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Legislative Update: Subject to Change

By Belinda Jones

Call me "content" but I am change averse! I attach quickly and am loyal to people, places and things. Personally, I am content with the car I am driving, the color of my walls and to be honest, I ached with every birthday of my children. But change is, as you know, inevitable and often out of our control. For example, no matter how we cling to summer, autumn arrives; seasons change. And this week brought some unexpected changes around capital square.

A BIG change is the recent and abrupt resignation of Senate Ag Committee Chairman, Senator Cliff Hite (R; Findlay). Citing personal health reasons as well as an admission of "inappropriate conversations" with a state employee, Hite will be leaving the Senate after serving the 1st Senate District since 2011. Hite also served in the Ohio House from 2007- 2010. One of capital squares more affable lawmakers, Hite was also known as "Coach" because of his prior career as a Findlay High School teacher and football coach where he notably coached Ben Roethlisberger (before he played for Miami University and the Pittsburgh Steelers). Chairman Hite used his coaching and teamwork skills as he navigated some tough issues in the Senate Ag Committee including the Great Lakes Compact legislation, several water quality bills and the controversial and contentious "dangerous wild animal" legislation. Unknown at this time is who will replace him as Senate Ag Committee Chairman and who will fill his unexpired term in the Ohio Senate. And so the ag community finds itself “subject to change.”

Another big change on the federal level is the announcement by long serving Ohio Congressman Pat Tiberi (R; Columbus) of his intentions to step down from his Congressional seat by January 31, 2018. Having served the 12th Congressional District (central Ohio and northern central Ohio) for the last 17 years, Congressman Tiberi is stepping down to accept a position as president and CEO of the Ohio Business Roundtable. A leader with great humility and temperance, Congressman Tiberi rose in the ranks of his peers under the tutelage of former US House Speaker John Boehner. Most recently, Tiberi has been an instrumental voice on the House Ways and Means Committee. A coveted congressional seat in a conservatively drawn district, as you might guess, many are considering a bid to replace Tiberi, including Ohio Senator Kevin Bacon (R; Minerva Park), and Ohio Senator Jay Hottinger (R; Newark). Uncommitted but "considering options" include Rep. Mike Duffey (R; Worthington), Rep. Anne Gonzales (R; Westerville) and Sen. Kris Jordan (R; Delaware). The seat will be filled by a special election, followed by a primary and a general election. Again, we are subject to change.

Of course, 2018 will be a big year of change with the November general election offering Ohioans the chance to elect a new governor and a new slate of statewide office holders. Does it seem too soon to be talking about next November? It is not too soon for the candidates.

We have four strong candidates vying for the Republican nomination for governor: Attorney General Mike DeWine; Congressman Jim Renacci; Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor, and Secretary of State Jon Husted. On the democratic side, while some on the left are still hoping for the entry of former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray, thus far, the announced candidates are: Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley; Senator Joe Schiavoni; former Congresswoman Betty Sutton and former State Rep. Connie Pillich. No matter the outcome of the primaries and ultimately the general election, we will have a new governor in January of 2019 and that brings a domino of change in the state agencies, etc…

Thus, we need to embrace even look forward to change. What will these changes mean for Ohio? What will these changes mean for you and your business? While we are all subject to change, one thing is constant: your leadership at OABA is continually looking out for your interests at the state house and in the state agencies.

NOTE: If you, like me, are change averse, consider reading "Who Moved my Cheese?" by Spencer Johnson. I would love to read it with you and have an "off-line" discussion about the benefits of change!

 

CHANGING THE SUBJECT

For the remainder of the calendar year, the Ohio House and the Ohio Senate will continue grappling with the unresolved budget issues and potential veto overrides, particularly on the subject of Medicaid. There is talk of using SB 8 as the "budget corrections" bill.

Also under consideration in the Senate is the overall subject of possible tax reform under the leadership of Sen. Peterson and the Tax Expenditure Review Committee. On the House side, Rep. Kirk Schuring recently introduced HB 382 which would make changes to Ohio's Unemployment Compensation law. We will keep you posted on all of these initiatives.

 

From the agency stand point, consider the following:

ODA

Did you realize that ODA has a link to the Ohio Applicator Forecast?  "The Ohio Applicator Forecast is designed to help nutrient applicators identify times when the weather-risk for applying is low. The risk forecast is created by the National Weather Service and takes snow accumulation and melt, soil moisture content, and forecast precipitation and temperatures into account. The chances of surface runoff in the next 24 hours are displayed on the overview map of the state. If you zoom to street level, seven days of weather conditions and runoff chances are predicted."  (taken from the ODA website)

For more information, including info about the 590 Application Map and a summary of nutrient management regulations, click here.

ODNR

Due to a fairly extensive fish kill apparently caused by manure applications, ODNR recently handed out fines to operators of three agricultural businesses.

For more information, see the following article:

https://businessmirror.com.ph/ohio-hands-out-fines-over-fish-kills-caused-by-farm-manure/

OEPA

Encouraging Environmental Excellence (E3) award applications are available on-line now through November 17.

Recycling and Litter Prevention Grant applications are due by February 8, 2018.

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