A full plate for state legislators
COLUMBUS
Republican leaders of the Ohio House and Senate have offered plenty of hints on bills they want to move before the end of the year.
The lame duck session was off and flying in earnest this week, as committees offered further indications of action to come.
Municipal income tax reform is on the wish list, though backers still have to convince critics that adopting uniform filing forms and rules won’t pull needed tax dollars away from local coffers.
A bill to hide the names of compounding pharmacies that sell lethal injection drugs to the state also looks to be on a fast track, with its introduction and first hearing within a few days of each other.
There’s also the regulation of red light cameras, gun-related law changes, increased chatter about redistricting reform, a long-shot House vote on the Heartbeat Bill and who-knows-what-else.
That’s not even mentioning the Christmas Tree that is the mid-biennium budget legislation that initially was focused on fracking and agricultural issues and now includes telecom policy and other law changes.
A lot can happen between now and five weeks or so that this General Assembly is in session.
While there may not be legislation before next year on local government funding, you should keep an ear on what the GOP leaders of the House and Senate are saying about that issue.
State funding
Rep. Ron Amstutz, R-Wooster, current chairman of the House Finance Committee and Speaker Pro Tem- select for the coming term, broached the subject during a state budget preview earlier this month, saying he’s interested in seeing what can be done to help schools and local governments hit by funding cuts in recent years.
“Although on the average things look good, the smaller entities in particular are facing stress...,” Amstutz said. “The state has a part in that stress continuing for them. ... I think there’s undone work yet with our local smaller partners.”
He added, “I think they need to share in our recovery, yeah, absolutely. I think it will be a natural part of the budget process.”
Senate President Keith Faber, R- Celina, offered comparable thoughts last week when asked about the issue by reporters.
“Smaller governments, townships in particular, do not have the tax capacity that some of their city and county brethren have,” he said. “They also don’t participate in the casino receipts. So if I were going to pick the level of government that’s struggling fiscally right now the most, I think townships have a very strong argument that they should be at the head seat at the table. And because of that, I’m looking at ways to try to alleviate some of that problem.”
Faber called himself a “huge supporter of township government.”
And on the timing of such changes? Faber offered, “If I could find a solution in lame duck, I think that some of them have issues that are becoming serious enough that I’d like to see if we could fix it sooner. Whether that’s feasible in five weeks is a different question.”
Marc Kovac is The Vindicator’s Statehouse correspondent. Email him at mkovac@dixcom.com or on Twitter at OhioCapitalBlog.