A new year begins, and a new General Assembly session begins tomorrow at the Ohio State Capitol. This is an off year when it comes to state-level elections, but there will be a lot of work to be done at the state level.
Here are some of the biggest items we think will be addressed in 2025.
US Senate nomination
First, Gov. Mike DeWine will soon be sworn into the Senate to replace J.D. Vance, who is retiring to become Vice President.
“It has to be someone who really wants to get the job done, and it has to be someone who we think is capable of doing it,” DeWine said, adding that a Senate appointment would keep him in the seat for a long time. He added that it was a possibility. time.
The governor has previously said he wants someone who can not only win the 2026 primary and general election, but also retain his seat in 2028.
We first reported that the governor and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted visited Mar-a-Lago to meet with President-elect Donald Trump and Vance in late 2024.
Mr. DeWine has been extremely tight-lipped about his meetings, and we are still awaiting records requests for his schedule from several months ago.
Our detailed research, which spoke to 30 political insiders, suggests Husted is the frontrunner. However, several other names consistently surface. Leading candidates include Ohio RNC Leader Jane Timken and Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague.
Politicos also mentioned state Rep. Jay Edwards. State Rep. Frank LaRose, State Sen. Matt Dolan, and Lydia Mihalik, director of the state Department of Development.
operating budget
This year, lawmakers must pass a new operating budget for 2026-2027 that provides billions of dollars to fund government and other state policies. State Rep. Jerry Cirino (R-Kirtland) is the next Treasurer, according to the nameplate on a particular Treasurer’s door, which includes major reforms to public programs such as school funding, tax reform, and Medicaid. It had previously explained that it would include support and cuts.
“Every senator and representative’s job, as you know, is to represent their districts well and try to meet their needs through the budget process that we go through,” he said. “Things that don’t get funded now might get funded in the next cycle.”
House Minority Leader Alison Russo (D-Upper Arlington) wants property tax relief, but she doesn’t expect that from her Republican colleagues.
“While we have long said we would not provide direct relief to this property tax problem, we do not want to address this concern for many Ohioans, especially those who are older and financially burdened, and provide substantial relief.” It’s the majority’s choice not to address the economic burden of setting a budget,” Russo said.
She says there are options for immediate help.
Dozens of bills have been proposed to provide relief to homeowners due to rising property taxes. A commission has been created. Statewide reports were released, including one on Wednesday. Nothing far-reaching was accomplished.
“There’s no need to wait until six months from now to create a budget. By the way, your income will probably be lower,” Reeder continued. “Other tax cuts are being considered to reduce the amount of money coming in as relief to residents.”
With the federal government’s COVID-19 relief funding gone, states will have far less funding than before.
“Do you think that too will probably pass? Probably not,” she added. “I think there’s always going to be an excuse not to address this issue.”
Republicans continue to say they will eventually address property taxes, which is likely to be included in the budget. But outgoing state Rep. Bill Seitz (R-Cincinnati) said lawmakers need to seriously sit down and think about the impact of their choices.
“When we make property tax concessions like this, we have to be careful not to disrupt the school funding structure…” Seitz said. “We don’t want our constitutional school funding system to be upended at the last minute by a series of local property tax cuts that derail that system.”
redistricting
The Ohio Redistricting Commission (ORC) is tasked with drawing new maps for the state’s 15 congressional districts. Republicans currently control 10 seats and Democrats control five.
The ORC consists of seven spots. There will always be two Republicans and two Democrats in the state legislature. The remaining three seats are the governor, secretary of state, and auditor.
This led to the 2021-2022 Ohio redistricting chaos, in which a bipartisan Ohio Supreme Court ruled that Republicans on the committee were drawing lines to unfairly benefit their party. Seven different maps were withheld.
When the map was first approved in 2022, the ORC’s vote on the map was not unanimous, so the map only lasted four years. This Congressional map, like previous versions of it, was declared unconstitutional by the bipartisan Ohio Supreme Court.
Redistricting reform No. 1 failed in November of this year, so Republicans will continue to be in charge. Although the Republican majority in Congress is slim, there is much at stake for both sides of the aisle.
Although a majority of voters rejected changes to the current system, politicians across party lines acknowledge that the 2021-2022 redistricting process was, as DeWine called it, “a mess.” .
The governor proposed another plan to prevent gerrymandering, modeled after Iowa’s hybrid system. Mr. DeWine was a member of the commission and voted in favor of all the maps the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional and gerrymandered.
cannabis reform
With Speaker-elect Matt Huffman (R-Lima) in control of the House and President-elect Rob McCauley (R-Napoleon) leading the Senate, the chances of changing marijuana policy will be even better.
Currently, adults over the age of 21 are allowed to smoke, vape, and consume cannabis. Ohio residents can grow up to 12 plants, with a maximum of six per household.
“There were some fundamental flaws in this initiative as it was proposed and passed by voters, and these flaws typically occur when there is no scrutiny from all sides,” Huffman said. . “The bill passed by the Senate last December addresses many of these issues.”
In December 2023, the Senate passed a bill restricting marijuana. If signed into law, it would reduce THC content and increase costs. Most e-cigarettes would be banned, among dozens of other restrictions and changes to what voters chose. Home-grown cannabis will also be limited to six plants instead of 12.
House leaders remained committed to listening to Ohioans and blocking Huffman’s proposal.
But now that Huffman is slated to become Speaker of the House, his chances of changing the law are increasing.
The sale has already begun in August, and House leaders last year said changing the law now would be harmful and disruptive.
when it starts
The 136th Congress begins Monday, January 6th. New members are sworn in at a ceremony in each chamber.
This article originally appeared on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content-sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is owned by Cleveland WEWS and cannot be republished for free by other news organizations.
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