Rotunda Rumblings COVID money: Gov. Mike DeWine is appealing a court order requiring him to draw down $900 million in supplemental pandemic unemployment funds he rebuffed in 2021. Jake Zuckerman talked to some of the plaintiffs suing to force DeWine’s hand, and their attorney who’s worried Congress might reappropriate the money before the courts have their final word. Property taxes: Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle say fixing Ohio’s property tax system is a priority. But our system is incredibly complex. Anna Staver has a detailed explainer on how we got here and each of the plans to give homeowners some relief. Read back: Forty-six districts and 104 charter schools had to submit reading improvement plans to the state in the 2023-2024 school year, slightly down from the previous year of 55 districts and 118 charter schools, according to an Ohio Department of Education and Workforce report. Laura Hancock reports that while most schools have to continue submitting new plans, year after year, an analysis shows that schools using the state- approved textbooks and instructional plans will decrease a school’s chances of having to submit a plan in the first place.Death penalty: President Donald Trump on his first day back in office pledged to help states source their lethal injection drugs. Zuckerman reports that Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost asked for federal assistance last week. Ohio hasn’t carried out an execution since 2018, when pharmaceutical companies said they’d pull all business out of the state if it continued to use its products in administering lethal injections.First draft: The Selective Service System has summoned volunteers who serve on its Ohio draft boards for a training session, but that doesn’t mean the United States is reinstituting the draft, Sabrina Eaton reports. The virtual exercise for board members in Ohio and several other states was part of a longstanding, routine training process to help them understand their roles and what to expect if the boards were ever activated in response to a national emergency.Vance memes: Vice President JD Vance is the meme of the moment, a canvas for internet partisans and trolls to project whatever they want to see, The Washington Post writes. Over the past months, the left has reshaped the Cincinnati Republican into a pouty, overstuffed cherub intended to symbolize a tantrum-throwing toddler. Meanwhile, the right has chiseled him into a hardened nationalist icon. His image bends and warps, remixed to fit the worldview of whoever’s wielding the Photoshop tools.Droning on: “I don’t know how you do this for 90 minutes,” Vance said to U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson in a hot mic moment before Trump’s joint address to Congress. The speech wound up running 100 minutes, as Alex Perry of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. Full DisclosureHere are five things we learned from the Feb. 20, 2024, financial disclosure statement of state Rep. Allison Russo, a Franklin County Democrat. Alongside her legislative work, she reported earning between $50,000 and $100,000 from both her consulting work for Kennell and Associates and investment income from a T. Rowe Price Trust account. She disclosed investment in a state deferred compensation account, the state public retirement system, and four mutual fundsShe received nearly $3,200 in gifts each from the Negev Foundation and Ohio Jewish Communities, Inc., for entrance fees, a tour, flights, hotels, transportation and meals. The visit was part of a trade program between Ohio and Israel She reported receipt of $540 in tickets for the 2023 Major League Soccer Cup from The Columbus PartnershipShe owed at least $1,000 at some point during the year to USAA Federal Savings Bank, Capital One Bank, and Bank of America On the MoveSecond Lady Usha Vance led a U.S. presidential delegation to Turin, Italy, for the opening ceremony of the Special Olympics World Winter Games.Former House Rep. Bill Seitz, a Cincinnati Republican, has been appointed to the Board of Tax Appeals for a term beginning March 7, 2025, and ending February 8, 2031.Gov. Mike DeWine recently appointed Sara Carruthers, a former Republican lawmaker from suburban Cincinnati, to the Ohio State Board of Education. As an appointee, Carruthers is an at-large member, meaning she doesn’t represent a specific geographic district. The Ohio Senate Education Committee is scheduled to confirm her appointment Tuesday. The state board oversees educator licensing and discipline.Birthdays Katherine Caprez McKinley, policy advisor at the Ohio Department of Education and WorkforceEx-state Rep. Jack CeraEx-state Rep. Tavia GalonskiAngela Garcia, Ohio House fiscal analystStraight From The Source “The Ohio Turnpike does NOT send text messages requesting payment for unpaid tolls.”– The Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission, responding to a rash of scam texts seeking payment for fake, unpaid tolls. Capitol Letter is a daily briefing providing succinct, timely information for those who care deeply about the decisions made by state government. Subscribe to get Capitol Letter in your email box each weekday for free.
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