Rotunda Rumblings

A more perfect union: U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown continued his early-state tour this weekend when he visited Las Vegas, saying if he entered the race he would be “the most pro-union candidate” in front of an interested crowd – the Culinary Union Local 226. D Taylor, international president of parent group UNITE HERE, introduced Brown and journalist Connie Schultz, his wife, during a town hall meeting with union members. Taylor gave glowing reviews about the two, meaning Brown could have some play with the most powerful political group in the state, which has the ability to sway elections.

Survey says: The Washington Post’s The Fix released its periodical rankings of the top 15 Democratic presidential candidates, with Brown coming in at number eight. “If you’re looking for someone who might benefit from the leftward lurch of this primary field — but also brings populist bona fides to it — Brown might be your guy,” the Post’s Aaron Blake writes. “As the other candidates stretch the Overton window, Brown has charted what Politico calls a more ‘nuanced’ relationship with corporations and banks.” California Sen. Kamala Harris topped the list.

I love you all the same: The state, in recent years, has reimbursed portions of the gas tax for some public entities, such as school districts, county developmental disability boards and public transit agencies. Under Gov. Mike DeWine’s proposal to raise the state’s gas tax by 18 cents a gallon, school districts were to benefit more than others – having all 18 cents eligible for refund. The developmental disability boards and public transit agencies were not treated the same in the plan. But ODOT spokesman Matt Bruning said Friday that was an oversight and the administration is working on a fix.

Even Steven: DeWine’s gas tax proposal would give each county engineer’s office an extra $1.8 million, according to information from the Ohio Department of Transportation. Rather than divvying up money by each county’s population, each county has received the same amount under state law in past budget cycles, which is expected to continue under DeWine’s plan. Without the gas tax hike, each county engineer’s office would get $2.4 million in the fiscal year beginning July 1. With the increase, county engineers would get a total of $4.2 million. The amount each county gets would increase yearly with inflation under DeWine’s proposal.

Ohio GOP’s tax history: Tax increases are dirty words in political circles, especially for Republicans. So to ease any concerns DeWine might have, cleveland.com’s data guy Rich Exner compiled a list of 10 ways Ohio Republicans before DeWine have increased taxes. These range from sales and cigarette taxes to changes that drove up local property tax rates in recent years, all approved by Republicans.

Gas tax polling: This is totally unscientific, but a poll of cleveland.com readers over the weekend found a majority (close to 60 percent) favor an increase in Ohio’s gas tax. And among those supporting an increase, a little more than half agree with raising it, Exner reports.

State of hate: A record 1,020 hate groups are currently operating in America, and Ohio has the eighth-most of any state, reports cleveland.com’s Sabrina Eaton. The list of Ohio hate groups, compiled by the Southern Poverty Law Center, includes (among others) 11 black nationalist groups, six neo-Nazi groups, four white nationalist groups, and a Ku Klux Klan chapter.

Mo’ money: Individuals can now contribute $584.56 more to an Ohio candidate’s campaign, under new inflation-adjusted campaign-finance limits announced Friday by Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s office. The new limits, which will remain in force through 2021, allow individual donors to contribute up to $13,292.35 to a statewide candidate, legislative candidate, county party, or political action committee (up from $12,707.79), $39,877.05 to a state party (up from $38,123.38), and $19,938.53 to a legislative caucus campaign fund (up from $19,061.69).

Throwing shade at Kasich: “The build-up against former Gov. John Kasich is growing rapidly,” writes Darrel Rowland of the Columbus Dispatch. DeWine’s administration has moved to address a number of issues left over from Kasich’s administration, from leaving a large transportation budget hole to cutting funding to county departments of job and family services. Some statewide Republicans, including Attorney General Dave Yost, Auditor Keith Faber, and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, have also indicated they like DeWine’s administration more than Kasich’s.

Slow motion: The Ohio Department of Transportation is asking state lawmakers for permission to erect electronic speed-limit signs around the state that would lower speed limits in bad weather or in construction zones, reports Laura Bischoff of the Dayton Daily News. Currently, ODOT only has the authority to impose variable speed limits on a few stretches of Interstate highways.

DIY water quality testing? “The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is drafting rules that would allow developers to bypass state environmental biologists to monitor water quality by hiring their own,” writes the Dispatch’s Beth Burger. “The new program, dubbed the Water Quality Certified Professional Program, would allow consultants that companies routinely hire to now get a state-level certification to speed up the permit process. Ohioans have until 5 p.m. Monday to submit comments on a draft of the rules, which have raised concerns among environmental organizations.”

New car buyer? DeWine said Friday that there’s a chance that General Motors might sell its Lordstown facility to another company, according to the Youngstown Vindicator. The governor said that his trip to GM headquarters left him with the impression that the company won’t start building another type of car in the plant, but he said the state will help if another company buys the facility.

Ruff time: Small-scale dog breeders in Ohio are unintentionally being hurt by two recent anti-puppy mill laws, according to the Dispatch’s Maggie Prosser. The laws require hobby breeders to register as pet stores (and thus pay a $500 licensing fee), and mandate that the state notify breeders suspected of violating new regulations for high-volume dog breeders. State Sen. Brian Hill, the Zanesville Republican who authored one of the bills, told Prosser he would seek new legislation to fix the issue, though Hill announced last week he will soon resign from the Senate to become CEO of an electric co-op.

Rural report: Liz Skalka of the Toledo Blade takes a look at Republicans’ increasing dominance of rural Ohio – a key factor in their recent electoral wins. Rural Democrats say they need more support and better messaging from the state and national party. Another problem both Republicans and Democrats face in this time of political distrust: recruiting candidates to run for office.

Five Questions

Dorothy Pelanda is the new director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture.

1. One of the things you’ve been talking about in meetings with farmers and residents around the state is what to do about ex-Gov. John Kasich’s executive order designed to curb agricultural runoff that feeds algal blooms. Have you come to any conclusion yet about what should be done with that executive order?

“What I do in these meetings is to start out by saying we’d like to talk about four questions related to water quality. Do we have enough data to move forward with shovel-ready plans? Two, if we do that, how do we measure success? And three, how do we message what we’re doing to the public so they have realistic expectations about what we’re doing, and what we can expect to happen as a result?”

2. When do you think you’ll be able to make a decision about that?

“First of all, we’re doing something very tangible next Tuesday by rolling out ODA’s plan for spending the [Senate Bill] 299 money…which grants $20 million for each of the next three years to address Lake Erie issues. …That plan includes a detailed plan for spending this year’s $20 million, which includes cover crops, … help with farmers to buy and spend down the cost of their equipment. It may involve such things as revolving loans and soil testing and nutrient management money.”

3. When you’re going around on these listening tours, are you hearing a diverse variety of opinion about what to do about algal blooms, or a common thread?

“I’ve heard a lot of things about log jams. …You know about the ash borer disease, which has been destroying our ash trees. These trees are falling into our lakes and streams and jamming up the waterway, forcing the water that’s running off our fields into other tributaries, ruining the farmland and preventing the farmer from having an ability to prevent water nutrient runoff.”

4. There’s been movement to confiscate things like CBD oil, and there’s a bill in the legislature to legalize CBD oil and hemp. What’s your take on those issues?

“At this time, both of those practices are illegal. But the farm bill exempted hemp from being a scheduled product, thus allowing farmers in Ohio for the first time to consider the production and use of hemp. Of course, my role as director is to follow the law. So, I will see what the legislature’s appetite is for hemp.”

5. It’s been about a year and a half since the ride fatality at the Ohio State Fair. Is there anything else you’re doing to improve fair safety beyond what’s already been done?

“Yes. Our budget that we’ve proposed for this biennium includes additional funding to hire more inspectors. And we’re looking at whether or not increased and different training should be something that our department requires. At this point, we’re just investigating that.”

Straight From The Source

“Yeah, he deserves it. Age is no defense.”

- Attorney General Dave Yost, tweeting about whether 77-year-old New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft, who was accused last week of soliciting a prostitute, deserves front-page headlines such as the New York Daily News’ ”Kraft American Sleaze.”