70-mph limit gains speed at Statehouse
Ohio House panel passes bill after removing left–lane restrictions
By Jim Siegel
Interstate speed limits in Ohio would increase to 70 mph under a bill that a House committee passed last night with bipartisan support.
But part of the bill that would have limited the use of the left-hand lanes to drivers exiting or passing slower vehicles was stripped out of the bill before passage. The State Highway Patrol had expressed concern about how that provision would be enforced.
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/16/70-mph-limit-gains-speed.html
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/16/70-mph-limit-gains-speed.html
Israeli official visiting Statehouse expresses concerns on Iran’s nuclear efforts
More sanctions needed, he tells Ohio lawmakers
By Pat Holmes
The vice prime minister of Israel sought to foster relations between his country and the state of Ohio yesterday afternoon during a speech in the House chambers.
In his address to a joint special session of the General Assembly, Silvan Shalom, 53, wasted no time discussing Israel’s relations with Iran and his stance on Iran’s intentions to develop nuclear weapons.
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/16/israeli-official-critical-of-irans-nuclear-efforts.html
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/16/israeli-official-critical-of-irans-nuclear-efforts.html
Revised, bipartisan election bill sought
GOP senators halt repeal of 2011 law to talk with Democrats
By Jim Siegel
Hoping to find a bipartisan agreement, Senate Republicans yesterday delayed an effort to repeal an overhaul of election laws that Democrats are challenging on the November ballot.
Sen. Bill Coley, R-Middletown, who is sponsoring the repeal of House Bill 194, said during a committee hearing: “The time has come to hit the reset button. ... Clearly, some issues should be revisited.”
Republicans hope to repeal the bill, effectively ending the November referendum, and then pass a new, more-limited, bipartisan election law in time to affect the November election. Some, including Secretary of State Jon Husted, have asked that House Bill 194 be repealed to avoid confusion in November, when Ohioans will be voting under one set of laws while listening to a public debate over a different set.
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/16/revised-bipartisan-election-bill-sought.html
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/16/revised-bipartisan-election-bill-sought.html
Amendment to Ohio bill would ban physician assistants from inserting IUDs
Published: Wednesday, February 15, 2012, 6:00 PM Updated: Thursday, February 16, 2012, 12:44 AM
A last-minute amendment from State Rep. Lynn Wachtmann, chairman of the House Health and Aging Committee, bans physician assistants from inserting or removing intrauterine devices, or IUDs, a common form of birth control. Currently, they are allowed to do so.
Slipped into the bill minutes before the committee approved the bill on a party-line vote, the chairman's amendment was not the subject of any testimony during the half-dozen hearings on the legislation. Wachtmann told The Plain Dealer he included the provision because of his belief that a fertilized egg is a human life. IUDs prevent pregnancies by not allowing fertilized eggs to implant in the uterus.
http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2012/02/physician_assistants_would_be.html
Santorum, leading in Ohio in latest poll, heading to Akron for GOP event
By Stephanie Warsmith
Beacon Journal staff writer
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published: February 16, 2012 - 12:00 AM
He won Republican races in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri barely a week ago.
He’s leading in the latest poll in Ohio.
And now Rick Santorum has sold out the Summit County Republican Party’s Lincoln Day Dinner that will be held Saturday night in Akron.
The party cut off reservations earlier this week with a record number of tickets sold — more than 1,300. A waiting list contained more than 120 names as of Wednesday evening.
http://www.ohio.com/news/local/santorum-leading-in-ohio-in-latest-poll-heading-to-akron-for-gop-event-1.265121
http://www.ohio.com/news/local/santorum-leading-in-ohio-in-latest-poll-heading-to-akron-for-gop-event-1.265121
Bridey Matheney of Bainbridge temporarily fills 98 District Ohio House seat
Published: Thursday, February 16, 2012, 8:01 AM
COLUMBUS: In a stopgap measure to fill the 98th District Ohio House seat, Mary Brigid “Bridey” Matheney was temporarily appointed to the position.
Matheney, of Bainbridge, is an assistant Geauga County prosecutor, a position she has held since 2006. She was selected by the House Republican Caucus to take the seat vacated by Richard Hollington, who left at the end of 2011 to become the mayor of Hunting Valley.
http://www.cleveland.com/west-geauga/index.ssf/2012/02/bridey_matheney_of_bainbridge.html
http://www.cleveland.com/west-geauga/index.ssf/2012/02/bridey_matheney_of_bainbridge.html
Senate Delays HB194 Repeal Plans
Hannah Report 2/15/12
Senate Republicans backed off Wednesday from quick passage of a bill to repeal election-law changes in HB194 (Mecklenborg-Blessing), which is now on hold for a November referendum.
The Senate Government Oversight and Reform Committee initially scheduled SB295 for all testimony and a vote during a single hearing Wednesday. But the committee recessed and later adjourned after hearing from Sen. Bill Coley (R-West Chester), the bill sponsor and committee chairman, and the League of Women Voters. http://www.hannah.com/DesktopDefaultPublic.aspx?type=hns&id=188584
Senate Republicans backed off Wednesday from quick passage of a bill to repeal election-law changes in HB194 (Mecklenborg-Blessing), which is now on hold for a November referendum.
The Senate Government Oversight and Reform Committee initially scheduled SB295 for all testimony and a vote during a single hearing Wednesday. But the committee recessed and later adjourned after hearing from Sen. Bill Coley (R-West Chester), the bill sponsor and committee chairman, and the League of Women Voters. http://www.hannah.com/DesktopDefaultPublic.aspx?type=hns&id=188584
In Joint Assembly Address, Top Israeli Official Calls For Ongoing Trade, ‘Much Tougher' Response To Iran
Israeli Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom told a rare joint session of the legislature Wednesday that his country is increasingly concerned about threats from Iran and other Middle East regime developments but remains committed to strong trade with Ohio and the United States.
Fresh off a meeting with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon the day before, Mr. Shalom reiterated his nation's leeriness of the aims of Iran, which on Wednesday claimed advancements in its nuclear program.
And while warning that recent regime changes in the region amount to an "Islamic Winter" versus the "Arab Spring," as described by the media, because of the emergence of extremists groups, he said Israel remains a safe destination for travelers to the Holy Land.
A proposal to raise the speed limit on Ohio's interstate highways to 70 miles per hour got the go-ahead Wednesday from members of the House Transportation, Public Safety & Homeland Security Committee.
The bill (HB 395
Chairman Rep. Courtney Combs (R-Hamilton) said he believed there was considerable support among the general public for upping the speed limit.
He distributed to members a recent poll by Quinnipiac University that found 53% of respondents in Ohio support the proposed 70 mph limit, while only 31% think it should be lower, and 13% want it set higher.
A Senate plan to quickly repeal a controversial election law hit a slow patch Wednesday when majority Republicans said they would provide more time for Democrats to consider the issue.
The bill (SB 295 ) was set for a committee vote with floor action eyed for later in the day, but the plans were shelved after questions about the proposal - and alternate election law changes - were raised. The idea had previously received a cool response from Speaker Bill Batchelder (R-Medina) even though his Republican colleagues in the Senate thought he was on board.
Sen. Bill Coley (R-Middletown) chair of the Government Oversight Committee, told the panel the repeal would allow lawmakers to hit the "reset button" on the law (HB 194 ) that is now stayed because of a referendum process. He said Senate Republicans are looking to restore certain non-controversial pieces of that law in time for the 2012 vote but that those changes will likely be included in a separate measure that should draw support from Democrats and Republicans.
The House took action on a dozen measures Wednesday during a lengthy session that began later than usual due to an address from an Israeli official and ended with a debate over a federal contraception insurance policy.
The substantive portion of the session, the last scheduled until March 13 - a week after the primary elections, saw the House take approve four measures that are now headed to Gov. John Kasich's desk.
Among those was the chamber's sign-off on a conference committee report of a measure aimed at cracking down on telecommunications fraud (SB 223 ). The bill, backed by Attorney General Mike DeWine, was amended in Tuesday's conference to remove House-added language on penalty enhancement.
The House wrapped up work on three measures by concurring in Senate amendments on proposals that:
· Expand and update witness intimidation laws (HB 20 ).
· Broaden the definition of "agriculture" and make numerous other agriculture law-related changes (HB 276 ).
· Designate March as Macular Degeneration Awareness Month (HB 148 ).
No comments:
Post a Comment