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Monday, November 30, 2009
UPDATED with Senate President reponse: May 2010 vote proposed for $1 billion Third Frontier proposal
Two Democratic Ohio House members on Monday, Nov. 30, unveiled a proposal to put a $1 billion, five-year bond proposal on the May 2010 ballot to renew and expand the Third Frontier program.
Reps. Sandra Williams of Cleveland and Jay Goyal of Mansfield said the goal is for the Democratic-controlled House to approve a resolution authorizing the issue by early January and then send it to the Republican-controlled Senate.
The goal is to get approval by both houses by Jan. 31 to get it on the May 4, 2010 ballot, said Goyal.
Senate President Bill Harris, R-Ashland, so far isn’t endorsing the proposal.
In a press release, Harris said before voters are asked to support the issue two questions must be answered - how much can the state afford in debt payments and how much debt would voters be willing to approve in May considering that the program has funding through 2012.
“I will support placing the renewal question before voters when I am confident that it is responsible and that the voters will support it,” Harris said. “In my view, we have more work to do over the next couple of months.”
Approval of such a resolution requires 60 votes in the 99-member House and 20 votes in the 33-member Senate.
This means bipartisan support will be required in the House, which Democrats control 53-46. Republicans control the Senate, 21-12, but without Harris’ backing it’s doubtful it even would come up for a vote.
The governor’s approval is not required to put an issue on the ballot. The program is aimed at promoting high tech research and creating jobs.
The recession has hit Ohio hard which makes it important to “act quickly” on the plan to invest in companies that can create jobs, Williams said.
Voters in 2005 approved a bond issue that included $500 million for the Third Frontier. Including money from other sources, the commitment reached $1.6 billion but some non-bond money has been diverted and the total now is about $1.35 billion, according to John Griffin, director of the development department’s division of technology and innovation.
So far the program has awarded about $1 billion in grants, including about $120 million in the Dayton area, according to Griffin.
According to a report by SRI International released in September, $681 million actually has been spent so far by the Third Frontier, generating $6.6 billion in economic activity, 41,300 jobs and $2.4 billion in employee wages and benefits. From 2003-2008, the state got a nearly $10 return on every dollar of state investment.
The program doesn’t expire until 2012 but Goyal said May 2010 is the best time to put the issue on the ballot to avoid a possible interruption.
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Senate candidate Brunner wants to “bring troops home from Afghanistan”
Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, a candidate for the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination, on Monday, Nov. 30, called for setting a timetable “for bringing our troops home from Afghanistan as soon as possible.”
“As the cost to American and Ohioans’ lives increase, billions are spent each month on the conflict in Afghanistan, ballooning our national debt and diverting resources we desperately need at home,” Brunner wrote in a posting on Huffington Post and DailyKos.
Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher, Brunner’s opponent for the Democratic nomination, “is waiting to hear” President Barack Obama’s Tuesday speech on his plans for Afghanistan before responding to the new plan, an e-mail from Fisher’s campaign said.
“While Lt. Gov. Fisher believes we should continue to aggressively target al-Qaida and disrupt terrorist networks across the world, he has serious concerns about committing tens of thousands of additional troops to Afghanistan without a clearly defined mission and exit strategy,” Geri Prado, Fisher campaign spokeswoman, said in the e-mail.
The candidates comments came as their fellow Democrat, Obama, prepares to address the nation on Tuesday night from West Point. According to the Associated Press, the president is expected to announce an increase of up to 35,000 troops “to defeat the Taliban-led insurgency and stabilize a weak Afghan government.”
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Rep. Turner, Mayor-elect Leitzell to discuss “ideas to move Dayton forward”
U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Centerville, and Dayton Mayor-elect Gary Leitzell will meet on Monday, Nov. 30, at Turner’s Dayton office “to discuss ideas to move Dayton forward,” according to a press release from Turner’s office.
The meeting will be followed by a press availability at 2:45 p.m., the release said.
Turner is a former Dayton mayor who lost that office to Democrat Rhine McLin in 2001. Leitzell defeated McLin on Nov. 3 to win the mayor’s office.
