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Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2008 > December > 18
Thursday, December 18, 2008
County hotel-motel tax plan dies in Ohio Senate
A proposal to permit Montgomery County commissioners to levy up to an extra 4 percent lodgings tax died today, Dec. 18, in the Ohio Senate but could be brought up again next year, legislators said.
County commissioners wanted to be able to consider using revenue from the tax hike to finance an event center and hockey arena at the Austin Pike interchange on Interstate 75 south of Dayton. The House passed legislation that included the plan on Wednesday, Dec. 17.
The Senate declined to take up the bill, however, before adjourning for the year.
Senate President Bill Harris, R-Ashland, said he didn’t learn until 2 p.m. Thursday, about an hour before adjournment, that all the interested parties in Montgomery County had agreed on the proposal.
“I said it was too late,” Harris said.
If commissioners approved the 4 percent increase, the combined tax for a hotel-motel guest in most of Montgomery County would go to 17 percent, among the highest in the nation.
County officials said the Austin Pike project could generate 21,000 jobs. An additional 4 percnet tax would raise about $3.2 million annually, according to Montgomery County Administrator Deborah Feldman
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Dann converted campaign cash for personal use, Brunner says
Former Ohio attorney general Marc Dann illegally converted campaign cash for his own personal use, according to a complaint filed by Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner’s office with the Ohio Elections Commission on Thursday, Dec. 18.
Dann personally benefited from $40,610 in security improvements to his Liberty Twp. home in Trumbull County that was paid for by the campaign committee, the complaint said. The expense wasn’t related to his official duties or to influence an election, as state law requires, the complaint said.
Dann’s attorney, Donald McTigue, however, argued that the security system would not have been needed had Dann not been the attorney general. Dann has maintained that he and his family received threats that necessitated police protection and the security system. Rather than use tax money for the security system, the Dann for Ohio Committee paid. Taxpayers footed the bill for police protection by the Ohio Highway Patrol, the Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Identification, and the Liberty Twp. police department.
McTigue told Brunner’s office that the Dann for Ohio Committee would sell the security system once it was no longer needed or the house sold.
The secretary of state’s office is also questioning $4,369 in cell phone bills paid directly by the campaign committee. The phones were used by Dann, his wife and their children for personal and campaign calls.
Dann, a Democrat, resigned in May after a sexual harassment scandal involving friends and neighbors he had appointed to his administration. He also admitted having an affair with a staff member 18 years his junior.
The state inspector general, Ohio Ethics Commission, Ohio Highway Patrol and other agencies are now investigating allegations tied to Dann and his administration.
The bi-partisan elections commission is expected to consider the case Jan. 22. They have the power to dismiss the case, make findings, level fines or refer it to the Franklin County prosecutor for criminal charges, Ohio Elections Commission Director Phil Richter said.
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Vets bonuses get final approval; Strickland veto coming
The Senate today, Dec. 18, gave final approval to legislation providing bonuses to veterans of the 1990-91 Persian Gulf War and the continuing fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan using money from the state’s “rainy day fund” - basically the state’s savings account.
House Bill 649 now goes to Gov. Ted Strickland who has pledged to veto it. If he does the legislation will be dead for this year. The House has left for the year and the Senate plans to finish work today. There wouldn’t be time for an override attempt and there don’t appear to be enough votes in the House to override Strickland.
The vote today was 23-8.
Strickland opposes using “rainy day fund” money for the bonuses. Instead, he wants to issue bonds to borrow money for the bonuses. If the bill dies, it’s expected the bond proposal will come up next year when Rep. Jon Husted, R-Kettering, no longer is House Speaker. Husted opposes issuing bonds for the bonuses.
The bill would appropriate $150 million for the bonus and make an additional $50 million available if needed.
It would provide bonuses of up to $1,000 to veterans of the conflicts and up to $500 for veterans who served in other locations during the conflicts. It also would provide $5,000 to families of those killed in action.
“To me, this isn’t about the funding source, it is about honoring men and women who put themselves in harm’s way to defend our freedom,” Senate President Bill Harris, R-Ashland said in a press release. “I am fully aware of the fiscal challenges in which we find ourselves as a state, but I believe it is fitting and appropriate for the state make this small sacrifice to honor their sacrifice.”
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Brown to White House: Please send domestic auto industry money now
Reacting to the news that Chrysler is going to shut down for a month, Sen. Sherrod Brown asked the White House Wednesday, Dec. 17, to send some of the $700 billion in financial bailout money to the auto industry immediately.
Brown, D-Ohio, who spoke with the White House last Friday about using that money, reiterated his request Wednesday in a call with Interim Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Stability Neel Kashkari.
He also urged the Federal Reserve to take action to get lines of credit flowing to the industry.
“The Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve need to act quickly to put funds to work to help America’s workers,” he said in a statement released by his office. “On behalf of 250,000 Ohio families and millions of Americans who depend on the auto industry for their livelihood, I implore the White House to take action this week.”
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Contributions to judges increase
The Ohio Supreme Court approved a 15 percent increase to campaign contribution limits for judicial candidates, starting Jan. 1. The increase, the first in four years, is based on inflation measures.
The new limits will be: For Supreme Court races: $3,450 for individual contributions and $6,325 for organization contributions for the primary and general elections; political parties may give $172,500 in a contested primary and $316,250 in a general election
For Court of Appeals races: $1,150 for individual contributions and $3,450 for organization contributions for the primary and general elections; political parties may give $34,500 in the primary and $69,000 in the general election
For other judicial races: $575 for individuals and $3,450 for organizations for the primary and general elections; political parties may give $34,500 in the primary and $69,000 in the general election in counties with populations of more than 750,000.
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Two more out in “Joe the Plumber” case
Two of Helen Jones-Kelley’s top aides in the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services are leaving their jobs along with Jones-Kelley.
Jones-Kelley of Clayton, the key figure in the “Joe the Plumber” snooping investigation, announced her resignation on Wednesday, Dec. 17.
Doug Thompson, deputy director of child support, had his job “revoked,” effective Monday, Dec. 22, said Scarlett Bouder, department spokesman. Fred Williams, department assistant director, resigned effective Jan. 31, Bouder said. Thompson came to Columbus with Jones-Kelley, who previously was director of the Montgomery County Department of Job and Family Services.
Both were cited in Inspector General Tom Charles’ report that found that Jones-Kelley had improperly authorized searches of state databases for personal information on Samuel Joseph “Joe the Plumber” Wurzelbacher of suburban Toledo during the presidential campaign.
Bouder said that Thompson served at the director’s pleasure and could be dismissed without citing a specific reason. Acting Director Jan Allen made the decision, said Bouder.
The actions were taken to “refocus the agency on the work at hand,” said Bouder.
Jones-Kelley was suspended for a month without pay in the incident and Thompson was suspended for four weeks without pay. Williams was suspended for two weeks without pay.
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Caffeinated booze drinks being removed
Alcoholic energy drinks may be popular with young consumers but they sure aren’t a hit with state attorneys general who won another victory in their push to clear them from store shelves.
Ohio Attorney General Nancy Rogers and 13 other state attorneys generals announced Thursday, Dec. 18, that they struck an agreement with MillerCoors to stop producing its best-selling “Sparks” and not produce any caffeinated alcoholic beverages in the future.
“Young people in particular drink more when an alcoholic drink contains caffeine,” Rogers said in a written statement. “When they feel alert, they don’t realize that they are already impaired. As an educator, I have seen many young people destroy promising futures because of excessive drinking.”
Earlier this year, research about the dangers of these products and concerns about how they were marketed to under age drinkers led attorneys general to investigate the content and advertising claims made by MillerCoors.
The investigation focused on misleading health-related statements and the marketing of Sparks that may have been directed at under age drinkers.
Sparks will no longer have caffeine or other stimulants and MillerCoors agreed to stop using images in its marketing that imply energy or power, like the battery-themed +/- symbols on the can.
In May, attorneys general reached a settlement with Anheuser-Busch to stop producing alcoholic-energy drinks, including Tilt and Bud Extra.
The deals with MillerCoors and Anheuser-Busch means nearly 85 percent of all alcoholic energy drinks that had been on the market at the beginning of 2008 will be gone.
Do you think alcoholic energy drinks are usually marketed to under age drinkers?
