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Time is rapidly running out for our great state's lawmakers to address a wide host of critical public policy issues gnawing at Ohioans. Too bad they plan to squander most of that potentially productive time.
Now that summer is unofficially over, you'd think our state legislators would be rip-roaring ready to high-tail it to the Statehouse to get back into action.
If so, you'd be sadly mistaken.
The Senate plans to convene this coming week for committee work and a possible full session with only a handful of other dates on their legislative calendar for the next two months. Worse, the state House of Representatives' calendar is completely blank until Nov. 9 -- six days after Election Day.
The extended summer vacation gives incumbent officeholders plenty of time to campaign in their home districts for reelection. In so doing, their personal political interests clearly trump the broader public interest.
Though we're certain this plea will fall on deaf ears, we urge legislative leaders to reconsider a more robust workload over the next two months. Mountains of unfinished business and unresolved debates await. Prime among those we consider worthy of priority attention sooner rather than later include:
● TAX REFORM: Though this 136th state Legislature merits commendation for making significant inroads in providing residents with a measure of relief from skyrocketing property taxes, that work remains incomplete. The governor has signed into law a package of measures estimated to save property taxpayers about $3 billion in payments. Nonetheless many lawmakers and disgruntled taxpayers rightly consider those as just the first steps toward more significant long-term relief. In addition, those measures have done nothing to stop the Ax Ohio Tax movement from placing a constitutional referendum on the ballot next year to abolish all property taxes, a consequence that could devastate public schools and local governments.
● DATA CENTERS: The caustic debate over the proliferation of data centers in the Buckeye State has wended its way into regulatory measures in Columbus. Residents here and throughout the state have decried potential adverse impacts they could bring to utility bills and the state's vital natural resources. Many local governments have enacted moratoriums on their proliferation. In Columbus, a pending bill would cool the fires by chopping sales tax exemptions for them, prohibiting residents and communities from subsidizing their high electricity costs and mandating their use of systems that minimize water consumption. It represents a well balanced compromise that addresses utility and environmental concerns but preserves opportunities for Ohio to share in the economic development the centers offer.
● DEATH PENALTY: As we argued in this space a few weeks ago, this state's continuing unwillingness to fully carry out its death penalty is unacceptable. No execution has taken place in over eight years. That state of limbo is costly to taxpayers and traumatic for the families of victims who must endure endless appeals. Toward ending those burdens, legislators should consider addressing and amending House Bill 36 that calls for expanding options for executions beyond lethal drugs. Short of that, it should follow one proposal from Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins to put a constitutional referendum before voters. If voters choose to abolish it, the issue is settled; if they reject the abolition, lawmakers would be forced to find a way to carry out the sentences expeditiously. An August Pew Research poll showing two-thirds of Americans now support the death penalty adds impetus for action.
● ANIMAL WELFARE : Last March, this newspaper called for swift action on legislation sponsored by state Sen. Al Cutrona, R-Canfield, that would significantly increase penalties -- raising many from misdemeanor to major crime felonies -- to those who violate companion animal cruelty and abuse laws. Sadly, six months later, his legislation still remains stalled out in committee. In the meantime, humane organizations have witnessed epidemic-level surges in animal mistreatment. Shelters in the region and the state are overcrowded. The local Animal Charity of Ohio has had to cease most of its operations due to overcrowding and underfunding. This legislation stands as one viable means to help encourage humane treatment of companion animals and thereby lower the ballooning number of horror stories of callous abuse of dogs and cats. Legislators should move it to the fast track immediately upon their return.
Of course, myriad other pressing critical public policy issues also await legislators in the home stretch. Though time will be extremely short in the truncated lame-duck fall session, legislators must muster up the will and drive to move these overriding issues across the finish line. If they fail, all bills in the hopper automatically die on the vine to ensure a clean slate for the incoming 137th Ohio General Assembly next January.
That, of course, would represent a monumental waste of time and a colossal blemish on the public service pledges of our legislators.