Democratic News

State Rep. Kent Smith (D-Euclid) today applauded the passage of House Bill (HB) 405, legislation to increase the safety of Ohio children by strengthening penalties against sexual predators.

“This legislation will help protect Ohio’s most valuable asset – our children,” said Smith, a primary sponsor of the bill. “Internet predators in Ohio need to know there will be consequences for their despicable actions. This legislation will put predators behind bars and help keep our kids safe.”

State Rep. John Patterson (D-Jefferson) today announced the introduction of legislation to establish a three-day sales tax “holiday” during the first weekend of August for “back-to-school” clothing and school supplies. Not only will the holiday help offset Ohio’s 4.5 percent sales tax increase enacted by the 2013 state budget, but for three days shoppers will pay no sales tax on itemized purchases as they prepare their children for the coming of the new school year. A similar proposal launched Ohio’s first temporary sales tax holiday in August 2015.

The Central Seventh-day Adventist Church of Columbus, Ohio honored Rep. Hearcel Craig (D-Columbus) Saturday with the Black History Achievement Award. Rep. Craig received the award during the Church’s Worship Experience.

Ohio State Rep. Stephanie Howse (D-Cleveland) has been selected to co-chair a national network of state legislators, a program of the National Institute of Civil Discourse (NICD), which is committed to returning civility, rationality and respect to American politics. The new leadership will work to expand the Network just as the presidential primary season opens and with new polls showing American are fed up with hyper-toxicity in politics.

State Rep. Kathleen Clyde (D-Kent) sent a letter to Secretary of State Jon Husted today urging him to issue an additional directive to ensure all ballots with missing postmarks are counted. 

A House legislative panel today came one step closer to passing legislation, Senate Bill 152, that prohibits cities and other municipalities from setting minimum standards for hiring local residents for public works projects. The minimum residency standards, currently in place in cities and municipalities around the state, let qualified workers earn the opportunity to find rewarding employment in their own communities.

Some Ohio communities use local hiring requirements on publicly financed projects as a way to strengthen local workforce participation and, in turn, strengthen local economies. The City of Akron – currently in the midst of a $1.4 billion sewer system upgrade project – has a local hiring target of 30 percent, with that goal increasing to 50 percent by 2018.

“I am very disappointed that the legislature continues to ignore The City of Akron and our freedom to make decisions that get people back to work and stabilize our local economy,” said State Rep. Emilia Sykes. “My colleagues and I worked diligently to present alternatives that would employ city residents.”

State Rep. John Boccieri today wrote to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) regarding outstanding concerns over when the agency claims it first learned of test results revealing water contamination in Sebring, Ohio. Boccieri's office recently received documentation from the state's water testing vendor, Ream and Haagar Environmental Lab, that confirms the vendor first notified the Ohio EPA in August of test results showing elevated lead levels in Sebring's water.

State Rep. John Boccieri (D-Poland) today announced legislation to establish clear standards for water testing and public notification procedures in cases of lead contamination. The legislation comes in the midst of the Sebring water crisis, in which records have revealed that the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) failed to notify residents of Sebring, Ohio that area water had higher-than-normal levels of lead for almost five months.

Marking the seventh anniversary of the federal Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, Ohio House Democratic Women Democratic (OHDWC) lawmakers today highlighted efforts underway in the legislature that would level the economic playing field for women in Ohio, including “Equal Pay for Equal Work” legislation. 

“A lot has changed for families, women and workplaces since the 1950s. It is time to stop treating women only as homemakers and recognize the fundamental leadership roles we hold in the corporations, public service and the family unit,” said OHDWC Chair and State Rep. Fedor (D-Toledo). “Equal pay for equal work is a keystone of our American values of freedom and fairness. It is time for our state to take the lead and show women, families and the nation that equal pay can’t wait.” 

State Rep. John Boccieri (D-Poland) today called on the Ohio House of Representatives to subpoena Ohio EPA Director Craig Butler to answer questions relating to the state’s failure to protect the public for some six months after toxic drinking water was found in Sebring and Beloit, Ohio.

The lawmaker has repeatedly called on the director of the Ohio EPA to provide the public with answers to basic questions surrounding the renewal of water permits and sluggish communication that forced seniors, pregnant mothers and children to unknowingly drink water contaminated with copper and lead.

“We have received no answer to our repeated questions about steps taken by the EPA, which shares a moral and legal obligation to notify the public when such a crisis evolves, to remedy this crisis.” Boccieri wrote in the letter to Speaker of the House Cliff Rosenberger.

EPA Director Butler is Gov. John Kasich’s former policy advisor and was appointed by Gov. Kasich to the Ohio EPA after the former director resigned amid questions of improper political pressure on state water regulators.

A copy of the letter is attached with text available below: