Vax bill back: A fourth hearing has been scheduled on Tuesday for House Bill 248, the bill that would prohibit employers from mandating workers be vaccinated and would require schools to notify parents of all the opportunities to exempt their kids from shots, among other changes. This time, opponents are scheduled to testify, after the last two hearings contained in-person and written testimony from dozens of proponents, including outlandish claims that the coronavirus vaccine contained properties that communicated with 5G cell towers and magnetized people’s bodies.
Larry’s turn: Now that proponents of expelling state Rep. Larry Householder have laid out their case to the Ohio House Rules and Reference Committee, the indicted Perry County Republican told Jessie Balmert of the Cincinnati Enquirer he plans to provide testimony in his defense on Tuesday. Householder didn’t respond Friday when asked whether he’ll appear in person before the committee or provide written testimony.
Oregon ouster: Those following the effort to expel Householder might be interested in this Oregon Public Broadcasting story about state Rep. Mike Nearman, the first person expelled from the Oregon Legislature. The 59-1 vote last week (with Nearman voting no) came after revelations that Nearman “allowed far-right demonstrators, some armed, into the locked state Capitol building as lawmakers met in a special session on Dec. 21,” OPB reported. Like Ohio, Oregon’s constitution has a provision for expelling a lawmaker for “disorderly” behavior.
Also on Tuesday: The legislative conference committee on the state’s two-year, $74.5 billion state budget is set to hold its first meeting at 1 p.m. at the Ohio Statehouse, according to a committee notice. House and Senate negotiators have until the end of the month to hammer out a final deal to send to Gov. Mike DeWine’s desk.
Worth a read: Susan Glaser looked at the consequences of Cedar Point’s bold move to increase starting pay to $20 an hour to fill its summer job openings and explored how the tourism industry throughout Ohio and beyond is facing the consequences of a rapid restart after more than a year of being nearly completely shut down.
Staying out…for now: Even though DeWine is drawing primary challenges from ex-U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci and other Republicans, the Ohio Republican Party is, so far, not getting involved in the race. State party spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said it’s up to the party’s state central committee to endorse candidates, and to date no one has filed a resolution to endorse the incumbent governor at the committee’s next meeting in September.
Money you can count on: In her latest Stimulus Watch report, Robin Goist used census data and the guidelines provided by the U.S. Treasury to estimate what some smaller communities will receive from the American Rescue Plan. That’s something that larger cities have known for more than a month.
Stroke bill passes: Legislation headed to DeWine would require state officials to develop guidelines for assessing stroke victims and transporting them to hospitals. Backers of Senate Bill 21, which passed the legislature without any opposition, say that, right now, stroke patients are often transported to the nearest hospital, regardless of whether that hospital is adequately equipped to treat severe strokes. That means that many stroke patients need to be transferred again to another hospital better prepared to treat them. Ohio already has a similar protocol in place for evaluating and transporting trauma patients.
Weekend coronavirus review: The federal government reported Friday that the number of people in Ohio who have died with COVID-19 increased by 70 to 20,091 in all; 46.5% of Ohioans have received at least a first dose of the vaccine, Laura Hancock reports. The weekend’s new case counts continued to be relatively low, with 385 on Saturday and 251 on Sunday.
Five things we learned from state Rep. Jennifer Gross’ May 13 financial disclosure to the Ohio Joint Legislative Ethics Committee. Gross is a Republican from the Cincinnati area.
1. She currently works, outside the legislature, for Medix Staffing Solutions Inc. as a nurse practitioner, where she reported earning $10,000 to $24,999. Last year she also earned $10,000 to $24,999 each on unemployment, at IMA Evaluations of Ohio and at Optavia LLC, where she was a health coach. She earned $1,000 to $9,999 last year as a nurse practitioner for Tusk Enterprises LLC.
2. She’s 2nd vice commander for the American Legion Post 681.
3. She is licensed by the state as a registered nurse and certified nurse practitioner.
4. Gross, a freshman, didn’t report receiving any food, gifts or travel benefits for her role as a state legislator.
5. She reported a pension with the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System and an IRA, Roth IRA and 529 education savings account with USAA, though those accounts were transferred last year into other brokerage firms.
U.S. Rep. Bob Gibbs
“The inevitable comparison between the House and Senate plans is unavoidable. I welcome the comparison. I believe we both want to improve the funding of education to ensure that Ohio kids have more opportunities to achieve their potential.”
-State Sen. Matt Dolan, who chairs the Senate’s finance committee, in an opinion piece for cleveland.com about the differences between the House and Senate versions of the school funding overhaul in the budget.
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