Democratic News

StateRep. Stephanie Howse (D-Cleveland) was recently presented with the National Institute for Civil Discourse Award for Civility in State Governance yesterday evening at the National Conference of State Legislators 2016 Legislative Summit. Ted Celeste, Director of State Programs at the National Institute for Civil Discourse (NICD), presented Rep. Howse with the award in recognition of her commitment to working in a civil, productive manner for the good of her constituents.

Today, Democratic legislators from both the House and Senate announced the introduction of legislation aimed to protect Ohio’s call center jobs. The Consumer Protection Call Center Act of 2016 would ban state grant or loan opportunities for companies that transfer or relocate call centers from Ohio to overseas for five years.

“Now more than ever, it is imperative to protect Ohio jobs that pay above the minimum wage,” said Representative Nickie Antonio (D-Lakewood). “If passed by the Ohio General Assembly, this legislation would help pave a path to economic stability for working families by keeping call center jobs from being shipped overseas. The end goal of the Consumer Protection Call Center Act is to keep Ohio jobs in Ohio, with a workforce of Ohioans.”

The highest ranking Democratic member of the House Education Committee, Rep. Teresa Fedor (D-Toledo), today responded to news reports that the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT) fails to maintain critical documentation related to students’ offline work and that Auditor of State Dave Yost failed to conduct a comprehensive audit after receiving allegations of attendance fraud at the online charter school.

The Toledo lawmaker has called on Yost in the recent past to investigate Ohio Virtual Academy, the state’s second largest online charter school, for the same attendance scrubbing allegations taking place at ECOT. Fedor again called on Yost to reopen the investigation into the data scrubbing scandal that led to the resignation of David Hansen.

State Rep. Heather Bishoff (D-Blacklick) will join former First Lady Dr. Frances Strickland and President of the Reynoldsburg City School Board Joe Begeny for a public forum to discuss the state of education in Ohio Wednesday, Aug. 10 from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Messiah Lutheran Church in Reynoldsburg.

“In light of recent changes and controversies surrounding Ohio’s education system, including new testing and charter school oversight standards, I wanted to engage citizens in a meaningful way on the state of Ohio education before the start of the new school year,” said Bishoff, a former Gahanna-Jefferson Board of Education member. 

State Reps. Emilia Sykes (D-Akron) and Greta Johnson (D-Akron) today offered their condolences following the passing of Summit County Executive Russ Pry. Pry’s death comes just two days after announcing that he would not seek re-election due to ongoing health issues.

State Rep. John Boccieri (D-Poland) sent a letter to Governor Kasich urging him to take action and set aside $50 million from the Budget Stabilization Fund—which currently holds over $2 billion—to create a Disaster Preparedness Contingency Fund. The new disaster relief fund would be available to local counties and communities to exclusively plan, prevent and respond to mosquito-borne diseases.  

State Rep. Jack Cera (D-Bellaire) today announced Ohio’s second-ever sales tax-free holiday scheduled for next weekend, August 5-7. The tax-free holiday runs Friday through Sunday and covers many back-to-school items, including clothing, school supplies and instructional materials.

“The recent tax shifts under Gov. Kasich may drive shoppers in border areas to purchase back-to-school items in a neighboring state,” said Cera, who co-sponsored the bill to create this year’s sale tax holiday. “The sales-tax holiday is an opportunity for Ohio parents and teachers to shop at local businesses and save money on important purchases before the start of the new school year.”    

State Rep. Kent Smith (D-Euclid) today criticized the state’s recent decision to stockpile Ohio’s Rainy Day budget surplus fund with an extra $30 million instead of sending the money back to 31 local communities listed in fiscal distress by the state. Reps. Kristin Boggs (D-Columbus) and Smith this year introduced House Bill (HB) 508 to lift 31 communities listed in fiscal distress by the state, a measure that would require just under $30 million. 

“This latest addition to the state’s massive surplus highlights the Kasich administration’s arrogance by showing they simply doesn’t understand or care what it’s like on the ground in local communities throughout our state like Clarksville, East Cleveland and Galion,” said Smith. “The fact is the administration continues to withhold critical tax revenue generated in these local communities by stockpiling some bank account in Columbus. Meanwhile, locals are forced to raise taxes, cut essential services or let infrastructure crumble. It is hypocritical that the Rainy Day fund was built on the backs of our communities, but even more so now that The Administration continues to withhold needed revenues from the cities, towns and villages that make up our state.”

State Reps. John Boccieri (D-Poland) and Michele Lepore-Hagan (D-Youngstown) today announced the release of $990,048 in “Straight A” grant funding for the Mahoning County Educational Service Center. The funding will help participating school districts ensure that students are college and career ready with the implementation of the Mahoning Valley Prepared for Success project. In addition, Mahoning County schools will also receive $915,603 for the Northeast Ohio Literacy Consortium, a program created by The Ohio State University to enhance student’s literacy skills.

State Rep. Emilia Sykes (D-Akron) today announced the release of over $700,000 for the expansion of the Sit Together and Read – Ohio (STAR – Ohio) 10-county program to help reduce the risk of future disabilities for children in Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) classrooms. The state funding will be used to further Summit County’s reach and development of the “Sit Together and Read” program to 525 students in the first year of the program’s operation. Funding was made available for the program through the state’s “Straight A Grant.”