Updated: 3:44
p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013 | Posted: 3:44 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013
School safety included in early Ohio House bills
The Associated
Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio
—
School safety,
Internet cafes and municipal income taxes are among the issues the Ohio House
hopes to tackle this legislative session.
The topics were
included in the first bills that representatives introduced on Wednesday.
Other proposals
would streamline the state's job-matching services and create grants for local
governments. One bill would set training and certification requirements for a
new group of professionals who will help guide consumers through the new health
insurance exchange.
House Speaker
William Batchelder says the bills reflect some of the bigger issues lawmakers
will face in the first half of the year, but don't encompass all of his
Republican caucus' priorities. http://www.daytondailynews.com/ap/ap/education/school-safety-included-in-early-ohio-house-bills/nWBLG/
Updated: 12:32
p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013 | Posted: 12:32 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013
Where Ohioans stand on Medicaid expansion in state
By JOHN SEEWER
The Associated
Press
TOLEDO, Ohio —
A look at where
Ohio's political leaders, health
industry organizations and others stand on expanding Medicaid benefits. Gov. John Kasich is to announce Feb. 4
whether he'll push for expansion.
LEGISLATIVE LEADERS: Republicans control both the House and Senate in Ohio
and many don't like Obama's health care law and
made that clear in the most recent elections, campaigning against the law.
Because the state's Legislature will ultimately get to vote on expanding
Medicaid if Kasich decides he wants it, the governor will need to persuade some
to change their positions. GOP House Speaker William Batchelder said his fellow
Republicans have concerns about the expense of enlarging Medicaid. He also
acknowledged that there are philosophical questions over the law itself, which
mandates almost everyone to obtain insurance.
School safety high on legislators’ list
By Jim Siegel
The Columbus Dispatch Thursday January 31, 2013 6:57 AM
Meanwhile, the Ohio
House yesterday introduced a place-holder bill among the first 10 bills that it
plans to focus on in the first half of this year. Details of the bill will be
filled out as the committee gathers input.
“We do have schools in
Ohio that presently have armed employees, so that’s one possibility,” said
Speaker William G. Batchelder, R-Medina. “Also, we are anxious to hear from
parents. That’s an important part of how we create changes that will actually
make people more comfortable with the school setup.”
LaRose said
legislators passed a school-safety plan in 2006. “After eight years of
experience, maybe we can improve on that,” he said. “It’s about us hearing from
the professionals, and we’re open-minded about it.”
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/01/31/school-safety-high-on-legislators-list.html
Kasich rolling out his plan for schools
By Catherine Candisky and
Jim Siegel
Thursday January 31, 2013 6:43 AM
Republican legislative
leaders briefed on the governor’s school-funding and policy changes say that,
at first blush, they like them.
“I think you’ll be
impressed with some of it,” Speaker William G. Batchelder, R-Medina, told
reporters. “He’s trying to do some things that are going to be very helpful to
young people, particularly in urban areas.”
Batchelder said Kasich
introduced him to 35 superintendents on Tuesday who were gathered in the governor’s
office to talk about the budget.
“They were impressed
with the effort that had gone into it,” Batchelder said.
Posted: 5:45
p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013
Jobs, school safety among issues Ohio House to target in 2013
Columbus
Bureau, Dayton Daily News
Offering an
early glimpse at some of the issues they plan to tackle for the year, Ohio
House Republicans on Wednesday rolled out their first bills of the 130th
General Assembly.
“While these
ten bills are not part of an official House Republican “priorities list,” they
reflect some of the bigger issues we will face in the first six months,” Ohio
House Speaker William Batchelder, R-Medina, said in an emailed statement.
EXCLUSIVE:
Should Ohio expand Medicaid?
Kasich appears to be in
favor. Pros - more funds, more insured. Cons - that federal debt...
Jan 31, 2013 |
Written by
Ohio could be among a
growing contingent of Republican-led states leaning toward expanding Medicaid
coverage for hundreds of thousands of low-income residents.
In an exclusive interview
with The Enquirer this week, Gov. John Kasich hinted he would call for
expanding the joint federal-state health care program for the poor and disabled
in his pending two-year budget proposal, which is due Monday.
Doing so would bring
billions of dollars to the state and extend Medicaid coverage to thousands of
low-income people currently left out.
Published: 1/31/2013
Ohio school funding formula unlikely to be cut
Plan
gives more to charter schools, private education vouchers
BY JIM PROVANCE
BLADE COLUMBUS BUREAU CHIEF
BLADE COLUMBUS BUREAU CHIEF
COLUMBUS — Details remained tight
Wednesday, but the amount of money going into the new school funding formula
that Gov. John Kasich will publicly unveil today is not expected to be reduced
again.
But how well individual districts do
overall will depend on whether they benefit from pools of additional money
targeting poorer districts and such things as reading programs and services for
gifted and special needs students.
The plan also will hold additional
help for charter schools and taxpayer-funded vouchers for students to attend
private and religious schools.
The sales job will begin immediately
when Gov. John Kasich unveils his long-awaited revamp of how Ohio pays for K-12
schools.
Mr. Kasich will present his plan at
a meeting of the Buckeye Association of School Administrators before talking
with reporters and leading a town hall-style discussion with an invitation-only
audience in Columbus.
“He’s trying to do some things that
I think are going to be helpful to young people, particularly in urban areas,”
House Speaker Bill Batchelder (R., Medina) said. “Part of that is just a
reflection of [Cleveland Mayor Frank] Jackson.”
House Dems seek input on Kasich
schools plan
Published: Thu, January 31, 2013 @ 12:00
a.m.
By Marc Kovac
COLUMBUS
Democrats in the Ohio House hope Gov. John Kasich
includes all-day kindergarten, smaller class sizes and charter-school
accountability in his education-reform bill.
And restored funding for districts.
“If Gov. Kasich is serious about education reform, his
plan must focus on these areas and address historical, deep cuts to the schools
in his last budget,” said Rep. Teresa Fedor, a Democrat from Toledo. “When
spending on schools is reduced as much as it was in the last budget cycle, new
state programs become unfunded mandates.”
She added, “Schools need the proper tools and the proper
funding to do their jobs.”
Bills introduced by House
Republicans
Published: Thu, January 31, 2013 @ 12:00
a.m.
By Marc Kovac
COLUMBUS
Improvements to offices that help out-of-work Ohioans
find jobs, regulations of so-called Internet cafes and procedures for removing
fiscal officers are among the first law changes proposed by Republicans in the
Ohio House.
The bills were among more than 20 offered during
Wednesday’s session.
The first 10 often are considered as priorities among the
chamber’s majority caucus, though Speaker Bill Batchelder downplayed that
symbolic significance.
House,
Senate Approve ‘State of the State’ Move to Lima
Hannah Report 1/30/13
Hannah Report 1/30/13
In
a less-contentious debate than a year prior, the House and Senate approved a
resolution to move the “State of the State” address to Lima, with some of the
opponents of last year’s move to Steubenville supporting the move to Lima this
year.
Rep. Matt Huffman (R-Lima) introduced HJR1 (Batchelder), saying that while he understands that tradition is important and trumps proposals such as moving the “State of the State,” he noted that when those traditions were established throughout history, someone was probably complaining that they liked the old way better. He added that he thinks it’s great to hold the “State of the State” outside of Columbus for representatives like him, and said they have a great deal of hometown pride in Lima.
Huffman said that those in Lima are getting excited about the prospect of being a host city, with local officials putting together events to hold for officeholders.
Rep. Matt Huffman (R-Lima) introduced HJR1 (Batchelder), saying that while he understands that tradition is important and trumps proposals such as moving the “State of the State,” he noted that when those traditions were established throughout history, someone was probably complaining that they liked the old way better. He added that he thinks it’s great to hold the “State of the State” outside of Columbus for representatives like him, and said they have a great deal of hometown pride in Lima.
Huffman said that those in Lima are getting excited about the prospect of being a host city, with local officials putting together events to hold for officeholders.
Workforce
Development, Municipal Tax Reform Top Introduced House Bills
Hannah Report 1/30/13
Hannah Report 1/30/13
The
first round of House bills dropped during Wednesday’s session, with the House
Republicans issuing 10 bills addressing topics such as workforce development,
local government performance, municipal tax reform, sweepstakes machines, and
school safety.
House Speaker William Batchelder (R-Medina) said the bills are not a part of an official House Republican “priorities list,” but said they do “reflect some of the bigger issues we will face in the first six months.
“These are the first in a series of many important bills that we will be introducing over the course of this General Assembly as we work to boost workforce development efforts, improve our tax climate, enhance local government operation, improve health care, and create a better quality of life for all Ohioans.” http://www.hannah.com/DesktopDefaultPublic.aspx?type=hns&id=191804
House Speaker William Batchelder (R-Medina) said the bills are not a part of an official House Republican “priorities list,” but said they do “reflect some of the bigger issues we will face in the first six months.
“These are the first in a series of many important bills that we will be introducing over the course of this General Assembly as we work to boost workforce development efforts, improve our tax climate, enhance local government operation, improve health care, and create a better quality of life for all Ohioans.” http://www.hannah.com/DesktopDefaultPublic.aspx?type=hns&id=191804
House GOP's First 10 Bills Include Workforce,
Sweepstakes, Muni Tax Measures; Democrats Seek To Bolster LGF
Gongwer 1/30/13
Legislative activity kicked up a notch Wednesday
with the introduction of the first substantive measures of the 130th General
Assembly.
With the biennial budget measure not expected to
be released in legislative form for at least a week, Speaker Bill Batchelder (R-Medina)
stopped short of calling the first set of House GOP bills "priority"
measures.
"While these 10 bills are not part of an
official House Republican 'priorities list,' they reflect some of the bigger
issues we will face in the first six months," Speaker Batchelder said in a
statement.
"These are the first in a series of many
important bills that we will be introducing over the course of this General
Assembly as we work to boost workforce development efforts, improve our tax
climate, enhance local government operation, improve health care, and create a
better quality of life for all Ohioans."
Legislature Approves State Of The State Venue
Change With Little Opposition; Speaker Talks Surplus, K-12 Plan
Gongwer 1/30/13
Speaker
Skeptical About Surplus:
House Speaker Bill Batchelder (R-Medina)
said after session that he's "not as sanguine" as Gov. Kasich that
the next two-year budget will have a $1 billion surplus, saying he thought the
state would continue to have employment problems.
"I hope that the governor's right and
there's no reason to assume that there's anything right now in the economy that
would indicate that he isn't right," he told reporters Wednesday. "But
a two-year budget - that's a long time."
Any surplus money in the budget, he said, should
go into the state's rainy-day fund.
Speaker Batchelder said he talked with the
governor Tuesday about his education funding plan, scheduled to be unveiled on
Thursday.
While declining to give specifics about the
plan, Speaker Batchelder said he expects people will be impressed by many parts
of it.
"He's trying to do some things that I think
are going to be very helpful to young people, particularly in urban areas,"
he said.
Asked if the plan might include like the
Cleveland school improvement plan on a statewide basis, the speaker demurred.
"I think we'll see that on a school
district by school district basis where they come in and asked for
something," he said.
Speaker Batchelder said he also talked with the
governor about his trip last week to the World Economic Forum in Davos,
Switzerland. He said the governor met with several European companies in hopes
they will agree to do business in Ohio.
"I don't know if we can get another Honda,
but we'll be doing, I think, some things that will attract people that are not
here now," the speaker said.
Speaker Batchelder said he didn't want to reply
to a question about what prompted the Fiscal Integrity Act (HB 10
), a reintroduction of legislation that failed
last year (SB 339
, 129th General Assembly).
"I think that we had a shot at that last
time around, and I think it was misunderstood by some of the folks who were
going to apply it," he said.
