Democratic News

Mahoning Valley state Reps. Michele Lepore-Hagan (D-Youngstown), John Boccieri (D-Poland), Mike O’Brien (D-Warren) and Glenn Holmes (D-McDonald) today responded to General Motors’ (GM) announced 14,700 layoffs nationwide in the coming months, with plans to end production of the GM Cruze at their Lordstown, Ohio plant March 1, 2019:

“I am angered and dismayed by GM’s decision to abandon its commitment to Mahoning Valley workers after more than 50 years,” said state Rep. Michele Lepore-Hagan (D-Youngstown). “This closure will have far-reaching effects, both in the Valley and across Ohio, as thousands of working families deal with the real consequences of corporate giants who put profits before people. I remain committed to working with local, state and federal officials, as well the UAW and the local business community to ensure every worker affected by this closure has the resources and services they need.”

The Lordstown Complex, which has produced vehicles since 1966, is likely the latest victim in GM’s corporate restructuring which will end production at five plants and eliminate 15 percent of the company’s total workforce.

State Rep. Tavia Galonski (D-Akron) today applauded the Ohio Department of Education’s anticipated recommendation to the Ohio legislature to extend alternative graduation pathways to Ohio high school seniors until a permanent plan can be put in place for the class of 2022.

“Ohio students deserve an equal opportunity to succeed, and that starts with fair graduation standards that promote learning and recognize students’ skills,” said Galonski, who has been actively working with students, families and teachers on the revisiting the requirements. “Because students came together, spoke out, and made their voices heard, their futures look much brighter today. I congratulate them and applaud the administration and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle for doing the right thing and giving our students the attention they deserve.”

According to Ohio Department of Education staff, the department is expected to release a formal request to lawmakers outlining alternative graduation pathways for this year through 2021. Galonski said she anticipates the measure will be included as an amendment to pending legislation in the Senate Education Committee Wednesday.

State Rep. Kent Smith (D-Euclid) today responded to the Ohio House Republicans’ rejection of a Democratic amendment to increase transparency and accountability of JobsOhio, a nonprofit corporation funded by Ohio taxpayers that remains shrouded in secrecy and unbound by Ohio transparency laws.

“HB 40 would create something that already exists, it’s called the state budget and it’s available online. Instead of throwing taxpayer money around to duplicate current systems, let’s use this opportunity to increase transparency and accountability at JobsOhio, a nonprofit corporation funded by taxpayers and shrouded in secrecy,” said Smith.

Smith offered the amendment during debate on House Bill (HB) 40, a Republican-sponsored bill to create a new Ohio State Government Expenditure Database on the state treasurer’s website. The legislation specifically carves out JobsOhio to prevent public scrutiny instead of holding it to the same standard as every other state agency.

“With dozens of JobsOhio employees making six figures and Ohio’s jobs numbers lagging behind the rest of the country over the past five years, JobsOhio needs more oversight not less,” Smith said. “But time and again, the GOP has allowed JobsOhio to operate in the cloak of darkness, and that must end.”

The Republican-controlled Ohio House today passed House Bill (HB) 258, legislation that would prohibit an abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which could be as early as six weeks of pregnancy— long before most women even know they are pregnant. 

State Senator Nina Turner (D-Cleveland) and State Representative Kathleen Clyde (D-Kent), along with Executive Director of the Ohio Domestic Violence Network Nancy Neylon, announced today the introduction of legislation to help protect survivors of domestic violence in the state. The Address Confidentiality Program would establish safeguards to protect victims’ personal information from being accessed by abusers.

Democratic lawmakers today contrasted harmful energy legislation passed by Republicans with recent findings on the attitudes of Ohioans on renewable energy. State Reps. Dan Ramos (D-Lorain), Michael Ashford (D-Toledo) and Mike Foley (D-Cleveland) pointed to energy policies such as Senate Bill 310, which contradict the attitudes of Ohioans, environmental experts and business leaders on the need for renewable energy in Ohio.

A recent bipartisan poll released by Re-AMP, a Midwest collaboration of environmental advocacy organizations, found that Ohioans strongly support renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, especially as methods of job creation. Yet, Gov. Kasich and Republican lawmakers passed SB 310 this year, which puts a two-year freeze on all renewable energy standards and threatens energy efficiency projects in Ohio.

“Many of the concerns we heard in committee on SB 310 are the same concerns we’re hearing from Ohioans today,” said Rep. Ashford. “Ohioans know that a commitment to renewable energy leads to job creation, energy savings and a safe environment in the future. Ohio should not be catering to special interests at the cost of good jobs and energy savings.”

The renewable energy standards, passed with support from both parties in 2008, created more than 3,200 jobs in Ohio and saved Ohioans $1.3 billion over the course of four years. The freeze on these standards is estimated to cost Ohioans $4 billion in energy savings and 4,000 jobs in renewable energy fields. Despite the opposition of 73 companies and organizations in Ohio to the freeze, the legislature passed SB 310 essentially

State Reps. Mike Foley (D-Cleveland) and Robert F. Hagan (D-Youngstown) held a press conference today outlining proposed legislation to protect Ohio students and taxpayer dollars. The lawmakers’ bill would prohibit for-profit public charter schools from using state funds for lobbying purposes or public relations activities.

Currently, for-profit charter schools, which received over $1 billion from the state last year, can use this state funding to pay for lobbying events, consulting costs and public relations campaigns. The bill proposed by the Democratic legislators today would prevent public charter schools from using state funding for these purposes.

“As stewards of taxpayer dollars, it is our responsibility as legislators to ensure that state funding is spent in a responsible manner,” said Rep. Foley. “The funding is sent to public schools for the purpose of educating Ohio students, not for lobbying luncheons or television commercials. While charter schools are certainly welcome to lobby legislators or organize supporters with outside funds, they should not subsidize these activities with tax dollars meant for students and teachers.”

The Democratic lawmakers also highlighted the low performance of for-profit charter schools in Ohio, pointing to recent school report card data that shows 62 percent of charter schools’ report card grades are a “D” or “F” according to an analysis by the policy think-tank Innovation Ohio. The state has closed several public charter schools in recent months due to underperformance and mismanagement.

“These public charter schools should me focusing more on providing a high-quality education to their students and less on generating revenue,” said Rep. Hagan. “If these for-profit charter schools were truly effective at teaching our kids, they wouldn’t need to spend money on advert

COLUMBUS– State Reps. Robert F. Hagan (D-Youngstown) and Nicholas J. Celebrezze (D-Parma), legislative members of the state’s Correctional Institution Inspection Committee, today released the following joint statement on Thursday night’s escape of three prisoners from the Allen County Correctional Facility:

 “The escape of three prisoners last night raises serious safety and procedural concerns regarding the administration of Ohio’s correctional facilities. Unfortunately, Thursday’s incident is just the most recent example in a troubling trend of prison mismanagement that ranges from overcrowding to pest-infested food, understaffing, general inmate unrest and jailbreaks. It is becoming clear that our state’s corrections department is failing to live up to safety and security standards expected by the general public.”

House Democratic Leader Tracy Maxwell Heard (D-Columbus) sent a letter today to Attorney General (AG) Mike DeWine requesting representation from the AG’s office or approved outside counsel for Democratic members seeking to intervene in the NAACP v. Husted early voting case. 

Today, Ohio House Democratic Women’s Caucus Chair and State Rep. Nickie J. Antonio (D-Lakewood) and State Rep. Connie Pillich (D-Montgomery) reflected on and celebrated national Women’s Equality Day.