Democratic News

A group of Columbus-area House Democratic lawmakers today sent a letter to Secretary of State Frank LaRose calling on him to break the tie vote at the Franklin County Board of Elections over whether to continue a longstanding public information campaign to provide accurate voting information to Franklin County residents. Republican Board of Elections members oppose providing this information to voters. The Secretary refused to break the tie despite state law requiring it. See the letter below.

State Reps. Allison Russo (D- Upper Arlington) and Mary Lightbody (D-Westerville) today announced the introduction of The Safe Drinking Water Act to guarantee safe drinking water in Ohio.  The bill provides for state-level standards for drinking water to limit known toxics and protect residents from harm. 

House Minority Leader Emilia Strong Sykes (D- Akron) and Rep. Phil Robinson (D-Solon), who serves as the Ranking Member on the House Primary and Secondary Education Committee, issued statements today following the House floor vote of sub-bill Senate Bill (SB) 89. 

State Reps. H. Gilson Blair (D-Weathersfield) and Brigid Kelly (D-Cincinnati) joined House Democratic lawmakers today to urge Ohio’s congressional delegation to support the PRO Act, H.R. 2474, which would protect workers’ right to organize. The vote is pending before the U.S. House.

COLUMBUS—Ohio Legislative Black Caucus (OLBC) members today held a press conference to provide updates on their Build Up Black Families legislative package in honor of Black History Month. This initiative was first introduced in June 2019. 

House Democratic lawmakers today reacted to the House passage of Senate Bill 120, which moves the beginning of the EdChoice Voucher program application period from Feb. 1, 2020 to April 1, 2020 after GOP lawmakers could not come to an agreement on a deal to fix the state’s controversial voucher system.

Rep. Catherine Ingram (D-Cincinnati) today urged Ohio’s top higher education official for ways to improve college access for students from working-class families following a new study that singles out seven Ohio colleges for alarmingly low rates of Pell grant recipients.

State Reps. Thomas E. West (D-Canton) and Susan Manchester (R-Waynesfield) today unveiled House Bill 469, which will cut out-of-pocket prescription costs for patients.

COLUMBUS—House Minority Leader Emilia Strong Sykes (D- Akron) and Rep. Phil Robinson (D-Solon), who serves as the Ranking Member on the House Primary and Secondary Education Committee, issued statements today concerning the need for immediate action as a first step to fixing the state’s broken EdChoice voucher program in advance of the February 1 application period and the requested improvements House Democrats would like to see made to safeguard fair access and fair funding for our schools.

State Reps. Thomas West (D-Canton) and Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington) sent a letter to Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) Director Maureen Corcoran today expressing their concerns with the implementation of Medicaid work requirements. The lawmakers’ letter comes in light of a year-end report sent by Director Corcoran to Gov. Mike DeWine detailing a variety of issues the department has dealt with over the past year, including chronic problems with the information technology system “Ohio Benefits,” utilized by both ODM and the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) to determine benefit eligibility.