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Rotunda Rumblings A new school deal: Sen. Andrew Brenner wants to replace local school levies with a single statewide property tax rate and a higher sales tax. Other property taxes would not be affected. Senate Bill 93 would set school property taxes at 20 mills and raise the rest from a 1.75% sales tax. Anna Staver reports that it would also make open enrollment mandatory, create countywide busing systems, and make it easier for districts to merge. Slouching toward November: The Ohio Redistricting Commission’s first meeting on Tuesday for the 2025 congressional redistricting cycle ended after less than half an hour. Republicans and Democrats showed no sign that they’ll avoid the likelihood that Republicans will end up unilaterally approving a new map in November, when constitutional requirements of bipartisan support fall away. As Jeremy Pelzer reports, while legislative leaders from both parties have been talking, Democrats are resisting Republicans’ proposals to make two or three Democratic-held U.S. House seats in Ohio more GOP-friendly. Jordan wants Brennan busted: House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan on Tuesday asked the Department of Justice to criminally prosecute ex-Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan, claiming he lied to Congress about the Steele dossier’s role in a 2017 intelligence assessment on Russian election interference, Sabrina Eaton reports. Jordan, a Republican from Ohio’s Champaign County, said Brennan’s testimony to his committee in a 2023 interview was “willfully and intentionally false” and contradicted by both CIA records and findings from the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI). Lying to Congress is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and significant fines. Harnessing hemp: Ohio lawmakers appear poised to take legislative action on intoxicating hemp products this week following Gov. Mike DeWine’s attempt to ban sales through an executive order, Mary Frances McGowan reports. The House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday approved a substitute version of Senate Bill 56, which addressed marijuana, to include new provisions for intoxicating hemp. The measure could get a House floor vote as soon as Wednesday. College try: Cleveland State University President Laura Bloomberg said that she wants students to get real-world experience in nearly every undergraduate degree program by 2030. Bloomberg delivered the State of the University Address on Tuesday, but as Laura Hancock reports, she continues to be dogged by questions over giving operations control of the campus radio station to Ideastream Public Media. Run for the Roses: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear told reporters at an event with Gov. Mike DeWine at the University of Cincinnati’s Portman Center for Policy Solutions that a 2028 presidential run is something that he and his family will “consider” if they feel he’s the best candidate for the job, the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Jolene Almendarez reports. Read more Ohio politics stories Trump is a feces-spewing king in his own mind, a disgrace for Ohioans: The Readers Write Cheryl M. Wiltshire for Cleveland Municipal Housing Court judge: endorsement editorial Stephanie Howse-Jones for Cleveland City Council Ward 8: endorsement editorial Lobbying Lineup Five organizations that are registered to lobby on state Senate Bill 120, which relates to temporary greenhouses and building codes, would establish the Urban Farmer Youth Initiative Pilot Program, and codifies certain property tax requirements for agricultural land. Cleveland Metropolitan School District Department of Agriculture Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, Inc. Farm Credit Services of Mid-America Ohio Soybean Association On the Move Amy Acton, a Democratic candidate for governor, has been endorsed by Akron Mayor Shammas Malik. Vice President JD Vance arrived in Israel on Tuesday for a three-day visit intended to shore up a fragile cease fire the Trump administration brokered in Gaza. There have been several flare-ups in recent days. Danny Eldredge is the new Columbus bureau chief for the Toledo Blade. Eldredge, a reporter for Hannah News Service since 2013, succeeds Jim Provance, who retired from the Blade in August. Straight from the Source “I plan to celebrate. Please let me know where the parties are.” State Rep. Jamie Callender, a Lake County Republican, on the acceptance of a substitute version of Senate Bill 56 in the House Judiciary Committee after nearly two years of debate.
