If you have any tips, comments, or questions, I’d love to hear them. You can reach me at 614-981-1422, avery.kreemer@coxinc.com or @AveryKreemer on X. You can also follow our political coverage on our website and through our Ohio Politics Facebook page.
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Antani’s home township asks him to step down
• The story: The trustees of Miami Twp. officially called for the resignation of state Sen. Niraj Antani, R-Miami Twp., before his term expires at the end of this year.
• The resolution: In their unanimously approved resolution, the trustees claimed that Antani neglected his obligation to his constituents by not advocating for projects the township hoped could garner funding from a $700 million special projects fund the state created with surplus tax dollars.
• Antani’s response: “As a staunch conservative, I vehemently oppose these liberal Miami Twp. trustees, who have voted to raise taxes multiple times, wanting $2.6 million of surplus state taxpayer dollars for their special pet park projects,” Antani said. “No politician is entitled to taxpayer dollars for their pet projects. I want to be very clear: I don’t work for politicians. I work for the people, and I will always do everything I can to return the people’s taxpayer dollars back to them through tax cuts, and vote against spending on pork barrel projects.”
• Our reporting: The Dayton Daily News previously reported that Antani did not submit any local projects to Senate leadership, which he said was based on his ideological opposition to using surplus tax dollars on community projects. He said he’d prefer tax refunds instead. Antani voted against the spending bill.
• More background: Miami Twp. is the second political subdivision within Antani’s district to publicly indicate frustration with his representation in the Ohio Senate. Recently, Centerville’s city council delayed a vote to call for Antani’s resignation to allow the senator time to address its stated concerns, which were largely similar to the township’s.
• Here’s the full story from Eric Schwartzberg.
Drivers license suspensions due to child support non-payments soar in Montgomery
• The story: The state is considering a bill that would do what little it could to protect Ohioans who are in default on their child support payments from getting their licenses suspended, which might have an outsized effect on Montgomery County, as it is far and away the county that most often takes away driving privileges for this sort of infraction over the past two years.
• The data: In 2023, the most recent year with full data, Montgomery County’s Department of Job and Family Services suspended 2,129 licenses due to child support issues. The considerably more populated Hamilton County came second with 1,442 suspensions — a difference of 687 suspensions.
• County response: Montgomery County Department of Job and Family Services defended its record of suspensions by noting that the county leads the state in collecting overdue child support and ranks second for current collections. A spokesperson told us that, even with vastly higher suspensions per capita, and per caseload, the county still views suspensions as “essentially a last-resort.”
• The bill: The bill wouldn’t necessarily change anything about how often each county decides to use license suspensions to collect overdue child support — a practice that seems to vary wildly across the state. But, it would give parents in default the chance to argue that a suspension would make it even harder for them to comply with their obligation.
• Here’s my analysis on Montgomery County.
Local political news of the week
• An investigation into Montgomery County group homes: The number of juvenile group homes in Montgomery County has been growing in recent years, to the extent that the county is now home to 1/3 of Ohio’s total count, according to a Dayton Daily News investigation. This leads many children to be sent to Montgomery County. Here’s Cornelius Frolik’s investigation.
• Police & courts overwhelmed: Our reporting found that youth in group homes now account for more than a quarter of the criminal charges in Montgomery County Juvenile Court. Further, police calls to group homes is rising exponentially. Go here for more from our investigation.
• Search for mediation: Local and state policymakers are hoping to quickly find solutions. In Dayton, some believe that lax zoning laws allow the area to be a haven and ought to be changed; while state lawmakers hope to pass new standards in existing group homes to ensure better outcomes. This story looks at that.
State political news of the week
• Ohio law still blocks gay marriage: Is it worth updating Ohio law to allow gay marriage, even though the state has recognized same-sex marriages since the U.S. Supreme Court forced states to back in 2015? A Democrat in the Ohio House argues that an update is critically important. Here’s my story.
• Minimum wage fight temporarily caged: The group behind a proposed $15 minimum wage state constitutional amendment didn’t collect enough signatures to get on the ballot this November, they believe, so it won’t be on the ballot this fall, as they planned. Organizers set their sights on 2025, instead. Here’s my story.
• License suspensions debated: An Ohio bill would limit the circumstances that an Ohioan’s license can be suspended for non-driving offenses like drug possession, truancy and the failure to pay court fines and fees. Here’s my story.
National political news of the week
• School choice on the ballot: National Republicans are poised to support “universal school choice” as part of the policy platform they adopt at next week’s convention in Milwaukee, a goal supporters see as the culmination of decades advocating for parents’ autonomy to pick their children’s schools. To opponents, it’s a thinly veiled blueprint for gutting public education. Here’s the story from Julie Carr Smyth of the Associated Press.
• Inflation cools again: Inflation in the United States cooled in June for a third straight month, a sign that the worst price spike in four decades is steadily fading and may soon usher in interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. Associated Press has the story.
• Milestone in back taxes: The IRS announced Thursday that it has collected $1 billion in back taxes from high-wealth tax cheats — a milestone meant to showcase how the agency is making use of the money it received as part of the Biden administration’s signature climate, health care, and tax package signed into law in 2022. Here’s the Associated Press story.