Panel will study ways to help ailing auto industry

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Rep. Robert F. Hagan, D-Youngstown. (AP Photo/Larry Phillips)

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Capri Cafaro

By Marc Kovac

Two area legislators are on the select committee on the changing auto industry.

COLUMBUS — A newly formed state-lawmaker panel studying ways to help the ailing automobile industry will kick off a series of public meetings next week.

The Joint Select Committee on the Impact of the Changing Automobile Industry in Ohio will have its first session Monday at the University of Toledo.

Other sessions are set for:

- Aug. 18 at Lorain County Community College.

- Aug. 21 at Kent State University’s Trumbull County campus.

- Aug. 25 at Sinclair Community College in Dayton.

- Sept. 8 at North Central State College in Mansfield.

Committee members include Reps. Matt Lundy, a Democrat from Elyria; Bob Hagan, a Democrat from Youngstown; and Barbara Sears, a Republican from Sylvania; and Sens. Mark Wagoner, a Republican from Toledo; Steve Buehrer, a Republican from Delta; and Capri Cafaro, a Democrat from Hubbard Township.

“This is a time of dramatic change in the U.S. auto industry, and this select committee needs to hear from citizens and industry leaders about how these changes will affect Ohio,” Lundy said in a released statement. “The jobs created by all aspects of the auto industry are vitally important to Ohio, and state government must respond quickly to ensure that our laws reflect the new realities.”

The Republican-controlled Ohio Senate and Democrat-controlled Ohio House created the committee before breaking for the summer recess.

Its official charge is to “study the automobile industry in Ohio as it relates to manufacturers, suppliers, dealers, and consumers, including franchise laws, consumer protection issues, and warranties and shall make recommendations concerning Ohio’s law regulating and supporting the automobile industry.”

The committee is to report its findings to the governor and full General Assembly by the end of September.