Latest news with #OhioSenate
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
State Rep. Phil Plummer seeks Ohio Senate seat in 2026
Previous coverage on Rep. Phil Plummer above. DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) – State Rep. Phil Plummer (R – Butler Twp.) announced he is running for Ohio's 5th Senate District in the 2026 election. This district includes both western and northern Montgomery County – as well as all of Miami and Preble – and parts of Darke and Butler Counties. Plummer said he is committed to public safety, economic growth and conservative values. He highlighted his three decades of law enforcement experience and a legislative record. Formerly, he was a Montgomery County Sheriff. Senate passes President Trump's sweeping 'One Big, Beautiful Bill' He said he will continue working to lower taxes, fight fentanyl trafficking and defend the Second Amendment. 'I'm running because results and integrity matter. The citizens of the 5th Senate District deserve no less,' said Plummer. He said that he will stand with President Donald J. Trump and work to make America safer. 'There's more work to be done to grow jobs, stabilize our economy and reduce burdensome property taxes,' said Plummer. 'Americans decisively elected President Trump and gave him a mandate to restore America, in the Ohio Senate I will continue to stand with him in making our country safe and prosperous again.' The announcement, in its entirety, can be read here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Child care programs take hits in Ohio Senate budget, even a Republican-supported one
Ohio Senate President Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, speaks at the Ohio Senate Republican Budget Press Conference. Sen. Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland, the chair of the Senate Finance Committee, stands in the background. (Photo by Morgan Trau, WEWS.) The Ohio Senate-approved budget keeps eligibility for state-supported child care at levels that state leaders and advocates say is one of the worst in the country, and eliminates a cost-sharing model for child care that was supported by Republicans in both chambers. Eligibility for Publicly Funded Child Care wasn't increased in the Ohio Senate proposal as advocates had urged, maintaining the state eligibility of 145% of the federal poverty level. That level leaves Ohio at what Ohio Department of Children and Youth Director Kara Wente, along with advocates like Policy Matters Ohio, said was one of the lowest eligibility levels in the country. To even get to the middle of rankings on child care eligibility, Heather Smith, a researcher with Policy Matters Ohio, said the state would need to jump their eligibility level to 225%, far above what advocates requested, which was an increase to 160%. One thing that made it to the Senate proposal at the urging of advocates was a provision that calculates payments for Publicly Funded Child Care based on enrollment numbers rather than attendance. Child care workers and leaders said the method would create more consistency in payments and would be 'critical' for parents and providers. The budget eliminates a Republican-supported measure added in the House version called the Child Care Cred Program, which would create a cost-sharing model for child care, in which employers, eligible employees, and the state all pay a portion of the cost of child care. In the most recent discussions on the model, the state would pay 20%, and employers and employees would put in 40% each. The measure came from bills in both chambers of the Ohio legislature, the GOP sponsors of which pushed the model as a way to address a state child care sector that has long been considered inaccessible, unaffordable, and without the adequate (and adequately paid) workforce to stand up to the demand. Policy Matters actually supported taking the model out of the budget, citing 'lackluster results' from comparable programs in other states. Smith said the funding 'would have a greater impact' if it was directed toward Ohio Senate Bill 177, a GOP-led bill that would create a pilot program to allow child care staff members to have Publicly Funded Child Care for free. 'This program would stabilize the sector while creating an additional 6,000 to 18,000 spots in child care facilities,' according to Smith. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The Child Care Choice Voucher program, which Republican Gov. Mike DeWine praised as an important part of the state's support for parents and the child care sector, stayed in the Senate-passed budget with eligibility at 200% of the federal poverty line to receive subsidies for child care services. But the budget took out language regarding Step Up to Quality, a set of state standards for licensed child care providers, and Smith said the payment rates for the voucher program 'are not sufficient for providers.' The voucher program would receive $25 million less over the next two years than was proposed in DeWine's executive budget. While he asked for $75 million in 2026 and $150 million in 2027, the Senate kept the House's amounts, at $100 million in each fiscal year. Early childhood education advocacy group Groundwork Ohio said the Senate proposal 'fails to meet the moment.' 'Ohio families are doing everything right,' said Lynanne Gutierrez, president and CEO of Groundwork Ohio, in testimony to the Senate Finance Committee before the proposal was passed. 'They're working hard, raising kids and keeping our economy moving. They deserve a budget that recognizes their contribution and meets them with the support they need.' Gutierrez and Groundwork pushed for restoration of the Child Tax Credit as well, which would have provided up to $1,000 per child ages 0 to 6. The credit had the support of state organizations and individuals, along with economic experts who said the credit would boost the state's financial health. Republican legislative leaders pushed back on the tax credit, partly because the money for the credit would have come from tobacco taxes, which legislative leaders said was a fading source of revenue. A Child Care Recruitment and Mentorship Grant Program was kept from the House provision, to 'help increase the number of licensed child care providers in Ohio and to assist recited entities and individuals.' The budget proposal includes $1.75 million in fiscal year 2026 and $1 million in 2027 for the program. Another grant program that survived to the Senate budget was the Early Childhood Education Grant Program, to 'support and invest in Ohio's early learning and development programs,' including licensed child care centers, licensed family child care homes and licensed preschools. The Ohio House and Ohio Senate are now working in closed-door discussions to combine their two versions into a final budget draft, set to be sent to the governor for signature, and possible line-item vetoes, by July 1. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The hemp loophole: Unregulated products in Ohio are a threat to consumer safety
Flowers of hemp plants that contain less that 0.3 percent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) the primary psychoactive substance in marijuana. (Photo by Graham Stokes for Ohio Capital Journal. Republish photo only with original article.) More than five years after Congress passed the 2018 Farm Bill, Ohio faces a growing public health crisis. What was designed as legislation to support American farmers has instead spawned an unregulated market of lab-created intoxicants sold without oversight in gas stations, convenience stores, and smoke shops across the state. The 2018 Farm Bill removed hemp, defined as containing less than 0.3% delta-9 THC, from the federal Controlled Substances Act. This was intended to revitalize American hemp farming for industrial purposes, but the law created an unintended loophole that chemical manufacturers quickly exploited. As I recently testified before the Ohio Senate General Government Committee, these intoxicating hemp products are often marketed as 'hemp-derived' or 'Farm Bill compliant' but the truth is much darker. In most cases, these intoxicants crowding gas station shelves are not derived from American-grown hemp. Rather, they often start with hemp-derived CBD imported primarily from countries like China and India, which is then synthetically converted through chemical processes involving acids and solvents into artificial THC. This process essentially breaks down the CBD molecule and rebuilds it into a synthetic compound like delta-8 THC. This is a far cry from the natural plant compounds found in traditional cannabis. When I visited Ohio stores late last year, I purchased numerous 'farm bill compliant' products containing these synthetic compounds from stores within walking distance to the Ohio Statehouse. Laboratory testing revealed these products had inconsistent potency, extremely high doses, unlisted ingredients, and chemical contaminants left over from the manufacturing process. This is fundamentally a public health problem. These are not merely 'marijuana-lite' products, as some proponents suggest, and they have little to do with actual hemp. The chemical conversion process introduces unknown compounds and contaminants that have shown time and again they pose significant health risks. The synthetic nature of these products means they often contain compounds that have never been studied for safety in humans or even named by science. Reports of adverse reactions continue to increase, with poison control centers documenting rising incidents of accidental ingestion, particularly among children attracted to brightly colored packaging resembling candy. Data from the University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future study recently revealed that 11% of high school seniors report using delta-8 THC. That is troubling, since delta-8 didn't exist in the marketplace five years ago. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE The FDA has repeatedly warned manufacturers about illegal sales and unsafe products, issuing dozens of warning letters. All THC edibles are federally illegal under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act – a fact that hemp intoxicants manufacturers and retailers conveniently overlook. However, without clear enforcement authority or resources, these warnings have done little to stem the tide of unregulated intoxicants flooding into communities across Ohio. Ohio voters made their desires clear by approving adult-use cannabis in 2023. The state is now implementing a comprehensive regulatory system for cannabis products that includes rigorous testing, packaging requirements, age verification, and consumer protections. This existing framework presents the most logical path forward for regulating hemp intoxicants. If these products are to exist in Ohio's marketplace, they should be subject to the same rigorous oversight as other intoxicating cannabis products and should be sold only through licensed dispensaries with appropriate age restrictions, testing requirements, and consumer safeguards. We've heard opponents in every state argue that such regulation hurts small businesses. Yet these products have only been around for a handful of years, and convenience stores and gas stations have thrived without resorting to selling artificial THC before. More importantly, the dangers they present, especially to young people who can currently purchase them with little or no age verification, far outweigh any economic arguments. Ohio would not be blazing a new trail by regulating these products. Even deeply conservative states recognize the need for oversight. Just this month, both Tennessee and Alabama, hardly progressive strongholds, signed laws into place regulating hemp-derived intoxicants. Their law specifically prohibits synthetic cannabinoids created 'by a chemical synthesis, modification, or chemical conversion from another cannabinoid,' precisely the type of products currently flooding Ohio's unregulated market in the form of gas station weed. The hemp intoxicant problem represents a rare opportunity for bipartisan action in our divided political landscape. This isn't about cannabis legalization, Ohio voters have already decided that question. It's about ensuring that all intoxicating products, particularly synthetic ones, are properly regulated to protect public health. Federal regulators failed to anticipate or address this problem. Now it falls to state lawmakers to protect their constituents. Other states, including many led by conservative majorities, have already taken action. It's time for Ohio to do the same. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ohio's school bus safety bill passes state house
A new bill that focuses on school bus safety is now heading to the Ohio Senate. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] News Center 7's Mason Fletcher breaks down what is inside this bill today on News Center 7 Daybreak from 4:25 a.m. until 7 a.m. TRENDING STORIES: Missing 24-year-old woman found 'safe,' police say 26-year-old man dead after motorcycle hits tree in Warren County 'Whip/Nae Nae' rapper sentenced for murder of cousin House Bill 3, the School Bus Safety Act, passed 88-0 on Wednesday at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus. It is sponsored by two state representatives, Rep. Bernie Willis, R-Springfield, and Rep. Cecil Thomas, D-Cincinnati. The bill was introduced after a deadly school bus crash in Clark County that killed one student, Aiden Clark, and injured dozens of others in 2023. It now heads to the Ohio Senate. We will update this story. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ohio House passes school bus safety bill spurred by deadly Clark County crash
Jun. 11—Anyone caught passing a school bus illegally would face significant fines and penalties to their driver's license under an Ohio House bill that passed 88-to-0. House Bill 3, the School Bus Safety Act, sponsored by Reps. Bernie Willis, R-Springfield, and Cecil Thomas, D-Cincinnati, would appropriate $10 million from Ohio Lottery funds to add cameras to school buses and educate drivers about school bus safety. Part of the $10 million would go toward school bus safety grants for local school districts. Cameras could be installed on school buses to record people improperly passing a school bus and those recordings could then be used in a criminal case, according to the bill. The bill now heads to the Ohio Senate for further consideration. Willis introduced the bill last General Assembly following a fatal crash in Clark County on State Route 41. Hermanio Joesph, a Haitian immigrant who did not have a valid driver's license, crossed over the center line into the oncoming lane, hitting a Northwestern Local Schools bus and flipping it over in August 2023. Aiden Clark, 11, died and about two dozen other students were injured. The state put together a school bus safety task force afterwards, which made several recommendations to improve school bus safety, all of which Willis included in the bill. "This bill has been a major collaborative effort between numerous interested parties across the state and nation," Willis said. Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman, R-Lima, said the opportunity for safety grants will help schools add seat belts, should they want to, along with many different safety upgrades outlined in the bill. "This issue comes down to sculpting (law) so that locals have their own option," Huffman said. "There are many local school districts that want to add seat belts and have the money to do it. Some have the money to do it and they don't want to add seat belts, for whatever reason." Ohio House Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, said the bill will help "make sure that children are safe to and from school." Paul Imhoff of the Buckeye Association of School Administrators, which represents Ohio's public school superintendents, testified in favor of the bill. He said it's clear thousands of drivers are disobeying Ohio's laws around school buses, and cracking down on people who don't follow the rules will be a good idea. "We urge you to support H.B. 3, which will improve the safety of Ohio students during their journeys to and from school," Imhoff said. Rudoph J. Breglia, of the School Bus Safety Alliance, testified in favor of the bill but additionally advocated for seat belts to be put in school buses. The state task force did not recommend using seat belts, saying there could be unintended consequences for kids who can't get out.
