Democratic News

State Representative Dan Ramos (D-Lorain) issued the following statement regarding last-minute legislative approval of the governor’s proposal to restructure the Youngstown City School system which was included in House Bill 70, a bill originally designed to make Community Learning Centers an official state education model:

Democratic lawmakers today announced new legislation to eliminate the sales tax on feminine hygiene products such as tampons, pads, menstrual cups and sanitary belts. The sales tax on essential women’s healthcare items, also known as the “Pink Tax,” disproportionately affects women who already face economic hurdles given Ohio’s gender-based wage gap.

“Women only earn 77 percent compared to their male counterparts in Ohio, but are forced to spend a significant amount of their wages on these essential healthcare products,” said Representative Emilia Sykes (D-Akron). “The “Pink Tax” is an additional burden placed on women that intensifies the gender wage gap and makes preventative healthcare for women more expensive.”

The average woman has her period for multiple days a month, every month, over the course of 30 to 40-years. Tampons alone cost women an average of $1,773 over a lifetime, according to a recent breakdown of essential feminine hygiene costs. Lawmakers say levying a sales tax on feminine hygiene products places an additional financial burden on Ohioans already at an economic disadvantage. 

“Essential feminine hygiene products are a necessity, not a luxury,” said Representative Greta Johnson (D-Akron). “Women have to fight to earn equal pay for equal work and the ‘Pink Tax’ is yet another hurdle that we must overcome.”

Without proper feminine hygiene products such as tampons and pads, women are at risk of developing health complications such as vaginal infection, disease, and even infertility. The medicine prescribed to treat these problems is tax exempt, but the products that can prevent them are not.

“No one should face extra economic challenges simply because of their gender,” Rep. Kevin L. Boyce (D-Columbus). &ld

While Ohioans were sleeping, House Democratic lawmakers were offering two amendments on the House floor late Thursday and early Friday that would have prohibited the sale, display, possession or distribution of Confederate memorabilia at county and independent fairs, following a similar rule instituted by the Ohio State Fair in 2015. The motions came during floor debate on House Bill 665, which made several other changes to laws on local and county fairs. The U.S. Marines, U.S. Navy and NASCAR recently announced similar bans on Confederate memorabilia. Republicans rejected the amendments largely along party lines, voting instead to protect the sale of the Confederate flag. 

Senate Bill 63, which codifies the state’s online voter registration system already in place, was scheduled for a vote committee today in the Senate, before last minute changes ensured the bill would not be voted on today. This delay virtually guarantees that passage of legislation to codify online voter registration in Ohio will not happen before the 2015 general election.

State Rep. Kathleen Clyde (D-Kent) issued the following statement today in response to the delays in accepting new online voter registrations:

“Ohio’s online registration system is already built and in place, but it only accepts registration updates, not new registrations. Treating new voter registrations differently than voter registration updates is not authorized in Ohio law. We have only one set of requirements for both new registrations and registration updates. I have been urging Secretary Husted to switch on full online voter registration-- which he is permitted to do --for the past 18 months. With the legislature moving at such a slow pace, I again urge him to stop pretending there is any barrier to allowing online voter registration for all Ohioans.

Online registration would undoubtedly encourage more people to register for the first time and participate in elections. I urge Secretary Husted to switch on full online voter registration as soon as possible so that any difficulties with the larger influx of users may be worked out well in advance of the next major election. The many benefits of switching on full online voter registration will include immediate cost savings to our counties and easier access to the ballot box.”

In the last 18 months, the number of states, including the District of Columbia, that allow or have passed online voter registration has risen to 29. Ohio’s system is already in place, making it possible the state could be the 30^th to adopt this important practice.

State Reps. Kent Smith (D-Euclid) and Sarah LaTourette (R-Bainbridge) today announced a bi-partisan effort to create jobs and drive economic growth by making Ohio a destination for the recording industry. The Ohio Sound Recording Investor Tax Credit, also known as OhioSounds, will work to attract more of the almost $7 billion in annual music industry revenue to the state. 

“Ohio is the birthplace of legendary musicians, unforgettable songs and ‘Rock N’ Roll’,” said Rep. Smith. “OhioSounds honors our proud legacy and works to cultivate a winning model moving forward. Ohio can become a destination for musicians, producers and industry leaders who will create jobs and strengthen our local economies. The OhioSounds tax credit will solidify our commitment to Ohio’s musical heritage and create new music that will provide the soundtrack to our lives.”

“Much like the Ohio film tax credit, this legislation seeks to incentivize investment in Ohio and create jobs in a dynamic industry,” Representative LaTourette stated. “Northeast Ohio has seen quite an investment in response to the film tax credit, with major motion pictures filmed on the streets of Cleveland and throughout our region. Given our history as the birthplace of Rock n’ Roll, it just makes sense to extend that incentive to the music industry and embrace our heritage as musical innovators.”

COLUMBUS—Rep. Stephanie Howse (D-Cleveland) today applauded the House concurrence of House Bill (HB) 11, her bill to improve prenatal and maternal health outcomes. This Democratic priority legislation now moves to the governor’s desk for his signature.

Ranking Democratic member on the House Education Committee, State Rep. Teresa Fedor (D-Toledo) today issued the following statement in response to findings of a review launched by The Ohio Council of Community Schools after allegations the Ohio Virtual Academy failed to withdraw hundreds of chronically truant students to pad its rolls.

“The detailed information my office received demands a thorough investigation and I do not feel an objective review was conducted. As the sponsor of Ohio Virtual Academy and recipient of three percent of its operating budget, the Ohio Council of Community Schools has a conflict of interest. I do not have confidence in a report conducted by its sponsor. I eagerly await the results of Ohio Auditor of State Dave Yost’s inspection.”

This afternoon, Auditor Dave Yost held a press conference addressing a three-year audit review of inflated attendance at a Kids County Inc. of Dayton sponsored charter school. The auditor says officials at the now-closed school rigged attendance data by some 50 percent, defrauding the state’s taxpayers of $1.1 million.  

State Rep. Kathleen Clyde (D-Kent) sent a letter today to Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted urging him to implement online voter registration without further delay and to support House Bill 181 to provide automatic voter registration for any Ohioan who wants it.  

The Ohio Legislative Black Caucus (OLBC) and the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) announced today $2.7 million in funding to expand the 2015 youth employment program to include 14- and 15-year-olds. This will give additional teens the opportunity to gain work experience and earn a paycheck.

“Youth employment programs provide paid work experience to low-income teens,” said ODJFS Director Cynthia C. Dungey. “Through these programs, young men and women gain confidence, explore careers and build their resumes.”

“We are pleased to partner on this funded initiative. This employment initiative is one of the key elements of OLBC’s action agenda. Investing in our 14- and 15-years old while giving them work experience is critical at a time when our state is filled with teen suicide, poverty and crime reduction efforts,” said Ohio State Representative Alicia Reece, who held a press conference in Hamilton County announcing the initiative with clergy and community leaders today.

ODJFS will provide additional funding to well-established programs in Cuyahoga, Franklin, Hamilton and Montgomery counties. These programs have a proven history of serving 14- and 15-year-olds.

“I’m proud to see a partnership with business owners and community leaders to mentor and train fourteen and fifteen year-olds during summer work employment, which is critical to youth development,” said Rep. Christi Kuhns of Cincinnati. 

Ohio House Democratic Leader Fred Strahorn (D-Dayton) today announced state Rep. Kent Smith (D-Euclid) has been named policy chair for the House Democratic Caucus in 2018.

Smith, first elected to serve the 8^th House District in 2014, will help shape the policy agenda for the caucus in 2018, working with members and organizations to research and draft legislation that furthers the caucus priorities of middle-class job growth, economic stability for working families and increased opportunities for working people to get ahead in the Buckeye State.

“Kent is smart, thorough, and will work hard to maintain a deep understanding of how the policies coming out of the Statehouse impact people’s quality of life,” said Strahorn. “Whether you’re a single parent working two jobs, the head of a family of five or a business owner looking to expand, we want you to be able to meet your basic needs and have enough left over to plan for a brighter future. Kent gets that.”

Smith graduated from Miami University and earned his Master of Science in Urban Studies from Cleveland State University in 2001. His Master’s Degree thesis, written in 2001, was about the emerging threat of Predatory Lending and the SubPrime Market. He also co-authored the first Predatory Lending Report by Policy Matters Ohio in 2002.  Following his Master’s Degree studies, he was a PhD student at Cleveland State University in Economic Development.

“The work that we have been doing at the Statehouse to increase wages, grow our economy and let families better plan for the future is fundamental to the progress and economic stability of our state,” said Smith. “We need to take a different approach in Ohio.  The current policies have not led to income growth for Ohio's working families.  I look forward to working with my Democratic colleagues to create economic opportunities for everyday Ohio

In response to reports that ECOT’s sponsor is officially cutting ties with the online charter school, state Rep. Teresa Fedor (D-Toledo), the lead Democrat on the House Education Committee, issued the following statement:

“What a relief! Finally, Education officials are standing up for our children and taxpayers. The unchecked charter school experiment has gone on long enough. With lessons learned, we must review the real successes and failures of this experiment. It is time for real oversight and real penalties for charter schools that are not living up to their charters. It’s clear, charter schools must be held to the same standards and requirements that are placed on Ohio’s public schools. Let’s create a real oversight effort immediately.”

House Democrats today voted against House Bill 425, a GOP-backed bill that would modify concealed carry laws, eliminating the requirement for licensees to promptly notify law enforcement of their permit and if they are carrying. The bill also eliminates penalties for failure to notify, which opponents say will lead to confusion and potentially dangerous escalation—especially for people of color.

State Reps. John Patterson (D-Jefferson) and Michael Sheehy (D-Oregon) recently announced the introduction of House Bill (HB) 460, legislation to exempt riparian buffers from property taxes in an effort to encourage more landowners in the western basin of Lake Erie to install these agricultural barriers, known for filtering nutrients that cause harmful algal blooms.

“Extensive research has proven that riparian buffers are effective filters for nutrients, including nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, potassium, sulfur and magnesium,” said Patterson. “Excessive levels of nitrogen and phosphorus are of particular concern in the nation’s streams and lakes due to their ability to cause harmful algal blooms. Understanding the tight profit margins associated with farming, removing land from agricultural production is not financially possible for most farmers in Ohio. By removing the tax burden, we hope HB 460 will enable landowners to help address Lake Erie water quality issues.”

House Minority Leader Emilia Strong Sykes (D-Akron) today issued a statement as the Ohio House passed House Bill (HB) 481, which would distribute $350 million in federal CARES Act funds to aid coronavirus response in Ohio communities.

COLUMBUS—Today, House Minority Leader Emilia Strong Sykes (D-Akron) released the following statement about the unexpected resignation of Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton:

In recent years, we have seen divisions emerge in our public debate. Partisan rancor spills from the halls of government to our homes, our classrooms and on our social media. We see demonstrations of hate in small towns and big cities and read profiles of self-proclaimed white nationalists in our newspapers. While this division reveals the many imperfections of America, like Dr. King, I do not believe it defines us.

As Martin Luther King, Jr. day nears, Ohio State Rep. Alicia Reece (D-Cincinnati) today issued the following statement on Ohio’s Voter Purge, or automatic cancellation of taxpayers’ voting registration, now being heard by the U.S. Supreme Court:

“Taxpayers deserve answers as to why their most fundamental freedom, the right to vote, can be automatically cancelled by politicians in Columbus. No other American privilege or right faces as little protection in Ohio as voting.

“I believe we can and should move past these constant assaults on our constitutional freedoms and guarantees by taking the lead, at the state level, to permanently enshrine a voter’s rights into state constitutions across our nation.”

State Reps. Teresa Fedor (D-Toledo) and Tavia Galonski (D-Akron) today hosted the Ninth Annual Human Trafficking Awareness Day at the Ohio Statehouse, as lawmakers, law enforcement officials, and hundreds of advocates and survivors from across the state gathered to raise awareness and discuss ways to further combat human trafficking in Ohio. 

State Rep. Jack Cera (D-Bellaire) and state Sen. Vernon Sykes (D-Akron), the two Democratic designees on the Ohio legislature’s redistricting working group, issued the following statement in response to today’s Republican congressional gerrymandering presentation to House and Senate committees:

“We are committed to achieving real reform and want to make sure that our state’s congressional districts are fair and truly representative of Ohioans. We want any congressional redistricting plan to end partisan gerrymandering.

“Unfortunately, the plan that Senator Huffman and Representative Schuring presented today doesn’t achieve that. In fact, in some ways, it is worse than our current system, as it eliminates the governor’s veto power and removes the citizen referendum from the legislative process.

“Any plan that does not include strict criteria to prevent gerrymandering or does not ensure bipartisanship weakens representation in Ohio.

“We are willing to continue discussions in good faith and hope a bipartisan plan that puts an end to gerrymandering is still possible.”

State Reps. Dan Ramos (D-Lorain) and John Boccieri (D-Poland) today renewed their call for their legislation to mandate the use of domestic steel in schools amid state reports showing that ten percent of school drinking water fixtures had elevated levels of lead last year. The state testing of school water fountains was included in legislation that passed in the wake of the lead contamination crisis in Sebring last year. Boccieri and Ramos introduced House Bill 57 soon after the crisis to require that all schools receiving public funding use American steel in school construction and renovations.

“This problem is even more widespread that we could have imagined. Our children are being put in harm’s way by importing cheaply made foreign goods, containing dangerous chemicals.  We have to do something right away to protect our kids,” said Ramos.

State reports showed that over 1,400 out of 14,000 Ohio school drinking water fixtures contained lead levels above the federal limit. School districts recently completed their voluntary testing with funding from the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC). So far, the OFCC has released $500,000 for testing and drinking fountain or faucet replacement. Approximately half of the fixtures found to be contaminated have been replaced, while the rest have been shut off or are otherwise unused.

“Any number of contaminated fixtures in our schools presenting health risks to young students means we still have a problem,” said Boccieri. “We need to do more to eliminate lead contamination and protect the safety of our kids. Requiring the use of safe, American steel in our school infrastructure is one way to start getting there.”

China’s illegal over-subsidizing of their steel industry has given it a competitive advantage in markets, but has also resulted in a

COLUMBUS— Ohio Legislative Black Caucus (OLBC) President State Rep. Stephanie Howse (D-Cleveland) today issued a statement in response to state Senator Steven Huffman’s (R-Tipp City) being fired from his job as an emergency room physician at Upper Valley Medical Center.

Ohio House Democratic Leader Fred Strahorn (D-Dayton) and Democratic Assistant Whip Brigid Kelly (D-Cincinnati) issued the following joint statement today in response to six proposed anti-worker state constitutional amendments:

“Taxpayers expect us to work together to increase opportunity and create jobs with wages and benefits that can sustain a family. These anti-worker, anti-family restrictions will do the exact opposite. Dangerous, divisive bills like these will only push our economy further out of balance and make people more poor and less safe on the job.”

The restrictions, introduced by state Rep. John Becker (R- Union Township), range from Right-to-Work-is-Wrong for public and private sector workers to outlawing project labor agreements, or terms and conditions of construction projects that encourage careers in the skilled trades and ensure projects are completed on time and under budget.

Over 2 million Ohio taxpayers overwhelmingly rejected similar attacks on working people in 2011, handing the Republican legislature a 62 to 38-percent defeat at the ballot box with a citizen-led repeal of Senate Bill 5.

COLUMBUS— Ohio Legislative Black Caucus (OLBC) President State Rep. Stephanie Howse (D-Cleveland) today issued a statement in response to state Senator Steven Huffman’s (R-Tipp City) question Tuesday about whether “colored” people get COVID-19 from not washing their hands as much.

State Rep. Emilia Sykes (D-Akron) today announced the release of $190,790 in state funding for Department of Developmental Disabilities (DODD) community housing purchases and renovations in Summit County.

“Families in Summit County depend on services like community homes to ensure loved ones are able to live safely, with some level of independence,” said Sykes. “By helping purchase and improve community residences we are able to offer people with developmental disabilities access to a safe and affordable home.”

The DODD Community Capital Assistance program helps purchase and renovate homes used to provide community living space for those with disabilities. Summit County offers a variety community housing including in-home support, shared living, adult family living and foster care living.

State Rep. Jack Cera (D-Bellaire) today responded to the state inspector general’s latest report from an ongoing investigation into corrupt activity at the Department of Administrative Services (DAS).

“Today’s report confirms what many have known for quite some time: powerful public officials at the highest levels of state government have misused the system and taxpayer dollars to benefit political insiders and friends. This is just the latest report of wrongdoing in what is quickly becoming a pattern of corrupt activity,” said Cera. “Ultimately, reviewing this activity and making recommendations on changing the process is not enough. Nobody is above the law. The scope of the investigation should reflect this and hold individuals accountable.”

Cera, a State Controlling Board member tasked with oversight of state spending, sought additional information from Inspector General Meyer in June of this year, after news reports showed DAS was steering hundreds of millions of dollars in no-bid, taxpayer-funded state contracts to a few select IT firms for consulting services.

Cera, also the lead Democrat on the House’s state budget committee, supported an amendment to the state budget to force additional oversight on hundreds of millions of dollars in no-bid handouts at DAS. The amendment passed both the House and Senate before Gov. John Kasich vetoed the added taxpayer safeguard in the final budget version.

State Rep. Beth Liston (D-Dublin) issued a statement today following the passage of House Bill 624,Republican legislation that would require the release of certain COVID-19 related data, which Liston says will make it more difficult for health departments to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

COLUMBUS— Ohio House Democrats, led by Minority Leader Emilia Strong Sykes (D-Akron), are acting swiftly to respond to the thousands of concerned voices being raised in cities and towns throughout Ohio by announcing today their preliminary legislative plans to combat police brutality. The proposed bills would prohibit profiling, tear gas, and the use of quotas by all law enforcement agencies, as well as call for the independent investigation of officer-involved shootings and the creation of databases to better track problematic behavior and employment history of law enforcement officers.

COLUMBUS—Today, Rep. Janine Boyd (D-Cleveland Heights) and fellow House Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to Gov. Mike DeWine urging him to ban the use of tear gas by all county, municipal and township police departments indefinitely. 

COLUMBUS—Ohio House Minority Leader Emilia Strong Sykes (D-Akron) today blasted House Republican lawmakers who passed an elections bill that does little to prepare the state’s Boards of Elections to safely conduct a presidential election amid the worst global pandemic in more than a century.