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primary sponsors were on either side of
the political aisle.
Contractor
Notification
This bill, which is co-sponsored by
Republican Jim McGregor of
Gahanna, would ensure that public
entities would make the best
decisions when awarding
construction contracts. Currently, if
a public entity decides not to go with
a low-bid contract, they can call the
contractor a non-responsible
contractor, meaning that despite
their low-bid status, they are not
responsible enough to carry out the
contract. While that finding is a
public record, it is almost impossible
to find and contractors can
essentially go from entity to entity
without the next one knowing the
contractor's history.
This bill would have each
non-responsible finding put on file
with the state so entities could
check bidders to make sure
contracts are given to responsible
bidders.
Meeting Minutes
This bill would force House
Committees to take as detailed
minutes as every other public body
in Ohio has to do. Currently,
minutes consist of saying someone
spoke for or against an issue and
questions were asked. There is no
way the public can find out what
questions were asked or what was
said in the meeting, unless they
actually attend the meeting.
This bill came out of my experience
as a reporter, where meeting
minutes were essential to keep tabs
on the activities of public bodies.
This bill has yet to be heard in any
committee.
Notification
This bill, which is supported by
Republican Sheriff Drew Alexander,
would have law enforcement call in
to the state to report every meth lab
that is busted. That address, either
home, apartment or hotel room,
would then be placed on a state
website so folks could see if the
home they're purchasing or renting
used to be a meth lab. Counties
could also opt to place the notice in a
property's chain of title. Once the
site is clean, according to standards
adopted by the state, the address
would be removed from the website
and chain of title. This would also
apply to cars.
My passion for fighting meth began
while I was a reporter at the Akron
Beacon Journal and saw how there
are no requirements for owners of
properties that used to be meth labs
to tell innocent purchasers that they
were purchasing a toxic waste dump.
This would alleviate that problem.
This bill would allow for the State of
Ohio to transfer its brave men and
women who are currently at Walter
Reed Medical Center to another
comparable facility to heal their battle
wounds. At the time of the bill's
introduction, Walter Reed was in great
disrepair. Some servicemen and
servicewomen could look up from their
beds and see into the bathrooms on the
floor above them. I found these
conditions unacceptable for those who
have sacrificed so much to make our
country free. So I proposed allowing the
state to pay for any Ohioan to be
transferred out of Walter Reed to
another facility that was more befitting
the service the men and women staying
there had performed for this country.
This bill would create a Sales Tax
Holiday the second weekend in August
for any item up to $2,500, with a few
exceptions, like clothing, which is
capped at $250. This bill was a result of
seeing the kind of economic stimulus
the holiday created in Massachusetts,
creating a mini-Black Friday in the
middle of the summer shopping
doldrums. While we are going through
tough economic times, I believe any
relief the state can give its people,
especially as school starts, is a benefit
to the people of Ohio. Ensuring that
every child can obtain the clothes,
books and supplies they need to succeed
is a driving force behind this legislation.
Postmark
This bill would allow for absentee
ballots to be counted after the election
as long as the ballot was postmarked
prior to the election. This was a
reaction to what happened in the Sept.
11, 2007 primary where several Summit
County ballots were not counted
because they were received after the
election, even though they had been
sent before the election. Apparently,
the post office had misplaced the
ballots. Several elections were decided
by narrow enough margins that the
votes could have swung the tally in one
way or the other.
and Matt "Doc" Conte
Corpsmen Memorial
Highway
This bill would name the portion of I-76
through Brimfield Township after two
men who gave their lives in the Iraq
War. One thing I have had to do too
much during my first year serving you
is grant condolences to grieving
families of the brave service men and
women who are serving our country in
Iraq and Afghanistan. I hope that our
troops can come home soon, safe and
sound. This is a small token of
appreciation to the families and their
sons' sacrifices so that our country can
remain free from terror. I want to
acknowledge as well that Sen. Tom
Sawyer is sponsoring the same bill in
the Senate. And I must also
acknowledge the passion of Wes Emch,
Luke's dad, and the rest of the families
who have dedicated so much to ensure
that we all remember their children.
Because of their work and love, we
never will.
District Reform
Those of you living in the portion of the
43rd District in Summit County are
well aware that the Barberton-Norton
Mosquito Abatement District (with the
appropriate acronym MAD) is trying to
expand into most of the 43rd. However,
due to a quirk in the law, they will be
able to raise our taxes without us voting
on it. All they need is a judge to OK the
district, then our property taxes go up.
What makes this more maddening is
that we already get mosquito spraying
from the Summit County Health
Department. So we will be paying
double to receive the same services
we're receiving now. And to add insult
to injury, it appears that
Barberton-Norton will contract with the
very same Summit County Health
Department to do their spraying! Talk
about outrageous!
I think this is wrong. So this bill will
force MADs to go to a vote of the
people to be created, expanded or
dissolved. It also allows for individual
communities to back out of MADs by a
vote of the people.
4362 Ridge View Drive, Uniontown, Ohio 44685
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