Madison graduation 2012
Warren County CC graduation
New Miami graduation 2012
Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2011 > September > 21
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
UPDATE - Gov. Kasich to sign redistricting bill - House gives final approval to GOP U.S. House map - Senate OKs GOP-drawn U.S. House district map, 24-7 - Senate committee adds $2.75M appropriation, OKs map for U.S. House districts
The House on Wednesday gave final approval to a Republican-drawn U.S. House map for 16 new U.S. House districts and sent it to Republican Gov. John Kasich.
Kasich will sign the bill, Rob Nichols, the governor’s spokesman, said in an email.
The map as finally approved includes an appropriation for $2.75 million to help local boards of elections change for redistricting changes. The appropriation means the bill would go into effect immediately upon Kasich’s signature and also prevents a referendum on the legislation.
Rep. Clayton Luckie, D-Dayton, who voted against the map, said he believes the national NAACP and Ohio NAACP chapters, including the one in Dayton, will join forces to challenge the map in federal court.
The House vote came after the Senate voted for the map, 24-7.
Two black Democrats - Sens. Shirley Smith of Cleveland and Charleta Tavares of Columbus - joined 22 Republicans in voting “yes.” All the “no”votes came from Democrats.
Tavares said the map created a majority minority district in the Akron-Cleveland area and a minority influence district in the Columbus area in which a black candidate would have a chance to win.
The Senate Government Oversight and Reform Committee earlier approved the Republican-drawn map for 16 new U.S. House districts after adding a $2.75 million appropriation to help county boards of elections with the redistricting process.
The appropriation means the bill would go into effect immediately upon Gov. John Kasich’s signature and could not be subject to a referendum, which Democrats have threatened.
The full Senate later Wednesday was expected to give its OK. It’s possible the House still on Wednesday could approve the amended bill and send it to Kasich.
The 6-3 committee vote was along party lines, with Republicans in support and Democrats against.
The committee took no action on legislation changing the 2012 spring primary from March to May.
Senate President Tom Niehaus, R-New Richmond, said there will be only one primary in March.
The new map creates 12 Republican leaning districts and four favoring Democrats. Just two would be competitive, according to an analysis by the Ohio Campaign for Accountable Redistricting.
The map would put U.S. Reps. Mike Turner, R-Centerville, and Steve Austria, R-Beavercreek, in the same district.
Ohio’s U.S. House delegation will shrink from 18 to 16 because of slow population growth.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Post your comment |
TweetConsumers Counsel resigns, says she doesn’t like Kasich’s bus
Ohio Consumers’ Counsel Janine Migden-Ostrander resigned as the watchdog for the state’s 4.5 million residential utility consumers on Wednesday, saying that the Kasich administration blatantly disregards facts and fairness.
“Last January, the governor issued an ultimatum to the citizens of Ohio to either get on his bus or be run over by it. At the beginning of his administration, I tried to get on that bus but the doors were locked to the OCC and the 4.5 million households we represent,” said Migden-Ostrander, who has been the consumers’ counsel for seven years. “But now…I do not want to get on that bus because I do not like where it is going. The bus is running over consumers and has no brakes. It is for this reason, too, that I am tendering my resignation.”
Just after Republican John Kasich won election in November, he told a room full of lobbyists, reporters and elected officials at a luncheon to get on his bus or risk getting run over.
In Kasich’s two-year state budget, the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel’s annual funding dropped from $8.5 million last year to $5.6 million this year and is slated to slip to $4.1 million next year. That led Migden-Ostrander to cut positions, eliminate consulting contracts, close a customer call center and withdraw from legal cases.
Migden-Ostrander made the case on Wednesday that the 35-year-old watchdog agency more than pays for itself. During her seven year tenure, she said, the OCC and its partners saved residential and business consumers more than $8.2 billion in rate increases, which far exceeds the $50 million spent by the OCC during that time.
Migden-Ostrander said saving consumers money is consistent with the Kasich administration’s push for lower taxes so that people have more money in their pockets to spend in the economy. She also said that the savings are meaningful to Ohioans who are barely scraping by in the tough economy. One in 10 Ohio households is disconnected for nonpayment of utility bills, the OCC said.
The OCC governing board appointed deputy consumers’ counsel Bruce Weston as the interim consumers’ counsel. Migden-Ostrander, who leaves Oct. 15, accepted a consulting position with the Regulatory Assistance Project, a global non-profit organization focused on long-term economic and environmental sustainability of the electric and natural gas industries.
Permalink | Comments (15) | Post your comment |
TweetKasich wants energy policy to be national model
Gov. John Kasich called on industry experts to help develop a state energy policy that will be a national model.
“Ohio can have a low-cost, sustainable, independent and strong energy policy that will lift Ohio and create jobs and help our people and most important, send a message to the rest of the country,” Kasich told a crowd of about 800 energy industry executives, lobbyists and officials at the beginning of a two-day energy summit. “If they can do it in Ohio, why can’t we do it in Nevada or why can’t we do it in Florida, or why can’t we do it as America?”
The summit is expected to help guide the Kasich administration as it puts together an energy policy, which will likely be released early next year.
Kasich urged rivals in the intensely competitive energy industry to work together to find ways to use renewable energy sources, natural gas, coal and other sources in the best way. The former long-time Congressman noted that energy dependence impacts foreign policy.
“There is no doubt that when the United States government considers foreign policy action, energy dependence figures into their calculation. That’s not acceptable. And we’ve been putting up with it forever,” Kasich said.
Kasich said that his administration charted a course for how to balance a government budget and now it’s time the state show the way on energy policy. “We have a great opportunity to lead on energy. And why? Because I think Ohio is a microcosm of the United States. Think about it. We are one of the Saudia Arabia’s of coal here in the state of Ohio,” Kasich said.
The energy summit, which is being sponsored by utility and steel companies as well as Battelle and Ohio State University, continues through Thursday.
“I’m actually going to sit and listen for two days. That in and of itself will be a miracle,” quipped Kasich.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
Tweet
