How 40 years of laws and restrictions lessened abortion access in Ohio: Capitol Letter

Rotunda Rumblings

In the dozens: With the U.S. Supreme Court on the verge of overturning Roe v. Wade, Laura Hancock looked at abortion restrictions that the Ohio General Assembly has passed over the past four decades. These include restrictions on minors obtaining abortions, prohibiting nurses and physician assistants from prescribing abortion pills and cutting off access at around six weeks. Anti-abortion supporters have been chipping away at abortion rights, and if the trend continues, Ohio is poised to outlaw abortion soon.

In communities: Abortion opponents have been somewhat less successful getting anti-abortion/”sanctuary for the unborn” ordinances passed in Ohio cities. The only standing ordinance is being challenged in federal court for being vague and violating the U.S. Constitution, Hancock reports.

Reefer to next year: A ballot issue fully legalizing marijuana in Ohio will not be on the ballot this November, per a legal settlement that a group backing the effort made with state officials. Per Andrew Tobias, the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol is now planning to introduce its proposed law to the state legislature in January 2023, which would tee up a potential statewide vote the following November if the legislature doesn’t act on it. In exchange, state officials agreed to accept the 140,000-plus signatures the group already has collected instead of potentially making them start from scratch. The proposed law — called an initiated statute — hit a roadblock after it failed to submit enough valid signatures before a deadline at the end of December for it to be considered in this year’s legislative session.

Mental-health benefits?: Gov. Mike DeWine on Friday proposed spending $85 million in federal COVID aid on scholarships and other financial incentives for young Ohioans to become social workers, therapists, and other behavioral healthcare providers – a career that’s in high demand these days. As Jeremy Pelzer reports, an initial survey found at least 4,000 students could benefit from the proposal, though it still needs approval from federal officials.

All aboard?: For the first time since Amtrak proposed a major expansion of passenger rail service in Ohio more than a year ago, Gov. Mike DeWine is expressing an interest in learning more, Susan Glaser reports DeWine’s office says he’s asked the Ohio Rail Development Commission, part of ODOT, to work with Amtrak “to determine the feasibility and cost” of several routes identified by Amtrak in a massive expansion proposal. But DeWine’s spokesman stopped short of saying the governor supports new rail service, including a possible link between Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati.

Execution delayed: Gov. Mike DeWine has again postponed death-row inmate Kareem Jackson’s scheduled execution date — this time, from Sept. 15, 2022 until Dec. 10, 2025. As Pelzer explains, it’s the latest execution reprieve granted by DeWine because of the state’s ongoing troubles with acquiring lethal-injection drugs.

Surrendered: William Husel surrendered his Ohio medical license, despite being found innocent of murder charges related to several patients’ deaths in the Columbus area, the Associated Press’ Andrew Welsh-Huggins reports. Husel ordered excessive amounts of painkillers for patients. He was initially charged in 2019 in connection with 25 deaths, but that was reduced before the trial began this year.

Home sweet home?: State Rep. Jennifer Gross has killed a bill she’s sponsoring that would have provided funding to ensure every veteran in Ohio had housing. Gross said that she talked to stakeholders and concluded the bill was not needed. However, veterans say this is untrue, according to News5 Clevleand’s Morgan Trau.

Blast from the past: Federal prosecutors trying a corruption case against former Cincinnati councilman P.G. Sittenfeld want a judge to prevent Sittenfeld from calling Ed FitzGerald, the former Cuyahoga County executive and 2014 Democratic candidate for governor, to testify at Sittenfeld’s trial next month. In a federal court filing on Friday, federal prosecutors objected to what they said was a lack of detail in a disclosure Sittenfeld’s defense team provided them summarizing FitzGerald’s possible testimony. Sittenfeld’s lawyers said FitzGerald, a former FBI agent from 1995 to 1998, would “provide expert testimony about the conduct of the undercover investigation” and would describe “typical and ordinary communication and interaction between elected officials and potential donors.” Prosecutors have accused Sittenfeld of accepting campaign contributions in exchange for promising favorable action on a project the FBI set up as a sting operation, while Sittenfeld, a former rising star in the Democratic Party, has denied wrongdoing, calling his interactions with undercover agents typical campaigning.

Lobbying Lineup

Five groups lobbying on Senate Bill 144, a bipartisan measure that requires employers who intend to relocate a call center from Ohio to a foreign county to notify the director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services at least 120 days before relocating. Companies that offshore call centers wouldn’t be able to get some state economic incentives until five years after the relocation.

1. Cardinal Health

2. J.P. Morgan Chase Holdings

3. Verizon Communications & Affiliates

4. Charter Communications

5. Ohio Telecommunications Association

Straight From The Source

“I filled my shopping cart up and when I got to the checkout counter, I was not allowed to buy everything that I had in my cart.”

-Kate Yonkura, a Delaware County resident who described driving to several stores to find baby formula. Low-income Ohioans who receive government benefits to purchase certain types of formula are especially hurt by the nationwide shortage, Ohio Public Radio’s Jo Ingles reports.

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