Keeping it Brief
Federal
Pelosi preps new coronavirus relief plan amid stalled talks
Speaker Pelosi has directed committee chairs to put together a scaled-back relief package plan with the goal to come to an agreement with the republican party.
“The latest bill is likely to have a price tag of around $2.4 trillion, Pelosi told other top Democrats Thursday, and will include relief funds for airlines, restaurants and other needs that have popped up since the House passed its last relief package in mid-May”.
Trump poised to nominate Amy Coney Barrett to fill Ginsburg’s seat
Barrett has served as a justice on the Seventh Circuit court
President Trump will officially announce his nominee on Saturday 9/25. A confirmation hearing will be held on October 12 by the Senate Judiciary Committee to confirm the appointment of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.
During coronavirus, food insecurity, poverty spiking-and its getting worse
Entering the pandemic, the poverty rate in the U.S.was considered to be fairly low, however, with new data coming in from the 2020 Census, it is predicted by various think tanks and studies that the levels of food insecurity and poverty will be higher than in previous years.
“In a Brookings Paper on Economic Activity in June, Jeehoon Han and Bruce D. Meyer of the University of Chicago and Notre Dame economist James X. Sullivan found that poverty had fallen and incomes among poor people had risen. A big reason for that, they determined was that federal coronavirus relief — which included stimulus checks and a $600-a-week federal unemployment supplement — had alleviated the worst of covid’s effects”.
The poverty rate is now 10.5% and there has been a 23% in food insecurity
Sen. Rob Portman says the Senate should consider President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee
Sen. Portman would like President Trump choose a nominee to fill Justice Ginsburg’s seat on the Supreme Court of the United States. He does not want the the next president to be the one to choose the nominee.
This contradicts his argument when Justice Antonin Scalia died. When Justice Scalia died, Sen. Portman argued that the next U.S. president should select the person to fill Justice Scalia’s seat.
Trump approaches Oracle’s proposed deal with Tik Tok
President Trump signed a deal allowing Tik Tok to still function in the U.S.
“The deal will make Oracle, a California-based software and cloud company close to Trump's administration, a minority shareholder in TikTok and give it control over the company’s U.S. data”.
The stock of Tik Tok will now be split between major companies like Walmart and U.S. venture capital firms.
State
Ice cream. Guns. Grocery bags. Ohio legislature gets to work
Housed republicans passed legislation that bans local governments from imposing taxes and/or fees on plastic bag use for a year.
Legislation was also passed that allows for the sale of alcoholic ice cream and the ability for business’ to sell alcohol outdoors.
“The Senate also passed legislation Wednesday to strip the Ohio Department of Health of its ability to issue orders isolating or quarantining people who have not been directly exposed or diagnosed to an infectious disease. Obhof said in an interview this was targeted toward the stay-at-home order DeWine issued in the early days of the pandemic”. This legislation was strongly opposed by Democrats.
Senate Committee passes firearm dealer protection, resolution against police defunding
“A bill sponsored by Ohio Senate President Larry Obhof to bar public officials from closing down licensed firearm dealers passed through committee on Tuesday, but not without questions on the priorities of the legislature”.
The bill bans elected officials from closing down federally-licensed firearm dealers
State Senator Hearcel Craig (D-Columbus) provided two amendments that urged increased implicit bias training within law enforcement and restore local government funds .
DeWine: Bill to end COVID-19 emergency order doesn’t end threat
Many state representatives have tried to go above Governor DeWine in proposing legislation in reaction to supporting Ohioans financially during the pandemic and flatten the curve. Rep. Grendell is one of the state representatives that has been leading the initiative to undermine Gov. DeWine’s response to the pandemic.
“DeWine has threatened to veto bills that would curb his office’s power in handling the virus, though one recent bill signing was an exception. DeWine signed into law House Bill 272, which prohibits any public order to close places of worship and prevents a public official from intervening in an election being held, as the governor did with the March primary”.
The search continues for a new state health director, DeWine says
DeWine says the state government will continue to look for a permanent replacement to lead the Department of Public Health.
Lance Himes has been leading the department during the governor’s search for a replacement.
DeWine says that the person selected for the job needs to be ready to face criticism.
Ohio joins other states in refusing to foot the bill for ballot postage
The Controlling Board rejected a $3 million proposal to pay for postage on absentee ballots and ballot application forms.
The ACLU has sued over this issue. Currently, only 17 states provide pre-paid postage on absentee ballots and ballot applications.
Gov. DeWine disagrees with this decision. More details can be found here.
Local
Balance of Ohio Supreme Court at stake in 2020 election
The Ohio Supreme Court has been in the control of the Republican party of 35 years.
Judith French and Sharon Kennedy, two current judges seeking reelection have democratic challengers.
The Ohio Supreme Court decides how much Ohioans pay in taxes, how insurance and business laws are interpreted, and what government records will be available to the public.
“If Brunner and O’Donnell win, Democrats will occupy four of the seven seats on the high court. Currently, five seats are held by Republicans. Brunner is a former Ohio Secretary of State and current judge on the 10th District Court of Appeals. O’Donnell, who is making his third run for the high court, is a long-time Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court judge”.
Unemployment claims fall by only 33,000
“In the week ending September 12, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims for unemployment benefits was 860,000, a decrease of 33,000 from the previous week’s revised level, the U.S. Department of Labor said Thursday”.
Layoffs continue to be a problem, although many of the jobs that have been lost were recovered.
All flags infront of public buildings in Ohio will be flown at half-staff in honor of the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Governor DeWine’s statement: “In honor of the life and legacy of Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States Ruth Bader Ginsburg, I hereby proclaim, by the authority vested in me as the Governor of the State of Ohio by the Ohio Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, that the flags of the United States and the State of Ohio shall be flown at half-staff upon all public buildings and grounds throughout the State of Ohio effective immediately until sunset on the date of her interment," according to a statement from DeWine’s Office.
Judge rules multiple Ohio ballot drop boxes should be allowed in each county; LaRose to appeal
“Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Richard Frye concluded state law does not allow Secretary of State Frank LaRose to limit the number of ballot drop boxes to one at each county office”.
This decision was made in response to a lawsuit filed by the Ohio Democratic Party arguing that the state law does not discuss the placement of ballot boxes in Ohio counties.
See the article for the Judge’s statement