Rotunda Rumblings
High and dry: Ten years after Colorado became the first state in the country to set up a recreational marijuana program, Politico Magazine has documented how sales have decreased, dispensaries and cultivators are closing their doors and tax revenues are down. Laura Hancock looks at Ohio’s adult-use program, which is ramping up, and finds some factors hurting Colorado – such as delta-8-THC – are also a problem in Ohio, and others are not, such as Colorado’s lack of licensing caps.
Friendly filing: Republican Attorney General Dave Yost says he agrees with Democratic Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein when it comes to a case involving Klein’s defense of a Columbus gun-control ordinance. Per Andrew Tobias, Yost filed a “friend of the court” brief with the Ohio Supreme Court on Tuesday, saying that while he disagrees with the ordinance, Klein should be allowed to appeal a temporary order issued by a Delaware County judge that’s blocked it from going into effect for more than a year. Although the case has to do with a Democratic city official, the ruling more broadly could affect the ability judges in Democratic-controlled areas have to block new laws passed by the Republican-controlled state legislature.
Passed gas: An Ohio House committee passed legislation Tuesday that would establish an interest-free state loan program and cut property taxes for the development of new natural gas pipelines, Jake Zuckerman reports. It passed on a bipartisan vote.
Read more Ohio politics stories
Rebutting Jordan: The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday issued its rebuttal against what it described as the “conspiratorial speculation” from U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan over his claims that the department was involved in the New York district attorney’s prosecution of former President Donald Trump, Sabrina Eaton writes. A letter to Jordan from Assistant U.S. Attorney General Carlos Felipe Uriarte said the Justice Department had conducted a comprehensive search of its email system that shows its leaders didn’t communicate with the New York district attorney’s office over its prosecution of Trump.
Grant awards: Six energy-efficiency projects in five Ohio counties, including one in Cuyahoga County, landed a combined $5.4 million in state grants on Tuesday. Jeremy Pelzer writes that each of the projects receiving the money through the Ohio Department of Development’s Advanced Energy Fund will use the funds to make buildings more energy efficient through things like replacing windows and roofs, upgrading hot water heaters and HVAC systems, and installing renewable energy generators like solar panels, according to the release.
Rulli got me now: State Sen. Michael Rulli has been elected to Congress, after he won Tuesday’s special election for Ohio’s solidly Republican 6th Congressional District. Rulli, a Republican who has served in the state Senate since January 2019, defeated Democrat Michael Kripchak, a first-time candidate, in a race that turned out to be closer than expected after Trump won the district by 29 points in 2020. Rulli will have to run for the office again this November, when he will be favored to win.
For your viewing pleasure: Here is a 1990 video of Rulli playing with Red Bliss, a Boston noise rock band for which he played bass at the time. We included a time-stamped link for a song in which Rulli is singing lead vocals.
Property tax proposal: Ohio Rep. Scott Wiggam, a Republican, has introduced a bill that would put on November ballots a constitutional amendment proposal to limit property tax increases to 4% a year. Wiggam, who acknowledged the chances of it getting done by November are slim, said some areas are seeing 30% increases. Ohio Public Radio’s Jo Ingles reports.
Proud to be an American again: An American flag is flying again at a suburban Columbus apartment complex, after it was removed for a large Donald Trump banner over the weekend. A Trump flag continues to fly beneath the American flag, the Dispatch’s Bob Vitale reports. An Italian flag that vibed with the San Margherita apartments formerly flew beneath Old Glory has not been returned to the flagpole.
Health care scares: Lawmakers are considering a bipartisan bill that would require hospitals to develop workplace security plans for when patients attack doctors and nurses, a protocol for reporting violence and post notices around the hospital that aggressive behavior will not be tolerated. The Ohio chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians surveyed members and 91% reported they or a colleague were a victim of violence in the previous year, Ohio Capital Journal’s Nick Evans reports.
Lobbying Lineup
Five organizations lobbying on Senate Bill 156, which transfers and narrows the authority to administer the Wild, Scenic and Recreational River Program from the Ohio Division of Parks and Watercraft to the Division of Natural Areas and Preserves. The Republican-sponsored bill passed the Senate in January and is under consideration in the House.
1. Ohio Water Partnership
2. The Nature Conservancy in Ohio
3. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources
4. Boating Associations of Ohio
5. Lake Erie Marine Trades Association
Birthdays
Ex-state Rep. John Barnes
Cory Hoffman, Delaware city councilman
Straight From The Source
Hey @OhioStatehouse Is there a Father’s Room with a changing table as well?”
-Laura Bischoff, a Gannett Ohio reporter on X, responding to a sign at the Ohio Statehouse pointing women to a “Mother’s Room” with a baby changing table. No similar room exists for men.
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