Rotunda Rumblings
PAC man: A week after launching a new non-profit to promote the “Dignity of Work” issues he took up in Congress and on the campaign trail, former U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown converted his campaign fundraising account into a political action committee called “Dignity of Work” PAC, Sabrina Eaton reports. Washington, D.C.-based campaign finance attorney Brett Kappel said the type of PAC that Brown is forming is a “hybrid PAC.” Kappel said if Brown planned to run for federal office again, it’s unlikely he’d convert his campaign account to a PAC. But he could still form a new campaign committee to run for Senate again.
Oh, baby: Republicans are back with a bill to let parents claim the child income tax deduction before their baby is born. House Bill 87 would extend the discount for living children (which can total $2,400 per child) to those in utero. Anna Staver reports that state Rep. Gary Click thinks it makes sense because your expenses don’t start after the baby is born. HB 87 would also eliminate sales tax on diapers, clothing, car seats and a whole host of items people often buy before their baby arrives.
Kindergarten math: An Ohio House bill would add consistency to the age when children can start kindergarten. Laura Hancock reports that the bill would allow all kids to start kindergarten if they’re age five by the first day of school. Current law allows districts to choose between Aug. 1 and Sept. 30.
Reader survey: Sixty-eight percent of Ohio teachers of kindergarten through third grade see the transition to state-mandated science of reading approach to literacy instruction as positive, although many are supplementing with their own materials – some of which aren’t state-approved, Hancock reports. The science of reading focuses on phonics and vocabulary, and is contrasted to an approach known as whole language in which students looked at sentence structure and story context to learn to read.
Housing concern: Democrats in Ohio’s congressional delegation last week warned U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner that closing or downsizing its offices in Ohio would “disproportionately harm vulnerable populations,” Eaton writes. Spurred by published reports that HUD plans to shutter dozens of its field offices across the nation, Ohio’s five Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to Turner last week arguing for preservation of its two Ohio offices, which are located in Cleveland and Columbus.
More voter rules: Republican Senate President Rob McColley said he thinks lawmakers can make “some improvements” to citizenship verification requirements for voters. Gongwer news service reports Senate Republicans are already moving such a bill through the committee process.
We don’t need no education: U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno, a Westlake Republican, last week signed onto an effort by Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education. “There is no constitutional role for the federal government in education, and returning power to the states will empower parents, cut red tape, and give our students the opportunity to receive the best possible education,” said a press statement from Moreno. U.S. Rep. Michael Rulli, a Salem Republican, is spearheading the U.S. House of Representatives’ effort to eliminate the Education Department.
With friends like these: Denmark’s foreign minister followed up on Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Greenland last week with a statement that criticized the tone in which Vance and President Donald Trump have criticized Denmark and Greenland’s role in Arctic security, Associated Press reports. “This is not how you speak to your close allies,” said the statement from Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen. “And I still consider Denmark and the United States to be close allies.” In a Saturday Interview Trump maintained an aggressive tone, telling NBC News that “I never take military force off the table” with respect to acquiring Greenland.
Plan B: While Trump and Elon Musk have pushed Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives to impeach federal judges impeding their agenda, U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, a Champaign County Republican who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, has told Trump Republicans don’t have the votes to do that and are pursuing other avenues, CNN reports. Jordan told the network he worked with House GOP leaders on a game plan that prioritized legislation, a commitment to look at the funding for district courts through the appropriations process and public oversight through hearings. “All three of those options are on the table and we’re going to pursue all three of them,” said Jordan.
Distress Signal: The House Armed Services Committee and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence will examine whether the encrypted Signal app is appropriate for sensitive discussions of military attack plans, U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, a Dayton Republican, told ABC News in the wake of senior Trump administration officials inadvertently including a journalist on such a discussion. Turner, a senior Armed Services Committee member who formerly chaired the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said details of an attack in Yemen discussed in the chat should be regarded as classified, and he was surprised how it was handled. “I personally do not use Signal because of the fact that people, when they get into that platform, have an assumption of privacy that it just does not provide,” said Turner.
What we’re watching
Big developments coming this week on the state budget
The House is rolling out its version of the state’s two-year operating budget, including how it does or doesn’t comport with Gov. Mike DeWine’s priorities
House Speaker Matt Huffman and Finance Chairman Brian Stewart are holding a press conference at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday on the subject
The House Finance Committee is holding its first hearings, listed as “possible vote[s]” on the Industrial Commission and Workers’ Compensation budgets as well
Across the Statehouse, the Senate Finance Committee is holding its first budget hearings as the high chamber works up its priorities
The Senate could vote out a resolution this week “to support moving NASA headquarters to Ohio.”
On the Move
Kristy Ramsey has been hired as an associate consultant with Prest Public Strategies, a Cleveland-based lobbying firm. Ramsey previously served as executive director of Clean Fuels Ohio, an alternative fuel advocacy group, among other jobs.
Birthdays
Matt Huffman, Ohio House Speaker
Michael Farley, vice president of government affairs and general counsel, Ohio Insurance Institute
Tyler Herrmann, general counsel for the Ohio Department of Health and Powell, Ohio city councilman
Robert Lucas, Ohio’s 12th governor (1781-1853)
Straight From The Source
“It’s something really stupid out in Brook Park that they’re trying to get everybody all excited about, the stadium no longer being in downtown Cleveland. BOOOOOO!!!!”
Super Bowl winning ex-Philadelphia Eagle Jason Kelce discussing the proposed Cleveland Browns stadium on the New Heights podcast. He was talking to his brother, current Kansas City Chief and fellow Super Bowl winner Travis Kelce, who agreed, saying it “feels better when it’s downtown.”
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