This week, the big story has been centered around a local legislator’s effort to take Alabama’s lead in order to restart the state’s capital punishment system after a five-year halt.
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Ohio lawmakers want to resume executions using nitrogen gas
Ohio legislators want to restart the state’s capital punishment program that has been on hold for years with nitrogen gas.
• What it means: Ohio could join a limited number of states in approving the gas as an execution tool if a bill cosponsored by Rep. Phil Plummer, R-Dayton, becomes law. That would allow Ohio to restart executions that stopped in 2020.
• Ohio’s background: Ohio paused executions after the 2014 death of Preble County’s Dennis McGuire included his gasping, snorting and struggling for air. Three more men were put to death in 2017 and 2018, but Gov. Mike DeWine halted executions in 2020 because of challenges in acquiring the needed drugs.
• Why nitrogen gas? The gas is widely available and solves the shortage of lethal injection drugs, supporters say. Alabama became the first state to use nitrogen gas in an execution last week.
• What opponents say: The state should ban executions because they lead to long strings of appeals that pain victims’ families and because all life should be valued, said state Sen. Steve Huffman, R-Tipp City.
• What comes next? Rep. Brian Stewart, R-Ashville, co-sponsor along with Plummer, said he hopes it opens dialogue at the Statehouse and, given his expected support in the House, he’s hopeful it could become law by the end of this year.
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School bus seat belts not recommended by task force following fatal Clark County crash
Credit: Avery Kreemer
Credit: Avery Kreemer
A state task force formed following a fatal Clark County crash last year issued 17 recommendations to improve school bus safety in Ohio, but mandating seat belts was not one of them.
• What it means: The recommendations range from stronger penalties for drivers who break school bus laws, increased training, support for drivers and a grant program for schools and districts to make changes.
• What started the task force: The task force was put together by Ohio Gov. DeWine shortly after a Northwestern School District school bus was hit by a car that veered left-of-center and toppled the bus on its side, tragically killing 11-year-old Aiden Clark last August.
• Why not seat belts? Task force members felt seat belts can cause unintended consequences, including potentially trapping children in dangerous scenarios.
• What comes next: The task force’s recommendations are expected to be implemented in chunks by school districts, the Ohio General Assembly and executive orders signed by DeWine.
Local political news of the week
• Republican county commission candidate will stay on ballot: A Montgomery County commission candidate whose Republican candidacy was challenged will remain on the ballot for the March 19 primary, according to a decision handed down by the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office.
• How a phone call to the Dayton Daily News grew into calls for reforming a state program: Our reporting on Medicaid estate recovery has already caused some changes.
• Miami County officials urge Huber Heights not to approve land annexation: Miami County is asking Huber Heights to oppose the proposed annexation of 296 acres of land near U.S. 40 in southern Miami County to Huber Heights.
State political news of the week
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
• Amendment to expand voter access blocked: Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost struck down a group’s submission of a proposed citizen-initiated constitutional amendment that, if successful, would circumvent the Ohio legislature and governor to broadly expand voting access in the state.
• Area state senator calls for ‘thousands’ of National Guard troops: State Sen. Niraj Antani, R-Miamisburg, sent Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine a letter Friday urging the governor to send a significant chunk of Ohio’s National Guard to the southern U.S. border amid Texas’ standoff with the Biden Administration.
• Senator proposes limits on hemp-derived products: A southwest Ohio state senator is working on closing the “gray area” that allows Ohioans of any age to buy psychoactive, THC-like substances that have become increasingly available since the production of hemp was legalized by the 2018 federal farm bill.
National political news of the week
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Credit: JIM NOELKER
• Bill would close loopholes on foreign ownership of farmland: U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said there is a need to strengthen the reporting and enforcement of foreign ownership of agricultural land in Ohio and the United States.
• Biden will celebrate his UAW endorsement in Detroit: President Joe Biden will celebrate his recent endorsement by the United Auto Workers union by visiting Michigan on Thursday, but his time in this critical battleground state with the nation’s highest density of Arab Americans threatens to be overshadowed by growing anger over U.S. support for Israel’s war in Gaza.
• Austin speaks about hospitalization: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday he never told his staff to keep his cancer surgery and hospitalization secret from the White House, but acknowledged he should have handled it differently and he apologized for keeping President Joe Biden and others in the dark for weeks.