Latest Ohio state government News

New voting districts could change again in some states before the 2024 elections
The 2022 elections marked the first using new voting districts drawn from updated census data. Those districts typically last for a decade, but they could be short-lived in some states. Court challenges could force lawmakers or special commissions to draw yet another set of maps...
Editorial Roundup: Ohio
Cleveland Plain Dealer. June 4, 2023. Editorial: The Statehouse con on selling Issue 1 in the Aug. 8 election, exposed There are many, many things wrong with how the GOP supermajority in the Ohio legislature is trying to ram through a hugely consequential...

State Supreme Court: Ohio abortion question will go forward as single issue
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — In a blow to abortion opponents in Ohio, a fall ballot issue aimed at enshrining access to the procedure in state's constitution will not be split into two separate issues — one about abortion, and one about other reproductive healthcare. In a unanimous...

Proposals would bring dramatic change to Ohio's voucher program
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio parents could soon see more taxpayer money in their pockets to help send their schoolchildren to private and religious schools, or fund homeschooling, under changes to a voucher program that Republican state lawmakers and the governor must hammer out by month’s end. ...

Victims of violent crime drive legislative change to state programs, pushing against barriers to aid
Vanessa Martinez was finishing preparations for her daughter’s second birthday in September 2021 when her ex-boyfriend broke into her Mesa, Arizona, condo and shot her in the head as she frantically tried to shield their three young children. Doctors had to remove a third of her...

Struggles continue for thousands in Florida 8 months after Hurricane Ian as new storm season looms
FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Eight months ago, chef Michael Cellura had a restaurant job and had just moved into a fancy new camper home on Fort Myers Beach. Now, after Hurricane Ian swept all that away, he lives in his older Infiniti sedan with a 15-year-old long-haired chihuahua named Ginger....
Editorial Roundup: Ohio
Cleveland Plain Dealer. May 26, 2023. Editorial: Attempted legislative takeover of state universities is misguided and dangerous State Sen. Jerry Cirino of Kirtland, prime sponsor of Senate Bill 83 -- the so-called Ohio Higher Education Enhancement Act -- says the...

Indiana doctor reprimanded, fined $3,000 for talking publicly about Ohio 10-year-old's abortion
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An Indiana board decided Thursday night to reprimand an Indianapolis doctor after finding that she violated patient privacy laws by talking publicly about providing an abortion to a 10-year-old rape victim from neighboring Ohio. The state Medical Licensing Board...

Meet the influential new player on transgender health bills
Do No Harm, a nonprofit that launched last year to oppose diversity initiatives in medicine, has evolved into a significant leader in statehouses seeking to ban gender-affirming care for transgender youths, producing model legislation that an Associated Press analysis found has been used in at...

Ohio Senate OKs higher education bill limiting diversity training
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A bill that would ban nearly all diversity and inclusion training requirements at Ohio's public colleges and universities, prohibit faculty strikes and bar public universities from taking stances on “controversial” topics cleared the GOP-dominated Ohio Senate Wednesday...
