Tracked House Bills – February 2018

Feb 26, 2018 | Advocacy

Federal Infrastructure Plan:

President Trump released his long-awaited infrastructure plan on February 12. The proposal apparently would leverage $200 billion in federal dollars, matched by cuts elsewhere in the overall federal budget, to achieve $1.3 trillion in state, local, and private spending. Reports indicate that the $200 billion would be broken down as follows:

$100 billion for on a competitive grant program for state and local governments, favoring revenue-generating projects
$50 billion for rural infrastructure
$20 billion for “transformative” projects, defined as “ambitious, exploratory, and ground-breaking project ideas”
$20 billion to expand low-cost federal loans aimed at waterways, railroads, and private activity bonds
$10 billion to improve federally owned infrastructure

Tracked Senate Bills – February 2018

Feb 26, 2018 | Advocacy

State Legal and Legislative Activity:

On February 21, Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge David Cain ruled that language in the state budget bill (HB 49 ) allowing for the centralized collection of municipal net profits taxes meets constitutional muster. The ruling came in a lawsuit that included as plaintiffs more than 160 cities and villages across the state. Plaintiffs had asked the court to issue an injunction to prevent the law from going into effect. However, Judge Cain rejected the arguments made by the municipalities that the language violates both home rule and the single subject rule of lawmaking. “Everything comes down to whether the General Assembly has the power or it doesn’t,” he wrote in the nine-page decision. “In this case, the General Assembly has the power.”

Judge Cain found that the Ohio Constitution makes it clear that all taxes must be levied pursuant to the law. He went on to say that using common sense, the court could only find that the collections deal with the levying of taxes, and that the General Assembly has the authority to enact the collection provisions.

Ohio is One Step Closer to Finding New Solutions in the Battle Against Drug Abuse and Addiction

Feb 23, 2018 | News, Newsletter

Ohio has reached a milestone in the Ohio Opioid Technology Challenge with the conclusion of the Idea Phase and the awarding of prize money for the five most innovative concepts to address drug abuse and addiction. Ohio put out a call for anyone with a technology solution to share their idea. Hundreds of average citizens, researchers, caregivers and service providers from across Ohio, the U.S. and nine countries participated, submitting bold and creative ideas that identify ways to accelerate solutions.

Jennifer Syx, inSITE President, Named One of NSME’s “Achievement in Excellence” Award Recipients

Feb 23, 2018 | News, Newsletter

Jennifer Syx, President of inSITE Advisory Group, has been named a recipient of an “Achievement in Excellence” award by the National Sales & Marketing Executives (NSME) as part of their annual “Accent on Excellence” awards program, recognizing outstanding achievements by Sales and Marketing professionals in the Akron/Canton area. Awards will be presented on February 27 at Tangiers in Akron.