With the sap out of the way, let’s dive in to what’s happened in politics over the past two weeks.
As ever, I can be contacted with tips, comments or questions at 614-981-1422, avery.kreemer@coxinc.com or @AveryKreemer on X. You can also follow our coverage at our Politics page and through our Ohio Politics Facebook page.
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GOP and Democrats split as Ohio House tries to boost publicly-funded police, fire pension
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
• The story: Ohio police and firefighters took one step closer to bolstering their pension Wednesday following the Ohio House’s passage of a bill that would significantly raise local governments’ contributions to the public Ohio Police and Fire Pension fund over the next six years.
• The proposal: Today, local governments contribute amounts equal to 24% of the pay of their firefighters and 19.5% of the pay of their police force. If H.B. 296 goes into effect, it would raise local governments’ contributions for police to 24%, matching that of firefighters and theoretically increasing the pension’s solvency. It would be the first time Ohio has raised employer contributions to the fund since 1986.
• Its future: The bill will cost Ohio’s local governments a cumulative $81.9 million per year once fully enacted, if it makes its way into law. For now, it heads to the Senate, which has only a few weeks to vet and pass the bill if it were to become law this legislative session.
• The vote: Given the cost to local governments, the vote was less certain than most that go down in the Ohio House. The bill was ultimately passed on the back of Democratic support. Republicans, despite having a supermajority, couldn’t muster enough votes in favor of the bill to pass it on their own, giving Democrats a relatively rare power over a bill that many in the caucus had reservations with. In the end, 42 Republicans voted in favor and 19 voted against while 22 Democrats voted in favor and six voted against.
• Here’s my full story on the bill.
New constitutional amendment proposal aims for November 2025 ballot
• The story: A campaign aiming to eliminate legal immunity that protect police, prosecutors, teachers and other public employees in Ohio from certain civil lawsuits soon will begin petitioning across the state with the goal of putting its proposed constitutional amendment on the November 2025 ballot.
• The idea: Much of the focus is on the amendment ending qualified immunity, which protects public employees like police officers from certain lawsuits if they are accused of violating someone’s rights while acting in their official capacity.
• Current law: Under current law, such lawsuits are only allowed if the constitution or case law have specifically stated the official’s actions are prohibited — such as racial profiling — the amendment would allow lawsuits in situations where it’s less clear whether the official may have violated someone’s rights.
• Taking sides: The amendment is so far opposed mightily by police and their advocates, while the Ohio Conference NAACP is still considering a full fledged endorsement. Tom Roberts, president of the Ohio Conference NAACP, told me creating an easier, more consistent avenue for civil lawsuits could become a valuable tool for community members to use to “actually remove bad actors from law enforcement where they exist.”
Local political news of the week
Credit: Lynch, Gregory
Credit: Lynch, Gregory
• ‘Criminalizing charity’: A local volunteer group has filed a federal lawsuit claiming that a city of Dayton law prohibiting people from distributing food in public spaces downtown without a permit is unconstitutional following the arrest of a volunteer for handing burritos to a homeless man. Cornelius Frolik has the story.
• Vance class: Teachers are Middletown Christian School are using V.P.-elect JD Vance as a real-world instructional lesson for their students by integrating the U.S. senator’s autobiography “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis,” as classroom curriculum. Michael Clark has the story.
• Springfield waits: Springfield Mayor Rob Rue said at Tuesday’s city commission meeting that the city will comply with the law if the new administration of President-elect Donald Trump mandates deportation of immigrants, as threatened. Vicky Forrest and Jeremy Kelley have the story.
State political news of the week
• Group homes: Group homes for children would face additional reporting requirements, oversight and easier possible closure under legislation backed by Dayton-area state lawmakers following a rash of problems involving group homes in Montgomery County — which now houses more than one-third of the state’s group homes, a recent Dayton Daily News investigation found. Here’s my story with Cornelius Frolik.
• Drivers ed: State and local efforts to expand driver training, especially for Haitian immigrants, took a step forward Thursday with Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s announcement of 10 new driving training simulators in Clark County. Brooke Spurlock has the story.
• Dayton on pension bill : Dayton Mayor Jeffrey Mims told me that he doesn’t think raising pensions in Ohio would really help the state attract much-needed police officers because new hires are generally more interested in things like take-home pay and benefits, which might need to be cut in order to afford a hike in local government pension contributions if the House got its way. Here’s the story.
National political news of the week
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
• Springfield update: Middletown City Council has been blasted twice now in the past month — once by JD Vance’s mother and once by a local pastor — for doing nothing to recognize November’s election victory that will make native Middletonian Vance the next vice president of the United States. Both linked stories are by Lauren Pack.
• Locals to elect Trump: Kettering Clerk of Courts Rob Scott and Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones are among the 17 Ohio electors who will formalize President-elect Donald Trump’s win on Dec. 17 when Ohio’s 56th Electoral College convenes in the state Senate chamber at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus. Lynn Hulsey has the story.