Rotunda Rumblings

Bare minimum: The Ohio Ballot Board on Wednesday determined a proposed constitutional amendment to raise Ohio’s minimum wage to $13 an hour meets the state’s legal criteria for ballot issues. As cleveland.com’s Andrew Tobias reports, Ohioans for Raising the Wage say they’ll begin work immediately on gathering the 452,958 valid signatures from 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties needed to make the November ballot. The deadline is July 1.

Not quite ready: Eight of Ohio’s 88 counties missed a deadline, set by Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, to complete a check-list of required pre-election security upgrades. Per Tobias, LaRose is placing Van Wert County under heightened administrative oversight and seeking the resignation of an elections board member in Coshocton County who he said had failed to take the directive seriously. The other six counties, LaRose said, should be compliant within the next week.

School bills: The Ohio House on Wednesday offered its own version of a private school voucher program, setting in motion a new round of talks with the Senate. As cleveland.com’s Laura Hancock writes, the House’s plan would rename the program, phase out vouchers based on poor public school report cards and increase scholarships based on family income.

Coronavirushhh: The Ohio Department of Health on Wednesday announced a new person in Ohio is being tested for coronavirus. But as cleveland.com’s Jeremy Pelzer reports, unlike two suspected cases last week, state health officials aren’t releasing information about the person or his/her location until test results come back.

Foster the people: “Ohio’s foster-care system should do more to recruit caregivers, give foster parents more of a say in whether children should stay in their care, and create state registries for foster-care services and children who need to be adopted, according to initial findings from a task force created by Gov. Mike DeWine,” Pelzer writes. The task force is set to deliver its final recommendations in May.

In case you didn’t know by now where they stand...Cleveland.com’s Sabrina Eaton brings you the full statements by U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown (convict) and Rob Portman (acquit) on Wednesday’s impeachment votes. And if that’s not enough, you can check out op-eds by Brown and Portman in the New York Times.

Ryan taps out: Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of the Niles area says he had enough of President Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday night, so he walked out in the middle of it, Eaton reports. He compared it to “watching professional wrestling. It’s all fake.”

Great news: The U.S. House voted Wednesday to authorize funding the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative at levels escalating to $475 million annually in 2026, a significant increase over this year’s $320 million funding. Eaton has details.

Pet project: Eaton also reports on a bill that the U.S. House of Representatives approved, authored by Columbus Republican Rep. Steve Stivers, that would set up a Department of Veterans Affairs pilot program to teach veterans service dog training as a form of therapy.

Bowing out: The field in the five-way Republican primary for Ohio’s 22nd Senate District — the term-limited Senate President Larry Obhof’s seat — is narrowing to four. Michael Reynolds, of Wadsworth, announced Wednesday he’s dropping out and endorsing another candidate, Brunswick Mayor Ron Falconi. Reynolds’ name will still appear on the ballot though, since the candidate withdrawal deadline was last month. Also running is state Rep. Mark Romanchuk, who’s been endorsed by the state party, as well as Cory Branham and Timothy Hoven.

Endorsed: Wednesday also brought an interesting endorsement in another state Senate primary. State Rep. Bill Reineke’s campaign announced that U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan had endorsed his bid for Ohio’s 26th District. Reineke, of Tiffin, is facing Marysville businesswoman Melissa Ackison in the GOP primary.

Sean’s Law: New legislation from state Sen. Nickie Antonio would direct Ohio jails to have protocols in place for inmates who are at risk of drug or alcohol withdrawal. Senate Bill 271 is dubbed “Sean’s Law” after R&B singer Sean LeVert, who died in the Cuyahoga County Jail in 2008 after hallucinating from Xanax withdrawal.

Light chat: The Secretary of State’s Office is co-hosting an all-day elections security seminar at the Statehouse on Monday. Part of the agenda: a 1 p.m. panel discussion, moderated by 10TV’s Scott Light, featuring SoS Office Chief of Staff Merle Madrid, Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper and Ohio Republican Party Chairman Jane Timken. The event is part of a 50-state tour organized by the University of Southern California, and is sponsored by Google. Click here for more, including registration information.

Passing judgment: The Ohio Senate on Wednesday passed Senate Bill 134, which would toughen penalties for motorists who illegally pass a school bus -- including the creation of new offenses for those who harm or kill another as the result of them passing a bus. The legislation, sponsored by Republican state Sen. Theresa Gavarone of Bowling Green, now heads to the House.

Ms. Wehrman goes to Washington (County): Roll Call’s Jessica Wehrman recently visited the solidly pro-Trump county in Southern Ohio that has “a stubborn sense of optimism about the economy” because of the area’s untapped natural gas reserves, and (therefore) praise for the president’s efforts to roll back environmental regulations that are seen as bad for business.

Lobbying Lineup

Five groups that lobbied on House Bill 49, which would allow for concealed-handgun licenses to be used as a photo ID to vote. State lobbying forms don’t require people to disclose which side they’re on.

1. Ohio High School Athletic Association

2. Nationwide Children’s Hospital

3. Ohio Association of Professional Fire Fighters

4. City of Dayton

5. Alliance for High Quality Education Consortium of School Districts

Straight from the Source

“Constituent email starts off ‘Your constituents are not idiots!’ Then for the next several sentences proceeds to tell me as a state senator (not US Senator) how to vote on the impeachment proceedings before asking, ‘How will you face God when your time comes?’”

- State Sen. Jay Hottinger, a Newark Republican, tweeting on Wednesday, the day the U.S. Senate voted to acquit President Donald Trump of impeachment charges.

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