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Monday, June 13, 2011
Two House Dems propose $400M public works jobs’ plan
Two Democratic lawmakers - Reps. Mike Foley of Cleveland and Nickie Antonio of Lakewood - on Monday unveiled proposed legislation that calls for spending $400 million over two years to put 5,000 Ohioans to work on public works projects in all 88 counties.
The money - $200 million a year - would come from higher than projected state revenues, they said. It would be a better use of the money than putting it in a “rainy day” fund or using it for tax cuts, they said.
Given Republican control of the legislature and governor’s office, Foley, a Dayton native, conceded that passage is unlikely, but said it’s important for Democrats to propose alternative that will put “real people to work.”
The program, at a time that Ohio’s unemployment rates stands at 8.6 percent, would be patterned after the 1930s’ Depression-era federal Works Progress Administration, they said. It would be the Ohio Works Progress Administration, they said.
The program would put at least 50 people to work in each of the state’s 88 counties at an annual salaries of $27,500, plus benefits.
Projects would include: home construction, soil and water conservation projects; recycling, disaster cleanup; park cleanup and lake and waterway repair and conservation.
Foley said the bill would be introduced by Friday. Mike Dittoe, spokesman for Speaker William Batchelder, R-Medina, said Batchelder would have to see the bill before commenting on it.
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TweetFinal vote expected on “guns in bars” bill
Legislation to permit concealed carry permit holders to take guns into bars and restaurants that serve alcohol appears headed for a final vote in the Ohio House, perhaps as early as Wednesday, Mike Dittoe, spokesman for Speaker William Batchelder, R-Medina, said Monday.
On Tuesday the House State Government and Elections Committee is scheduled to consider and vote on the Senate version of the legislation, Senate Bill 17. The Senate previously approved it.
The legislation prohibits concealed carry permit holder from drinking themselves while carrying their weapons in bars or restaurants serving alcohol.
Once the committee acts, the full House will get the bill, perhaps on Wednesday but “at the latest next week,” said Dittoe. If approved by the House, it would go to Gov. John Kasich for his signature.
The House earlier had approved separate legislation on the issue, House Bill 45. The decision was made to use the Senate version which requires a separate vote in the House.
The legislation, opposed by law enforcement groups and the Ohio Restaurant Association, also removes restrictions on how permit holders must handle their weapons while driving. Now, guns must be in a holster, closed case or unlocked container in plain sight.
The legislation permits owners to prohibit weapons in their establishments by posting signs.
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