Karen Kasler (Ohio Public Radio)

In their version of the state budget, Ohio Senate Republicans erased money that had been earmarked for broadband programs. But they also added a provision that would ban local communities from doing their own broadband programs. Ohio Public Radio's Karen Kasler report.

Groups representing Ohio’s school boards, school administrators and school financial officials are raising serious concerns about the Senate’s version of the budget, which blew up the $1.8 billion school funding formula overhaul in the House budget. Statehouse correspondent Karen Kasler reports.

Ohio has settled a lawsuit filed just three months ago with a pharmacy benefits manager it accused of using subcontractors to overcharge Ohio’s Medicaid program.

Attorney General Dave Yost said Centene initiated the talks that led to the $88.3 million settlement.

“We didn’t seek out a settlement. Centene initiated the negotiations and said, ‘what’s is going to take to resolve this matter?’" Yost said in announcing the settlement.

It’s been a momentous six months for school funding in Ohio, after decades of debate over how to most fairly fund the state’s more than 600 public school districts.

A plan crafted by a group of legislators and school finance experts addressed inequities that plague the current funding formula. But the state House and Senate disagree on the approach--and cost is at the root of it.  Statehouse correspondent Karen Kasler explains. 

For the second time in less than a year, Ohio lawmakers are considering a bill to ban transgender girls from girls’ sports. Statehouse correspondent Karen Kasler looks into what the bill would do and why.

A Republican-backed bill that would allow ballot dropboxes only at boards of elections for 10 days before the election and would shorten the window to request early ballots got its first hearing in a House committee.

The state of Ohio overpaid more than $2 billion in unemployment benefits to hundreds of thousands of Ohioans during the pandemic. And a significant percentage of that money went to fraud. Statehouse correspondent Karen Kasler reports.

Voting rights advocates are still pushing back on a recently introduced House bill that would change and restrict election laws in Ohio. Republican backers of the measure say the changes are needed to improve election laws even though they say Ohio’s 2020 election was fraud-free. Statehouse correspondent Karen Kasler reports.

The school funding formula that’s in the latest version of the two-year state budget now being considered by the Ohio Senate will likely cost more than expected. The formula passed by the House last month seeks to calculate state aid based on 60 percent property values and 40 percent income in each school district. Statehouse correspondent Karen Kasler reports.

Former Speaker Larry Householder remains in the Ohio House as he awaits trial on federal bribery charges related to the 2019 passage of the nuclear power plant bailout law.

A bill that would put changes and restrictions on Ohio laws related to early voting, ballot drop boxes and other election laws has finally been introduced, after weeks of speculation. Statehouse correspondent Karen Kasler talked to the chief sponsor about the early criticism of it.

A group has taken the first step to asking voters next year to eliminate qualified immunity for police officers and other government employees accused in shootings or other actions. Statehouse correspondent Karen Kasler reports.

Three employees of a conservative think tank in Ohio plan to appeal a decision by a Franklin County judge, dismissing their lawsuit over municipal income taxes paid during the pandemic.

The three employees of the Buckeye Institute, who don’t live in Columbus, sued over a law signed in March 2020 that required them to work from home but still pay municipal income taxes to Columbus.

Ohio will lose a seat in Congress, bringing its total to 15 – it’s smallest Congressional delegation since 1833. And it’s unclear which of the 12 Republicans and four Democrats stands to lose their district when the lines are redrawn this year. Statehouse correspondent Karen Kasler reports.

Groups that represent elections officials and voters are cautiously approaching a Republican-backed bill to make changes in Ohio’s laws on early voting, voter ID and other issues – just a few months after a historic election in which the GOP won the state but their candidate lost the White House. 

Ohio has joined the list of states where Republicans want to make changes to voting laws after the 2020 election. And there are changes in this bill that appeal to both parties, but some that Democrats have spoken against.

On a mostly party line vote, the Ohio House has approved the version of the $74.4 billion two-year state budget that was proposed by Republican leadership. It includes a 2% across-the-board income tax cut and a $1.8 billion school funding formula overhaul, but Gov. Mike DeWine’s proposals on gun regulations were stripped out. Statehouse correspondent Karen Kasler has more.

A week after House Republicans stripped some of Gov. Mike DeWine’s gun regulations from the state budget, minority House Democrats have responded with a package of even tougher gun legislation. Statehouse correspondent Karen Kasler reports.

Arts organizations in Ohio and around the country are waiting for the relaunch of a system that will allow them to apply for billions in COVID relief – after it shut down on the day it was supposed to open for business in early April. Statehouse correspondent Karen Kasler reports.

Republicans in the Ohio House have added a tax cut and changes to school funding to Gov. Mike DeWine’s two year budget. And they’ve made some other changes that Democrats are calling “a mixed bag”.

A coalition of bowling alleys, bars and other businesses that sell lottery games, and mayors is pushing back and rejecting any plan to allow Ohio’s four casinos to control sports gambling in the state. Statehouse correspondent Karen Kasler reports this comes as a proposal on sports gambling is set to come out of the Senate soon.

Critics of the law that will allow state lawmakers to overturn Gov. Mike DeWine’s health orders say that could be costly when it comes to federal funding. Lawmakers overrode DeWine’s veto of that measure this week. Statehouse correspondent Karen Kasler reports.

Gov. Mike DeWine’s usual Thursday COVID press conference is now a statewide address at 5:30pm. COVID hospitalizations are trending down, but Statehouse correspondent Karen Kasler reports while it’s unknown what DeWine might say, it seems unlike that he’ll announce Ohio will follow other states’ lead on mask mandates.

New rules on mass gatherings signed yesterday mean indoor sports venues can be up to 25% capacity starting immediately. Last night, Ohio’s major league professional hockey team went back to the ice in front of fans for the first time since last March. Statehouse correspondent Karen Kasler was there.

More than half of the COVID deaths in Ohio have been in nursing homes. The nursing home death toll jumped by nearly 1,300 in the last week, as the Ohio Department of Health added in 4,000 unaccounted-for deaths to the state’s running total. And many workers in nursing homes and long term care facilities who were moved to the front of the vaccine line are still rejecting their place in it. 

The contest for the Republican nomination for US Senate is now a real race, now that the former chair of the Ohio Republican Party has done as many expected and jumped into the race. Statehouse correspondent Karen Kasler reports it’s shaping up to be a battle over which candidate can tie themselves more closely to former president Donald Trump.

Two Republican state representatives are proposing a new way to pay for county jails, modeled after the way the state helps school districts pay for building construction. Statehouse correspondent Karen Kasler reports.

Republicans have their first official candidate for the 2022 US Senate race.  Statehouse correspondent Karen Kasler reports former state treasurer Josh Mandel is launching his third try at that office.

A big development in the upcoming race fo US Senate in 2022, with Republican incumbent Rob Portman saying he's no longer running.  Statehouse correspondent Karen Kasler reports one high profile possible candidate is out.