LIMA — While state legislators may not be voting on new bills for a while, they are still eager to hear from voters on important issues, with Sen. Keith Faber, R-Celina, being one example.
Ohio Senate
Sen. Keith Faber, R-Celina: Faber announced Wednesday that on June 30, he or a member of his staff will hold district office hours in both Allen and Auglaize counties. The purpose of these meetings is to hear from constituents on issues important to them while also informing them of recent developments in Columbus.
Office hours will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Lima Public Library, as well as from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at the St. Marys Community Public Library. No appointment is needed to attend.
Ohio House of Representatives
Rep. Robert Sprague, R-Findlay: Sprague, along with Rep. Denise Driehaus, D-Cincinnati, will hold a joint news conference at 2 p.m. Monday to announce the official signing of House Bill 110, which will include language to create a Good Samaritan law.
Designed to encourage people to report drug overdoses, the Good Samaritan law would allow for people who may be guilty of a minor drug possession while witnessing an overdose to report that overdose without risk of being arrested. Further details will be outlined during the announcement.
Andrea Boxill, deputy director of the Governor’s Cabinet Opiate Action Team, along with Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Neil and selected family members of those dealing with an opiate addiction, will also be in attendance during the announcement, which will be held in the Ohio Statehouse Harding Press Room. The announcement can be streamed live at www.ohiochannel.org.
U.S. House of Representatives
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana: During a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing Thursday, Jordan outlined the benefits of the Welfare Reform and Upward Mobility Act of 2016, a bill he introduced to reform the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program by requiring able-bodied adults without dependents who receive food stamps to fulfill a work or job training requirement in order to continue to receive benefits.
“That seems to be helping that individual who was in the system get to a better position in life, and just as importantly help treat taxpayers with the respect they deserve so someone’s not living off their tax dollars who’s able-bodied,” he testified.
The bill is also being sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah.
Rep. Bob Latta, R-Bowling Green: Latta voted Friday to pass two resolutions that express disapproval for proposals that he maintained would dramatically raise energy taxes.
The first proposal would impose a $10 tax on the sale of every barrel of oil, a measure that President Obama included in his annual budget earlier this year and would result in a 24-cent increase on the cost of every gallon of gas, according to Latta. The second features a carbon tax applied to the emission of carbon dioxide. Latta noted that a study found that a $25-per-ton tax on carbon dioxide would reduce the annual income of a family of four by $1,900.
U.S. Senate
Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio: On Thursday, after urgings from Portman, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a 93-percent increase in funding for opioid abuse programs.
“Increased funding is a key part of turning the tide of this addiction epidemic, and so is ensuring that this funding is spent wisely on evidence-based education, treatment and recovery programs that have proven to work at the state and local level,” Portman said.
