Legislative Week In Review

OAHU PAC Supports OAHU Member, Representative Barbara Sears
As previously reported, there are many key races this November for the 99 Ohio House of Representative seats up for election. One of the most important races to the Ohio Association of Health Underwriters is the election of Representative Barbara Sears to the 46th District located in Lucas County. Representative Sears has been a health insurance agent since 1985 and is an OAHU member. She was appointed to the House in January 2008 to an unexpired term, so she is running for her House seat for the first time on November 4th. This is truly a unique and important opportunity for OAHU to have a person in the Ohio Legislature who understands the value that agents bring to health insurance consumers.
OAHU PAC has already contributed to Representative Sears’ race and a few of our members made personal contributions to her campaign when they came to OAHU’s Day at the Statehouse. But we believe that more can and should be done by OAHU members to aide Barbara’s campaign. In this regard, you will be receiving a direct mail piece funded by OAHU PAC to request your financial support for Barbara’s campaign. Please consider supporting this important effort. Thanks.

Ohio Prosperity Project Ballot Issue Comparisons
The Ohio Prosperity Project is a non-partisan effort by employers and business organizations throughout Ohio to inform, engage and motivate employees and associates about public policy and election issues that affect competitiveness, profitability and the prosperity of business organizations. Below is their explanation, both pro and con, of the issues headed for the November statewide ballot.
2008 State Ballot Issue Comparisons
Statewide ballot issues provide Ohio voters with important choices on the future of our state. These issues can present the choice as a proposed Constitutional Amendment, a referendum on existing legislation, or a proposed law. Whichever form the question takes, the decisions made by voters will have lasting impact. This year, five issues will be decided during the election.
Issue 1 is a proposed amendment to the Ohio Constitution to require ballot initiatives to be submitted to the Office of the Secretary of State 125 days prior to Election Day.
Issue 2 is a proposed Constitutional Amendment that would approve the continuation and expansion of a successful program that a bipartisan coalition says will preserve green space and farmland, improve outdoor recreation, revitalize blighted neighborhoods, and promote job growth in Ohio without raising taxes, all as a part of Gov. Strickland’s $1.57 billion job stimulus package.
Issue 3 is a proposed Constitutional Amendment that ensures some property rights of landowners with respect to ground water, watercourses and lakes connecting to their land.
Issue 4, which proposed a mandate requiring employers to provide certain sick leave benefits, was withdrawn from the ballot by supporters after strong opposition from the business community and the Governor.
Issue 5 is a proposed referendum on an existing law which curtails the activities of payday lending business by limiting annual interest rates for short term loans to 28 percent and imposing other restrictions. A 'yes' vote will support the restrictions, and a 'no' vote will allow check cashers to offer short-term loans as permitted before the new law.
Issue 6 is a proposed Constitutional Amendment that would permit one privately owned and operated casino in Clinton County. The project must include a resort hotel and a minimum $600 million investment.
Printable version

	Arguments for the issue	Arguments against the issue
Issue 1	Proponents offer three reasons to vote for Issue 1: It prevents waste of taxpayers’ dollars. Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent in previous elections years to publish and advertise issues that never qualified for the ballot It helps maintain voter confidence in elections New deadlines help maintain voter confidence by preventing disqualified issues from being on the ballot It promotes efficient and effective elections by creating clear timelines for petitions	Opponents say Issue 1 can cause delays in the legislative process if a referendum petition doesn’t meet the deadline and keeps a law from going into effect until the election the next year. They also argue that Issue 1 could make ballot issues campaigns more costly because they could last longer.
Issue 2	Proponents say the $400 million Clean Ohio Fund provides the resources for environmental conservation and revitalization, and provides a comprehensive environmental protection and restoration tool for local communities. According to the bipartisan coalition in support of Issue 2, it will keep our drinking water clean and safe; clean up and redevelop polluted abandoned industrial sites; protect lakes, rivers and streams; conserve wildlife habitats; preserve working family farms; expand outdoor recreational opportunities; and create new jobs and economic development without raising taxes.	Opponents say the Clean Ohio fund will end up costing taxpayers in the long run because, even though it may be worthwhile, Ohio should not go into any debt for revitalization or jobs creation.
Issue 3	Supporters urge a 'yes' vote to give property owners more authority over their land and require the government to ask approval for using water connected to private property. They also say it will ensure economic stability because it protects Ohio’s natural resources and jobs.	Opponents say the measure is an unnecessary addition to the Ohio Constitution because it gives property owners a false sense of security over their private land, because the government still has ultimate authority over watercourses and lakes.
Issue 4	Proponents of the mandated sick leave ballot initiative submitted their Notice to Withdraw the Ohio Healthy Families Act Ballot Initiative with the Ohio Secretary of State's Office. This measure officially withdrew the sick leave proposal from the November General Election Ballot. The initiative would have placed severe demands on employers by requiring them to offer greater amounts of paid leave in many more situations than they currently do. While Ohio's employers recognize the need to provide employees paid leave in appropriate situations, the proposed changes would have made it harder for employers to be fair to all employees, and would have a significant negative impact on their ability to financially reward their best workers. In early stages, Governor Strickland worked to negotiate a compromise between business groups and the proponents. When it became apparent that a compromise was off the table, Gov. Strickland and Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher formally opposed the initiative. On September 4, backers of the mandated sick leave proposal pulled their issue from the November ballot, stating their hopes of avoiding a costly and contentious campaign.
Issue 5	Supporters of Issue 5 argue that the limited interest rates for short-term loans and other loan restrictions keep payday lenders from charging interest rates that trap borrowers. They say that Issue 5 will keep vulnerable Ohioans from falling into a pattern of debt and will allow workers to stay focused on the job. They claim it does not eliminate jobs and will give borrowers more time to pay back their loans.	Opponents say a 'no' vote gives consumers choices and retains thousands of jobs in the state of Ohio. They say Issue 5 will: eliminate a valued credit choice for many hardworking Ohioans who need temporary financial help jeopardize thousands of Ohio jobs infringe on personal privacy and require that everyone taking out short-term loans be listed by name in a government database limit consumers to four short-term loans per year and deny consumers access to other affordable choices
Issue 6	The 'My Ohio Now' committee says the creation of a $600 million casino and resort will create construction jobs and up to 5,000 new jobs at the casino. Supporters estimate an annual $200 million dollars from a special tax that only the casino operator will pay, in addition to other business taxes. Supporters maintain the casino resort will allow Ohio to compete with the 38 other states that currently allow some form of casino gambling, and it will also be an economic stimulus.	Opponents of Issue 6 argue that: there are loopholes that do not require a specific number of jobs it would create a monopoly for a single casino owner it will drain billions from other segments of Ohio’s economy it will cost jobs without designating money for the State’s General Revenue Fund since 1990, three ballot initiatives to allow gambling in Ohio have been defeated by voters, demonstrating their opposition to casinos