Fairborn commencement
Badin graduation
Division I regional track finals
Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2009 > June > 25
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Austria helps restore funding for fire grant program
U.S. Rep. Steve Austria successfully pushed an amendment this week that increased funding for the Fire Grant Program.
Austria, R-Beavercreek, a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, introduced an amendment to the Homeland Security Appropriations bill after seeing a proposal by President Barack Obama to cut the Fire Grant Program by about 70 percent. Last year, Congress appropriated $565 million for the program; this year, Obama had requested $170 million. The program goes to purchases of fire equipment, including trucks and equipment.
Austria joined forces with Reps. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., Jason Altmire, D-Pa., and Peter King, R-N.Y. to increase the funding by $40 million. The House Rules Committee reduced that amount to $10 million, and the House passed that funding late Wednesday, June 24.
Austria, in a statement, said the funding wasn’t enough, but called the increase “an important first step in the right direction.”
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
Anti-gambling group says Ohio needs a new governor
If Gov. Ted Strickland moves forward with a plan to put video lottery slot machines at Ohio’s seven racetracks, then Ohio needs a new governor, an anti-gambling group said Thursday, June 24.
“I think Ohio needs a new governor. I think he has forfeited his credibility as governor in this state,” said David Zanotti of the Ohio Roundtable and co-chair of the Vote No Casinos Committee.
Since 1990, Ohio voters have defeated four ballot issues proposing casino gaming, including one in 2006 that would have put video lottery slot machines at the racetracks.
“What will the people of Ohio think if this governor over turns the results of four elections and trashes their constitution in the process?” Zanotti said. “At the end of the day this is about the rule of law.”
Strickland had long said he opposed expanding gambling in Ohio, particularly since voters had said no four times. But facing enormous pressure to balance the state’s upcoming two-year operating budget, Strickland switched his position last week. His administration estimates the slots could bring in $933 million to the state coffers over two years.
Zanotti said his group will sue to block the slot machine plan.
“My guess is we’ll tie them up in court long enough that they won’t see a penny of the revenue projections,” Zanotti said.
Permalink | Comments (14) | Post your comment |
Hope flickers for state budget deal before deadline
Despite apparent disagreement over how to authorize putting slot machines at Ohio’s seven racetracks, legislators and Gov. Ted Strickland are forging ahead with efforts to reach agreement on a new state budget by June 30, end of the current fiscal year.
A meeting of the House-Senate budget conference committee has been tentatively set for 9 a.m. on Saturday, June 27, Keary McCarthy, spokesman for House Speaker Armond Budish, said on Thursday, June 25. The conference committee first must reach approval on a new budget before the House and Senate vote.
McCarthy and Senate President Bill Harris, R-Ashland, on Thursday both expressed hope that the budget gets done by the Tuesday deadline.
Harris, however, continued to say he believes Strickland already has the authority to expand the Ohio Lottery to include the slot machines without putting language in the budget giving the governor that authority.
Strickland’s office has said the governor needs legislative approval for the slots. Strickland has said the slots would generate an estimated $933 million over two years to help fill a $3.2 billion hole in the proposed budget.
Meanwhile, protests against an estimated $2.4 billion in cuts continued at the Statehouse, with backers of nursing homes and libraries holding rallies.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment |
Casino backers file petitions to get on Nov. 3 ballot
Backers of a proposal to put casinos in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Toledo on Thursday, June 25, filed petitions that they said contained more than double the 402,275 signatures from registered voters needed to get on the Nov. 3 ballot.
The lousy economy, including the state’s 10.8 percent unemployment rate, give the ballot issue a better chance of passing than the four gambling proposals voters have rejected since 1990, said Charlie Luken, chairman of the Ohio Jobs and Growth Committee and a former Cincinnati mayor and congressman. Luken said the petitions included about 850,000 signatures.
Luken said the plan would create 20,000 new jobs and the four casinos would be open by 2013.
Jim Laemmle, 32, an out-of-work electrician from the Columbus suburb of Hilliard, was at the secretary of state’s office to help unload the truck with the petitions and agreed with Luken.
“I know it will create more jobs,” said Laemmle.
Brunner now will send the petitions out to county boards of elections to have the signatures verified.
Join the discussion on the casino proposal.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment |
Cordray sues three “predators”
Attorney General Richard Cordray filed suit against three companies that he says are preying on Ohioans facing home foreclosure.
Cordray filed suits against Michael Brotherton, who operates Financial Emergency Inc. in Greene County, and against 21st Century Legal Services in Franklin County and Foreclosure Home Assistance in Cuyahoga County.
“Ohio has zero tolerance for these predators,” Cordray said in a written statement. “They prey on Ohioans who are vulnerable and are seeking answers during desperate times. We issued warnings last month ordering them to stop their illegal practices, but they continued anyway. Now, we will work through the courts to stop them permanently.”
The companies charged consumers $1,500 to $2,600 to help them restructure their home loans and other foreclosure prevention services but didn’t deliver, Cordray said.
The lawsuits allege the companies violated Ohio’s consumer sales practices act and debt adjusters act. Cordray is asking the court to force the companies to reimburse the consumers and assess $25,000 fines for each violation.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment |
Ohio workers pension fund may sue if contributions cut
The Ohio Public Employee Retirement System would likely sue the state if it reduces state workers pension contributions to help balance the budget, the pension system director told lawmakers.
In a move designed to help balance the upcoming budget, Gov. Ted Strickland has proposed writing an IOU to 60,150 state workers, promising to pay back contributions to the OPERS down the road. Reducing the contribution rate from 14 percent to 8 percent over two years would save the state more than $250 million, according to the Strickland administration.
But OPERS Director Chris DeRose said this move would cut into the fund’s ability to provide retiree health care benefits and erode the system’s financial solvency.
And DeRose said OPERS would consider suing the state if it follows through on Strickland’s proposal. Similar lawsuits in other states, such as California and North Carolina, were won by the pension systems when the courts found the state was obligated to pay and make up for lost investment income, according to OPERS.
