1 week Ago
Rotunda Rumblings Tax blessing? Bruising? The Ohio House wants school districts with account balances of over 30% of their annual operating costs to return the excess funds to homeowners as discounts on property tax bills. This could be helpful to homeowners, many of whom have seen taxes rise due to increased valuations. But school districts say this could devastate them and require them to put a levy before voters in a year or two – or to make significant cuts.
Anna Staver and Laura Hancock report on the proposal and include a searchable table of district balances. Who dey gonna pay? The Cincinnati Bengals and FC Cincinnati are now joining the Cleveland Browns in lobbying Ohio lawmakers for state help with their respective stadium projects. As Jeremy Pelzer reports , the Bengals and Hamilton County officials are asking lawmakers to cover $350 million of a planned $830 million renovation of Paycor Stadium, while FC Cincinnati is looking to piggyback on state budget bill language authorizing $600 million in state-backed bonds for a new Browns stadium in suburban Brook Park.
Looking longer term : With President Donald Trump saying there are “methods” by which he could secure a third term, Pelzer asked Ohio Republican legislators if they would support ratifying any changes Congress might propose to the two-term limit set by the 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Pelzer also took a look at how Ohio ratified the 22nd Amendment back in 1947, and he talked with a University of Texas law professor who brought up a little-discussed option Trump could potentially use to circumvent presidential term limits. Just desserts : U.S.
Sen. Jon Husted is cosponsoring legislation that would block people from using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits to purchase soft drinks, candy, and prepared desserts, Sabrina Eaton writes . The Columbus-area Republican this week announced he’s signed onto a bill called the “Healthy SNAP Act of 2025.
" He said in a statement that American taxpayers are footing the bill on both ends of a broken system: first, by subsidizing the consumption of unhealthy, ultra-processed foods, and then again by covering the skyrocketing health care costs caused by the chronic diseases those foods can cause. Read more Ohio politics stories Democracy in the dark: Ohio House secretly moves to eliminate elected coroners To reduce Ohio’s still-high infant mortality rate, add DeWine’s Help Me Grow pilot back into budget: editorial Backroom dealmaking, Ohio’s budget and the Browns: Thomas Suddes Jay jumps in: Ex-state Rep. Jay Edwards filed to run for state treasurer on Friday, ending months of speculation about his 2026 plans.
As Pelzer reports , the Athens County Republican entered an already crowded GOP primary that includes ex-lawmaker Niraj Antani of suburban Dayton, state Sen. Kristina Roegner of Hudson, and Lake County Treasurer Michael Zuren. Fish tale: The state and federal governments disagree about whether the Ohio Division of Wildlife should stock the Cuyahoga River with steelhead trout, native to the Pacific Northwest.
Cuyahoga County National Park officials are concerned the non-native species could disrupt the ecosystem, while the state is interested in promoting fishing and ways for the public to harness natural resources, Pete Krouse reports . Greenland fallout : The U.S.
announced it removed the commander of the Pituffik Space Base in Greenland on Thursday because of a “loss of confidence in her ability to lead” after Vice President JD Vance’s controversial visit to the semiautonomous island last month, CNN reports. Following Vance’s trip, Military.com reported the commander, Susannah Meyers, sent out an email to the space base pushing back on the Cincinnati Republican’s actions and comments.
“Actions to undermine the chain of command or to subvert President Trump’s agenda will not be tolerated at the Department of Defense,” Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell wrote in a statement posted to X on Thursday More Catholic than the Pope? The nation’s first Catholic president, John F. Kennedy, may have downplayed his religion, but its current vice president does not hesitate to cite papal encyclicals at tech conferences, or to back up his social media arguments with quotations from long-dead saints, The Washington Post reports . In February, Pope Francis issued a remarkable letter to U.
S. bishops that included a rebuke of Vance’s public theologizing. But the vice president has equally staunch defenders among conservative American Catholics who have repeatedly criticized the current papacy.
More abortion info: The Ohio House-passed version of the budget requires more details to be reported on abortions performed – including a woman’s zip code, education level, number of previous abortions, menstrual history, Rh factor in blood and method of contraception used when she got pregnant, if any. Abortion rights advocates say this is unconstitutional because it’s not required for other medical procedures and in some cases, could identify the women, The Statehouse News Bureau’s Jo Ingles reports . Back to the old school : The Lorain County Board of Elections notified voters that it will use paper to check in voters when they arrive at polling places on the May 6 election.
Normally they check people in using digital tablets, which are called electronic pollbooks. Voting will remain electronic. This process, however, could lengthen the time to vote, Hancock reports .
RIP: Ohio native Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, former president of the National Council of Churches in the 1900s, died March 31 in Chagrin Falls at age 93, the New York Times’ Trip Gabriel reports . The organization sought to be a liberal counter to the conservative Christian Coalition, involved in issues from climate change to siding with the father of 6-year-old Cuban refugee Elian Gonzalez.
Lobbying Lineup Five organizations that lobbied Gov. Mike DeWine and other executive agencies on funding for the arts in 2024, according to the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee . 1.
Clifton Cultural Arts Center in Cincinnati 2. County Commissioners Association of Ohio 3. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland 4.
Toledo Museum 5. Columbus Association for the Performing Arts On the Move State Rep. Steve Demetriou, a Geauga County Republican, announced he will run for state Senate District 27, a seat being vacated by Sen.
Kristina Roegner, who is running for Ohio Treasurer. Birthdays Christian Kamm, external affairs associate at the Nature Conservancy Straight from the Source “The nub of the problem here is that the secretary, in cutting short the parole period afforded to these individuals, has to have a reasoned decision.” -U.
S. District Judge Indira Talwani, during a hearing over whether the Trump administration can end the protected status of 500,000 foreign nationals, including thousands of Haitians living and working in Springfield. Talwani said she planned to issue a stay on the order for the Haitians, along with Venezuelans, Cubans and Nicaraguans, to leave the country.
Their protected status permits were to end April 24, according to the Associated Press . Capitol Letter is a daily briefing providing succinct, timely information for those who care deeply about the decisions made by state government. Subscribe to get Capitol Letter in your email box each weekday for free.
.
