Republican News

The Ohio House of Representatives today passed Amended Substitute Senate Bill 21, legislation to revise the requirements for reading teachers under the Third-Grade Reading Guarantee.

Today the Ohio House of Representatives passed House Bill 90, which establishes harsher penalties for owners, managers or employees of kennels and rescue shelters who commit animal cruelty. The bill, which was sponsored by State Representatives Cheryl Grossman (R-Grove City) and Ron Gerberry (D-Austintown) is commonly referred to as “Nitro’s Law.”

Today the Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives, William G. Batchelder (R-Medina), applauded the passage of Senate Bill 26 through the House. The bill is a companion bill to H.B. 16, which was passed in March. The legislation prevents referees, coaches and other volunteers from being criminally prosecuted for not following guidelines in the event of a head injury during youth athletic events, making a technical change to a bill passed in the 129th General Assembly.

State Representatives Kirk Schuring (R-Canton) and Anne Gonzales (R-Westerville) have announced that the Ohio House of Representatives today passed House Bill 112, legislation to allow taxpayers to contribute a portion of their income tax refunds to the Ohio Breast and Cervical Cancer Project.

Speaker of the Ohio House William G. Batchelder (R-Medina) and State Representative Terry Johnson (R-McDermott) today were joined by members of the House veterans caucus in demanding that veterans’ disability benefits be administered by Washington in a significantly more timely fashion, an issue that has continued to worsen over the past several years.

State Representatives Mike Dovilla (R-Berea) was joined by Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel at a press conference today to unveil legislation seeking to establish “Open Ohio,” a state government expenditure database showing taxpayers exactly where their money is being spent.

A Chief Executive Magazine survey of CEOs about the best states in which to do business has revealed that Ohio is the most improved state, with a jump of 13 spots from 35 in 2012 to 22 in 2013. In 2010, Ohio was ranked number 44 in terms of business climate.

As a person who has been involved in a family-run business for much of my life, I know how important it is for businesses to keep up with changing regulatory requirements. While I firmly believe that regulations should be limited and easy to understand, at the same time business must adapt in order to remain in compliance when things do change.

State Representative Stephanie Kunze (R-Hilliard) attended Governor Kasich’s executive signing of Substitute House Bill 3. The legislation, which was jointly sponsored by Rep. Kunze and Rep. Barbara Sears (R-Monclova Twp.), gives the State of Ohio the authority to regulate health insurance navigators.