Richard D. Brown News
State Rep. Richard D. Brown (D-Canal Winchester) this week reintroduced bipartisan legislation with state Rep. Scott Lipps (R-Franklin) to create ZERO - The End to Prostate Cancer license plate to raise awareness about prostate cancer and honor the nonprofit’s work promoting early detection of the disease.
Read Full StoryState Rep. Richard Brown (D-Canal Winchester) today introduced bipartisan legislation alongside Rep. Gary Scherer (R-Circleville) to increase safety for Ohio students by cracking down on motorists with multiple violations of passing a school bus with its stop arm activated.
Read Full StoryState Rep. Richard D. Brown (D-Canal Winchester) today highlighted his opposition to House Bill 78, an anti-worker bill designed to reduce pay for skilled labor by eliminating prevailing wage requirements in Ohio.
Read Full StoryState Reps. Richard Brown (D-Canal Winchester) and Tim Schaffer (R-Lancaster) today introduced House Bill 83 to codify current Ohio Department of Public Safety policy and allow districts to install safety cameras on their school buses. The cameras, to be installed on the exterior of the school buses, are intended to assist in catching motorists who illegally pass stopped buses.
Read Full StoryState Rep. Richard D. Brown (D-Canal Winchester) was named the Ranking Democrat on the Ohio House Civil Justice Committee Friday.
Read Full StoryState Rep. Richard Brown (D-Columbus) today applauded Governor-elect Mike DeWine’s announced “opioid czar” tasked with leading the new administration’s response to Ohio’s opioid crisis.
Read Full StoryIn response to an Ohio House committee hearing yesterday on House Bill 53, legislation to make Ohio a so-called “Right to Work” state for first responders, teachers, nurses and other public employees, state Rep. Richard Brown (D-Canal Winchester) issued the following statement:
“Ohioans have rejected dangerous ‘Right-to-Work’ legislation most recently during the current Kasich administration. Gov. Kasich has even said that it is time to move on from this anti-worker agenda, and I strongly agree in spite of the efforts of Speaker Smith and a cosponsor list that consists of the most radical members of the majority.
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As Ohio’s opioid addiction crisis deepens and shows little sign of letting up, state Rep. Richard Brown (D-Canal Winchester) and local officials from Central Ohio and Dayton today announced new legislation to create a unified cabinet-level Office of Drug Policy to serve as a coordinated, comprehensive entity for community officials, law enforcement officers, social workers and local communities to seek out best practices, available grants, state rules, new education programs, and more anti-drug abuse resources.
“We read it in the news. We see it in our neighborhoods. We hear about it at work and at home. And, sadly too many Ohio families are forced to face the grim reality every day that Ohio is the face of the nation’s opioid epidemic,” said Rep. Richard Brown (D-Canal Winchester). “It is clear more can be done to take on this crisis in a strategic and unified way. That’s why I’m proud to introduce this legislation today and look forward to working with members of both political parties who want to ensure addiction no longer holds our state back from living up to our full promise and potential.”
A historic number of Ohioans – 5,232 a year or 14 every day—are dying of unintentional overdose, a 39% spike in the last year. Ohio’s rates are three times the national average. According to a congressional study, Ohio’s current efforts won’t be enough to slow the historic number of deaths from opioids.
“We need more than a piecemeal, ad-hoc approach. What works in Dayton may or may not work in Columbus or Canal Winchester, but we frankly just don’t know without a strategic partnership from the state,” said Nan Whaley, Mayor of Dayton. “A coordi
Read Full StoryState Rep. Richard Brown (D-Canal Winchester) today condemned the United States Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision in its ruling on the AFSCME v. Janus case.
Read Full StoryState Rep. Richard Brown (D-Canal Winchester) today applauded the Ohio House’s passage of House Bill 535, legislation to increase reports of opioid overdoses and the effectiveness of naloxone treatments to the Ohio Department of Health and Ohio Department of Public Safety.
Brown was an original co-sponsor of the legislation, the Opioid Data and Communication Expansion Act, before it unanimously passed the House floor Thursday.
“Better communication and information sharing about the Opioid Crisis will only help to paint a more complete picture of what’s going on in Ohio,” said Brown. “Compiling more information about what’s working and what isn’t across the state will only help us better respond to the ongoing crisis. I am proud to have been a co-sponsor on this important piece of legislation”
House Bill 535 now heads to the Ohio Senate for further consideration. Brown supports the Ohio Senate’s swift passage of the legislation.
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