City Skyway in Toledo and Abraham Lincoln Bridge in Louisville, KY, rather than a traditional steel truss to support the lower deck.

Gov. Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) Director Pamela Boratyn announced this week funding for two dozen projects around Ohio to improve transportation infrastructure for students who walk or bike to school. A total of 24 projects in 12 counties statewide received a total of $7.6 million through ODOT's Routes to School Program, which provides resources, technical assistance and project funding to encourage and enable students in grades K-12 to walk or ride their bikes to school.

Provided by Hannah News Service