State OKs $4M for highway patrol costs for GOP convention

COLUMBUS — The state Controlling Board agreed Monday to increase spending authority for the Ohio Department of Public Safety by more than $4 million, in part to cover the costs of assistance to be provided by the State Highway Patrol during next week’s Republican National Convention in Cleveland.

The affected fund is used for “off-highway criminal investigations, dignitary protection, assistance to agencies during civil unrest and security at state owned and/or leased facilities,” according to documents.

Lt. Robert Sellers, a spokesman for the State Highway Patrol, declined to offer specifics on the number of troopers who may help out during the convention but did say that they “will be used to supplement and support the Cleveland Police Department to maintain a safe environment.”

The patrol also will send Ohio troopers to Washington, D.C., to help with the presidential inauguration. State officials expect to be reimbursed for the costs.

Additionally, lawmakers signed off on a $62,000 transfer that will be used by the patrol to provide security services during the Ohio State Fair, which starts in a couple of weeks.

In other business, the Controlling Board OK’d spending authority by the secretary of state’s office totaling $440,000 as part of efforts to register eligible Ohioans to vote.

The move paves the way for an earlier announced initiative, backed by a grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts and in partnership with the Electronic Registration Information Center, to send postcards to residents who are eligible to vote but not registered.