43
Dems unveil list of priorities
By Marc Kovac
COLUMBUS
Democrats in the Ohio House have unveiled a list of their legislative priorities for the session in a document they’re calling a “Compact with the Middle Class.”
That document outlines 10 priorities, including defeating Senate Bill 5, creating and retaining good-paying jobs and protecting consumers and homeowners.
“Gov. [John] Kasich and the Republican-led Legislature are taking our state in the wrong direction,” said Minority Leader Armond Budish, a Democrat from the Cleveland area. “Instead of focusing on creating jobs and economic opportunity for all, workers’ rights are being stripped away, and the keys to Ohio’s treasuries are being turned over to a shadowy new group of out-of-state interests who are not accountable to Ohio’s taxpayers.”
Democrats announced the priorities during a press conference Monday at the Statehouse on the eve of Kasich’s first State of the State address, an annual speech typically used by the state’s chief executive to outline his plans for the year.
Democrats are in the minority in the House and Senate, with little control over which bills are moved.
Still, Budish and other minority leaders outlined the principles that will guide them during the legislative session, including controlling college-tuition costs, ensuring affordable health care for all Ohioans and protecting the states assets and natural resources.
The latter includes the Ohio Turnpike and other assets being considered by Republicans for privatization.
“This compact protects and promotes Ohio’s middle class,” Budish said. “And it moves us forward, not backward. We cannot turn our backs on the progress we’ve been making, and we cannot afford to turn our backs on our responsibility to serve all Ohioans.”