Lawmakers rush bills in last days
Ohio Republicans try to fulfill promises, while Democrats ready to take power want delay, debate
By Dennis J. Willard
Akron Beacon Journal
Columbus Bureau COLUMBUS - In these closing days of the 126th Ohio General Assembly, Republicans are working feverishly on a conservative, pro-business agenda by placing newly introduced bills on the fast track for passage and shaking the dust from stymied ideas that have been shelved for months. Democrats are crying foul, denouncing the GOP lawmakers for rushing bills through without thorough debate. They maintain many bills cater to traditional Republican constituencies while leveling parting shots at the Democrats' base: unions, big cities and minimum-wage workers. In January, the 12-year Republican lock on state government will be broken when Democrats become governor, attorney general, secretary of state and treasurer. The GOP will continue to hold the majority in each legislative chamber, albeit a slimmer lead in the House, but the one-party rule dynamic that has allowed Republicans to control the process will end this month. House Minority Leader Joyce Beatty, D-Columbus, labeled the Republican efforts ``the GOP lame duck rush.'' She said her members would not support GOP bills -- although some represent good ideas -- because they are being rushed through the legislature and may contain unintended consequences or ``partisan Trojan horses.'' House Speaker Jon Husted, R-Kettering, said Beatty's accusations are exaggerated and many of the bills being passed have garnered or will receive Democratic support. He pointed to two volatile votes on the House floor Thursday -- one to override the governor's veto on a concealed-gun carry bill and the other to restrict government spending on abortion services -- that picked up a number of votes from Democrats. ``I use this as an example of tangible evidence to the contrary of her statement,'' Husted said. ``It's our obligation to debate bills. Some of them they're not going to like. Some of them I don't like.'' Although 14 Democrats joined Republicans to override Taft's veto of a concealed carry bill that invalidated local gun ordinances, the 21 votes in support of the veto all came from Democrats, many of whom represent urban districts, where officials have tried to restrict firearms and assault weapons. Husted pointed to other measures moving in the lame duck session that will attract bipartisan support, including the $1.8 billion capital improvements budget directing state funding for construction projects in Republican and Democrat districts. He wouldn't speculate on whether some bills introduced since the election could only pass in a lame duck session and not receive enough votes in a new session. ``It's impossible to know what kind of votes we will get next year on things, not only from the partisan shift, but with 31 brand new members, I don't know how each of them think on these issues,'' Husted said. Republicans are now following through on promises to business to deliver a high school curriculum overhaul and minimize harm from a voter-approved amendment to the Ohio Constitution to raise the minimum wage. They are also using the Democrat election mantra about the ``culture of corruption'' to impose new contribution standards that will bear directly on Democrat Gov.-elect Ted Strickland and other state officeholders. A GOP bill would also create roadblocks to the new administration in developing rules that could potentially have an adverse impact on business. Keith Dailey, Strickland's spokesman, said the incoming governor is monitoring the action in the legislature. ``We remain hopeful that the leadership in the legislature will stand by their stated commitment to work in a cooperative spirit of mutual trust,'' Dailey said. Strickland, however, may be restricted by bills introduced since the election that are on the fast track in the current session. House Bill 685, sponsored by state Rep. Keith Faber, R-Celina, gives a relatively obscure body of lawmakers -- the Joint Committee on Agency Rule and Review -- authority to hold up executive orders by requiring a report to show the impact on business before state administrative rules can be implemented. Contracts, contributions In another bill, state Rep. Kevin DeWine, R-Fairborn, is proposing to limit the contributions from individuals and their family members who have state contracts with the statewide offices, including the governor, to $1,000. DeWine's bill was introduced Nov. 29 and changed in a legislative committee Thursday to require Strickland's administration to seek a review of all contracts for more than $1 million from the Ohio Attorney General -- Democrat Marc Dann -- beginning in January. Democrats, especially Dann, criticized the ``culture of corruption'' in Columbus on their way to ousting Republicans from office this year. DeWine's legislation would give Dann's office more direct control and responsibility over state contracts. DeWine said he got the idea from legislation Dann introduced earlier in the session. ``It's what Democrats ran on'' DeWine said. ``We listened and heard the voters.'' He said his bill focuses on no-bid contracts and the perception that contributions are greased in exchange for state work. Critic sees holes Catherine Turcer, Ohio Citizen Action legislative director, has pushed for campaign finance reform, but is not ready to embrace DeWine's effort. ``Most people are for reform like most people are for puppies,'' Turcer said. ``But how do you have a substantive conversation when you don't have the time?'' Turcer said a cursory review of DeWine's bill was enough to notice mile-wide loopholes, no efforts to build a central database to track the links between contributors and state contracts, and no meaningful enforcement mechanisms to ensure the law would be followed. DeWine acknowledged the bill does not change the amount of money that affiliated Political Action Committees can give to candidates, but he said broader campaign finance reform will be initiated in the legislature next year. Since the election, Republicans have introduced 21 bills in the House and 10 in the Senate while working on others that were stalled during the election. School standards The GOP has resurrected and moved quickly on Gov. Bob Taft's Ohio Core initiative to require high school graduates to complete a more rigorous curriculum, including four years of math and three years of science with labs, to be eligible to enroll in all but three state universities. The Ohio Business Roundtable has complained for years that many high school graduates are ill-prepared to join the work force. Democrats are voicing opposition to the bill, not the idea of higher standards, on the grounds that the school funding system remains unconstitutional and the Ohio Core plan does not include money for the increased requirements. Strickland wants the legislature to wait to pass the program until next year. Ohio Core isn't the only substantive education initiative moving through the legislature. State Rep. Charles Calvert, R-Medina, introduced legislation on Nov. 30 to create the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Education Authority that will spend $16 million to allow a public or private entity to operate and control four or five startup schools in the next two years. The schools will focus on the STEM curricula and the funding for students is similar to that for charter schools in Ohio, in which students in the schools will be counted in their resident district's enrollment and the state dollars will flow through the local school district's budget to the STEM schools. A nine-member authority that includes the state school superintendent, development director and the Ohio Board of Regents chancellor will hire a STEM CEO to hire and manage staffs at each school. Calvert's bill is scheduled for a possible vote this week in the finance committee, which he chairs.
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