December 20

Updated: 5:36 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012 | Posted: 5:36 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012

Gov., Ohio lawmakers don't rule out ballot push

By JULIE CARR SMYTH

The Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio —

Republican Gov. John Kasich and GOP legislative leaders weren't saying Wednesday whether they will use strong Statehouse majorities next year to champion some statewide ballot issue before Ohio voters.

In a year-end review session with Senate President Tom Niehaus and House Speaker William Batchelder, Kasich answered "next question" when asked by a reporter whether the 60-vote margin in the Ohio House might be invoked to advance a ballot measure. The GOP will have both the House and Senate votes to do so without Democratic help, beginning in January.

Kasich also declined to say what position he might take on a right-to-work amendment limiting Ohio labor unions, if one were advanced by an outside group. Besides right-to-work, which prohibits mandatory union dues collection, other prospective ballot issues could deal with overhauling Ohio's redistricting process or countering burgeoning ballot initiatives pushing gay marriage or legalized medical marijuana.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/ap/ap/legislative/kasich-lawmakers-dont-rule-out-2013-ballot-push/nTbKh/

Kasich’s got plans for ’13

Tax and reform packages are back on the table, joined by school funding and the turnpike

By  Joe Vardon

The Columbus Dispatch Thursday December 20, 2012 6:56 AM

The “fracking” tax boost/income-tax-cut package that Gov. John Kasich couldn’t push through the legislature in 2012 appears primed for passage next year.

Kasich held his annual year-end review yesterday at the Statehouse, an event where the Republican governor and GOP legislative leaders tied a bow around 2012’s accomplishments and looked ahead to what’s in store for 2013. The two Republicans whose chambers refused to take up Kasich’s proposal to raise severance taxes on shale drillers and cut the state’s income tax, Ohio House Speaker William G. Batchelder of Medina and outgoing Senate President Tom Niehaus of New Richmond, both predicted that Kasich would win approval for the plan in 2013.

“I don’t think there’s any question we ultimately will support it,” Batchelder said, with Kasich seated to his left.

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/12/20/kasichs-got-plans-for-13.html

Right-to-work would face public fight in Ohio, unlike Michigan

By Robert Schoenberger, The Plain Dealer The Plain Dealer
on December 20, 2012 at 5:59 AM

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Ohio can't follow Michigan's lead and quickly pass right-to-work legislation without a nasty public fight, a prospect that politicians and business leaders want to avoid at all costs.

Lawmakers in Michigan earlier this month attached $1 million in spending to bills that would allow workers to stop paying dues at union-represented workplaces across the state. That procedural tactic prevents organized labor from holding a statewide referendum to repeal the law.

State law in Michigan forbids recall votes on spending because such actions could wreak havoc with the state's ability to pay its bills.

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2012/12/right-to-work_would_face_publi.html

Kasich Looks Back at 2012, Previews 2013

Hannah Report 12/19/12

Gov. John Kasich began his 2012 year-in-review session Wednesday by saying Ohio is in a period of transformation while recounting the number of issues his administration and the General Assembly tackled over the last year.

The governor also gave a preview for his next budget while not tipping his hand to the details, telling reporters for an event at the Statehouse that tax reform and school funding will play heavily in his early plans.

Among that tax reform will be the severance tax on the oil and gas industry. He also later said that lowering the income tax will play a part, and the plan will also focus on lowering taxes for small businesses. 

Kasich hinted at what his education reform will look like, saying the basis will be that every child will be able to compete with any other child in the state no matter where they live or what his or her background is. He said some of it will be programs that he said should be viewed positively and will have opportunities for schools to change and innovate, adding that the plan will not be “just a way to cover a court case” but will be a way for children to succeed. http://www.hannah.com/DesktopDefaultPublic.aspx?type=hns&id=191481

Kasich Says 2012 Was ‘A Period Of Transformation'; Democrats Decry Budget Cuts

Gongwer 12/19/12

Gov. John Kasich said employment growth in Ohio during the past year shows that the ambitious agenda he and Republican legislative leaders have pursued is now bearing fruit.

The governor and Republican legislative leaders told reporters during a year-in-review event Wednesday that their efforts to stabilize state finances, shrink the size of government, and encourage business growth had put the state on track to future prosperity.

"It's clear that Ohio is in a period of transformation," he said. "When you're in the middle of transformation, you can't slow down. You get as much ground as you can. And frankly, we have a lot more transformation to do in this state."

Democrats viewed the past year much drearier. House Minority Leader Armond Budish (D-Beachwood) issued a statement faulting the governor for shifting the state's financial problems to the most vulnerable Ohioans.

"The governor and Republican leadership tout their financial stewardship of the state, but in fact they've been anything but responsible. They balanced the budget on the backs of our kids, by slashing funds from education, on the backs of local taxpayers, forcing local communities to place hundreds of levies on the ballot, and on the backs of those most in need of social services, by slashing funds to people who are poor, older, and disabled," he said.

http://www.gongwer-oh.com/programming/news.cfm?article_ID=812450202