September 27

State needs more rules governing plane use by officials, says auditor

by Marc Kovac | Capital Bureau Chief

Twinsburg Bulletin 9/27/12

Columbus -- The state has too many airplanes and too few rules for their use.

That's according to a new report by state Auditor Dave Yost, who launched the audit following news reports about plane use by Gov. John Kasich and at the request of Rep. Matt Lundy, D-Elyria.

The audit does not pinpoint any wrongdoing or issue findings for recovery, but only because there are no guidelines or rules for plane use by state officials. Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor and GOP House Speaker Bill Batchelder were named in the report -- Taylor for several trips from her home near the Canton airport and Batchelder to return to the Statehouse for a voting session following a private event in Youngstown. Both reimbursed the state, at a cost of about $1,000 for the flights.
http://www.twinsburgbulletin.com/news/article/5218307

Governor Signs Pension Reform Bills for Five Retirement Systems

Hannah Report 9/26/12

Lawmakers and retirement system leaders celebrated Wednesday as Gov. John Kasich signed five pension reform bills that were years in the making.

Senate President Tom Niehaus (R-New Richmond) and Minority Leader Eric Kearney (D-Cincinnati), sponsors of the legislation, cheered the bipartisan and near-unanimous passage of the bills earlier this month. (See The Hannah Report, 9/12/12.)

"We both agreed from the beginning that pension reform was not a partisan issue," Niehaus said.
http://www.hannah.com/DesktopDefaultPublic.aspx?type=hns&id=190685