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Leaders of the Ohio House review lame duck, the last two years and what's ahead. Outgoing House Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) and House Minority Leader Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington) are studio guests.

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00:00:38	Leaders of the Ohio House
00:00:38	review
00:00:40	lame duck the last two years.
00:00:42	And what's ahead?
00:00:43	That's this weekend.
00:00:44	The state of Ohio.
00:01:03	Just.
00:01:03	Welcome to the state of Ohio.
00:01:05	I'm Karen, counselor.
00:01:07	The 135th General
00:01:07	Assembly ended after a lame
00:01:10	duck session
00:01:11	in which lawmakers approved
00:01:11	more than four dozen bills,
00:01:14	including the so-called
00:01:14	parents Bill of rights,
00:01:16	which opponents say is a don't
00:01:16	say gay bill, a measure
00:01:19	to expand school policies
00:01:19	on expelling students
00:01:23	and some spending plans.
00:01:24	But there was no pay raise
00:01:24	for elected officials,
00:01:27	including those
00:01:27	in the next General Assembly.
00:01:30	As has been the case
00:01:30	since the pandemic,
00:01:32	we weren't able to bring
00:01:32	the House leaders together
00:01:34	as the Senate leaders
00:01:34	were on the show last month,
00:01:36	with Speaker
00:01:36	Jason Stephens in particular
00:01:38	wanting a one
00:01:38	on one conversation.
00:01:40	I spoke to Stevens this week
00:01:40	as he ends his term
00:01:43	as speaker.
00:01:44	When you look back
00:01:44	on your two years of speaker,
00:01:46	how do you feel like it
00:01:46	went for you?
00:01:49	Yeah,
00:01:49	I thought I actually thought
00:01:50	it went really well
00:01:50	and a lot of those priorities.
00:01:52	So for example, House
00:01:52	Bill one,
00:01:54	you know,
00:01:54	there were a lot of concepts
00:01:54	in the House
00:01:56	Bill one that were
00:01:56	in the operating budget.
00:01:58	You know, the income tax,
00:01:58	the flat income tax.
00:02:01	You know, we almost got
00:02:01	there were to two brackets.
00:02:03	Now, you know, we were able
00:02:03	to finally get an inflation
00:02:07	adjustment
00:02:07	for the homestead exemption,
00:02:09	you know, on the property
00:02:09	tax front.
00:02:11	And a lot of the reason
00:02:11	for House Bill one
00:02:14	was to start the discussion
00:02:14	on property taxes.
00:02:16	Now, mind you,
00:02:16	this was two years ago.
00:02:18	And being a former
00:02:18	county auditor,
00:02:19	I could see what was coming.
00:02:21	And a lot of
00:02:21	it was just getting people
00:02:24	to understand how complex
00:02:25	our property
00:02:25	tax system is in Ohio.
00:02:27	And it's not an easy fix,
00:02:29	like with the sales tax
00:02:29	or the income tax,
00:02:31	which you just change
00:02:31	a number here or there
00:02:33	or move the brackets
00:02:33	around a little bit.
00:02:35	You know, property
00:02:35	taxes are just a very complex,
00:02:37	item that when you cut them,
00:02:39	somebody loses
00:02:39	out and it's a very direct,
00:02:43	equation
00:02:43	there, but but very complex.
00:02:46	So, you know,
00:02:46	I felt like we did good
00:02:48	on, on the economic front,
00:02:48	you know, some of our other,
00:02:51	priority
00:02:51	bills was the adoption bill,
00:02:53	House bill five, House Bill
00:02:53	seven we got,
00:02:56	which was our mommas
00:02:56	and babies bill.
00:02:58	You know,
00:02:58	we were able to do that,
00:02:59	but our focus
00:03:00	was really about the people
00:03:00	and the people of Ohio.
00:03:04	And I think we were able
00:03:04	to, focus on that
00:03:06	and get a lot of those
00:03:06	types of things,
00:03:09	passed into law over the past
00:03:09	two years.
00:03:11	Let's go back to
00:03:11	the last night of lame duck.
00:03:13	You had told reporters
00:03:13	that you were hopeful
00:03:15	that we would be done
00:03:15	by dinner.
00:03:16	Yeah,
00:03:16	I dinner late. I didn't really
00:03:19	not what happened?
00:03:20	We were close. Very close.
00:03:22	The two hold up be the pay
00:03:22	raise and also, House
00:03:26	Bill eight and the changes
00:03:26	from the from the Senate.
00:03:28	I am I correct in saying
00:03:28	I actually
00:03:30	I don't know that the
00:03:30	the the hold ups, the hold up,
00:03:30	the thing that took
00:03:33	the longest
00:03:33	was the volume of bills.
00:03:35	If you if you look at what the
00:03:35	what were on the agendas
00:03:39	the Senate passed House bills.
00:03:41	We passed Senate bills.
00:03:42	Then we concurred on
00:03:42	what we had passed each other.
00:03:45	So some of
00:03:45	it was the discussions on
00:03:45	what exactly is in this bill.
00:03:49	The Senate did the same to us.
00:03:50	And then really,
00:03:50	we were done by 11:00.
00:03:52	As far
00:03:52	as having having an agreement,
00:03:54	because,
00:03:55	that day,
00:03:55	the conference committee
00:03:57	had met throughout the day
00:03:57	on the House Bill 315.
00:03:59	And that was the Christmas
00:03:59	tree that was. Yes.
00:04:01	And so what ended up happening
00:04:01	is waiting on our friends
00:04:05	at LSC to actually compile
00:04:05	the bill.
00:04:08	Took about three hours
00:04:08	or otherwise.
00:04:10	You know,
00:04:10	we may not
00:04:10	have been done by dinner,
00:04:11	but we at least
00:04:12	but able to, you know, be done
00:04:12	before the news was over.
00:04:16	So the pay raise
00:04:16	was not the holdup.
00:04:18	Oh, no, no, no, it was
00:04:18	it was really just the volume
00:04:21	of of a lot of those
00:04:21	different,
00:04:23	bills
00:04:23	that were coming together
00:04:25	and being rolled in
00:04:25	and rolled out and all that.
00:04:28	There were some bills
00:04:28	that didn't pass,
00:04:30	for instance, changes
00:04:30	to recreational marijuana.
00:04:32	That and also Delta eight,
00:04:32	which governor Mike DeWine
00:04:34	said he wants, Senate Bill
00:04:34	83, the higher education bill.
00:04:38	What happened
00:04:38	with those two things?
00:04:40	Were you ready to move on
00:04:40	either of those? Yeah.
00:04:42	So the recreational marijuana,
00:04:42	you know,
00:04:44	I think, you know, I'm
00:04:46	I'm not an expert
00:04:46	on marijuana,
00:04:47	but I'm an expert on voters
00:04:47	and their voices.
00:04:50	And I think, you know, the
00:04:50	voters spoke loud and clear.
00:04:53	Back in November of 2023.
00:04:57	And I felt
00:04:57	it was very important
00:04:58	that we have a consensus,
00:04:58	and a bipartisan consensus
00:05:02	on what any modifications to
00:05:02	that law would be.
00:05:05	And the challenge was,
00:05:05	once you would get,
00:05:08	you know, in the house, it's
00:05:08	there's 99 people.
00:05:10	So it's it's it's
00:05:10	hard to get 50 people
00:05:12	to agree,
00:05:12	on a, on a big consensus bill.
00:05:16	And when you would do
00:05:16	one change here
00:05:18	or one particular item,
00:05:20	you know,
00:05:20	you might gain 30 votes,
00:05:22	but you might lose 25
00:05:23	on the other side
00:05:23	who didn't want to do that.
00:05:24	And you know,
00:05:24	we have some members who were
00:05:27	and this is just the
00:05:27	the Republican caucus who were
00:05:30	very much pro issue two.
00:05:32	We had some
00:05:32	who were very anti issue too.
00:05:34	I didn't vote for it.
00:05:35	But they also didn't
00:05:35	even want to vote on it again.
00:05:38	So they were a though
00:05:39	regardless
00:05:39	of what came through.
00:05:41	So it made the math
00:05:41	challenging.
00:05:43	And I know we had a lot of
00:05:43	different folks,
00:05:45	working on that.
00:05:46	And sometimes
00:05:47	and this is,
00:05:47	you know, part of term limits,
00:05:49	maybe when you
00:05:50	when you have members
00:05:50	who haven't been here
00:05:52	very long,
00:05:52	you know,
00:05:53	they're a little more
00:05:53	suspicious
00:05:54	of what all is coming through.
00:05:56	And it makes
00:05:56	those bigger compiled bills
00:05:59	that kind of move back
00:05:59	and forth
00:06:01	a little more challenging
00:06:01	to get to the votes on it.
00:06:03	So did you block
00:06:03	Senate Bill 83?
00:06:05	No, I think it was a matter
00:06:05	of a bill that was, you know,
00:06:09	didn't have the votes
00:06:09	in our caucus.
00:06:10	And part of the reason
00:06:12	I think it was very,
00:06:12	you know, very mandate
00:06:16	oriented,
00:06:16	it was very particular.
00:06:17	I mean, it
00:06:18	it was going in
00:06:18	and saying you had to
00:06:20	universities
00:06:20	had to within three clicks,
00:06:22	get to the syllabus.
00:06:23	I mean, it was very
00:06:23	particular on that.
00:06:25	There were some other,
00:06:25	you know, carve outs
00:06:27	for some special interests
00:06:27	that didn't really,
00:06:29	in my opinion,
00:06:29	need to be in there.
00:06:31	And, you know,
00:06:31	there was enough.
00:06:32	And it was interesting
00:06:32	even within our caucus,
00:06:34	you know, ideologically,
00:06:36	whether you're
00:06:38	a little more conservative
00:06:38	or whatever,
00:06:40	you know, there just wasn't
00:06:40	the support for it.
00:06:43	So you mentioned this
00:06:44	in our discussion earlier
00:06:44	about House Bill one,
00:06:46	but there were
00:06:46	a lot of property
00:06:47	tax reform bills
00:06:47	that were proposed.
00:06:50	But no big ones got through.
00:06:52	Do you expect that to change?
00:06:54	And is there a reason
00:06:54	that some of these
00:06:55	some of these didn't
00:06:55	get through at all? Yeah.
00:06:57	So property taxes,
00:06:57	they are complex.
00:07:00	But there's three basic
00:07:00	pillars to property taxes.
00:07:02	There is the local entity
00:07:02	who receives the taxes.
00:07:05	Your schools fire departments,
00:07:05	libraries, whatever.
00:07:09	There is the property
00:07:09	tax payer,
00:07:11	which is anybody who owns
00:07:11	property or rents property,
00:07:13	you know, they pay those taxes
00:07:15	and those taxes
00:07:15	never leave the county line.
00:07:17	They go to the county
00:07:17	courthouse.
00:07:19	You pay the treasurer,
00:07:20	the county auditor distributes
00:07:20	the checks.
00:07:22	The reason that there are less
00:07:22	property taxes.
00:07:24	And the thing is,
00:07:24	is those voters who live in
00:07:27	that district have voted
00:07:27	for those taxes.
00:07:29	The way that that goes lower
00:07:29	is when the state comes
00:07:32	in and pays and subsidize
00:07:32	some of those taxes,
00:07:35	whether it's the homestead
00:07:35	exemption,
00:07:36	the 10% rollback or whatever
00:07:36	has been done over the last
00:07:40	hundred years
00:07:40	of incentives or whatnot.
00:07:43	And so whenever you take
00:07:43	and say,
00:07:45	I want to lower
00:07:46	people's property taxes, well,
00:07:46	all of a sudden
00:07:48	the schools are not getting
00:07:48	as much money
00:07:50	and,
00:07:50	or the state is coming in
00:07:52	and lowering
00:07:52	the property taxes
00:07:53	for the people who,
00:07:53	who voted for them.
00:07:56	So, you know, the economic
00:07:56	principle of if you subsidize
00:07:59	something, you're going
00:07:59	to get more of it.
00:08:00	So if you subsidize property
00:08:00	taxes,
00:08:02	the chances of more levies
00:08:02	passing goes up.
00:08:04	So it makes for a very
00:08:04	challenging, math situation.
00:08:10	You know, in
00:08:10	math, in property taxes
00:08:12	is the number one thing,
00:08:12	even though the politics are,
00:08:16	you know, challenging.
00:08:17	It's,
00:08:17	it's really interesting.
00:08:19	So we'll see what happens
00:08:19	in the next year.
00:08:21	And it's understanding that
00:08:22	when you lower a property
00:08:22	taxpayer
00:08:25	somewhere else is either going
00:08:25	to get less money
00:08:27	or the state is going to have
00:08:27	to raise taxes
00:08:29	somewhere else
00:08:29	in order to subsidize that.
00:08:31	So it's a real math challenge.
00:08:32	I know there were a
00:08:33	there was a flurry of bills
00:08:33	that passed in lame duck,
00:08:36	like four dozen bills
00:08:36	that passed.
00:08:38	So pushing back on the idea
00:08:38	of whether this was a
00:08:42	productive legislature or not,
00:08:43	because earlier
00:08:44	it had been described
00:08:44	as one of the
00:08:46	most unproductive
00:08:46	in half a century. Right.
00:08:48	I want to ask you
00:08:48	if that was specifically
00:08:50	related to the split
00:08:50	that was happening
00:08:52	between the House
00:08:52	and the Senate,
00:08:53	between you and US Senate
00:08:53	President Matt Huffman?
00:08:56	Yeah, I you know,
00:08:56	I don't know what the
00:08:58	the real reason
00:08:59	I'm sure it's
00:08:59	in the eye of the beholder
00:09:01	on on what was causing one.
00:09:02	But when you look at probably
00:09:02	the amount of, pages
00:09:06	that were the revised
00:09:06	code was revised during this.
00:09:09	G.A.,
00:09:10	I think you'll probably see
00:09:10	a pretty, pretty comparable,
00:09:14	thing.
00:09:14	But as far as,
00:09:15	you know, different bills,
00:09:15	some of them more complex,
00:09:18	take a little longer
00:09:18	to get through the process,
00:09:20	whether it's, you know, more
00:09:20	hearings or more, being done.
00:09:24	But, you know, I look at,
00:09:26	you know, a lot of the things
00:09:26	that were not done
00:09:28	when the GA started,
00:09:28	you know, the Department
00:09:30	of Education,
00:09:30	for example, was not done.
00:09:33	And we got that done
00:09:33	right in the budget.
00:09:34	One of the important things,
00:09:34	you know, was the,
00:09:37	the men and women sports
00:09:37	bill was not done.
00:09:40	Neither was, you know,
00:09:40	some of the other things.
00:09:42	But we were able to get
00:09:43	a lot of those done
00:09:43	within the budget.
00:09:44	And so I feel like
00:09:44	we've been very successful,
00:09:48	we were able to have
00:09:48	the largest
00:09:50	transportation
00:09:50	budget done on time.
00:09:52	The budget was done on time.
00:09:54	The largest capital budget,
00:09:54	with the one time
00:09:57	money on top of it
00:09:57	that the state has ever seen.
00:09:58	But we also did
00:09:58	those efficiently.
00:10:01	It wasn't boring, you know?
00:10:02	I mean, there were
00:10:02	there were things for
00:10:03	you guys to write about it
00:10:04	and discussions,
00:10:04	but but at the same time,
00:10:07	from an efficient,
00:10:07	standpoint, I felt like we did
00:10:11	we did a really good job
00:10:11	with that.
00:10:12	And also, I'm of the mindset
00:10:14	that it's okay
00:10:14	if the legislature doesn't,
00:10:16	is a in every single thing,
00:10:16	in our lives.
00:10:20	So the split amongst
00:10:20	the Republicans in the House,
00:10:24	it was that part of,
00:10:24	keeping some of these things
00:10:27	moving forward.
00:10:28	How frustrating was that to
00:10:28	deal with?
00:10:29	I mean, it wasn't,
00:10:31	I don't know, the frustrating
00:10:31	was the word.
00:10:33	You know,
00:10:33	when you look at the folks,
00:10:35	you know, who,
00:10:36	you know, two years ago
00:10:37	supported Bill, were people
00:10:37	like Bill cites
00:10:39	and Scott Slager
00:10:39	and Tom Patton.
00:10:41	I mean, these are folks
00:10:41	who are legendary,
00:10:43	legislators.
00:10:44	You know,
00:10:44	they've been on both sides,
00:10:46	and they understood
00:10:46	how important it was
00:10:48	to make the trains run on time
00:10:50	and to make sure
00:10:50	that committees were meeting
00:10:53	and that we had,
00:10:53	good common sense
00:10:55	as far as just making sure
00:10:55	that,
00:10:57	you know, you have staff that
00:10:57	are supported and supportive
00:11:00	and, you know,
00:11:00	when I look back and,
00:11:02	and see that we were able
00:11:02	to navigate, you know,
00:11:05	it's the legislature,
00:11:06	it's politics in 2024, there's
00:11:06	always going to be noise.
00:11:10	You know, with social media
00:11:10	and the ability for,
00:11:13	politicians to be able
00:11:13	to communicate directly.
00:11:15	So you're always going to have
00:11:15	that kind of noise.
00:11:18	But,
00:11:19	you know,
00:11:19	I tried not to let it bother
00:11:19	me, you know, and just say,
00:11:21	what is our
00:11:21	what are our principles?
00:11:23	How do we help people?
00:11:25	And by staying focused
00:11:25	on that, I think the, the,
00:11:29	the GA is going to age
00:11:29	very well.
00:11:32	I think the time will look
00:11:32	very kindly
00:11:34	on what we've done.
00:11:35	We we're doing these year
00:11:35	end interviews
00:11:37	with you and House
00:11:37	Minority Leader
00:11:38	Allison Russo separately,
00:11:38	same as last year.
00:11:40	You were elected
00:11:40	speaker of the House
00:11:42	help of House Democrats.
00:11:43	So what is your relationship
00:11:44	been like with Democrats
00:11:44	and with Peter Russo?
00:11:47	You know,
00:11:47	I think it's been really good.
00:11:48	We've, you know, I said there
00:11:48	at the end of the lame duck,
00:11:52	you know,
00:11:52	we were a very conservative
00:11:54	Republican caucus,
00:11:56	but we also listened
00:11:57	to our friends on the other
00:11:57	side of the aisle.
00:11:59	And there are
00:12:00	and when there are times
00:12:00	when our interests align or
00:12:03	we have things that we agree
00:12:03	with, it's okay to do that.
00:12:06	And the only way
00:12:07	you're going to know
00:12:07	if you agree
00:12:08	with the other side is
00:12:08	if you have conversations and,
00:12:11	you know, a lot of,
00:12:11	you know, just
00:12:13	from a regional standpoint,
00:12:15	you know, me
00:12:15	being from Appalachia,
00:12:17	you know, some of the social,
00:12:17	economic, problems
00:12:20	that we have in rural
00:12:20	Ohio and Appalachia,
00:12:22	Ohio is very similar to
00:12:22	our urban friends, poverty.
00:12:26	Our poverty is a little more,
00:12:28	spread out.
00:12:29	But we have
00:12:29	a lot of similar similarities.
00:12:32	And you find those
00:12:32	similarities
00:12:33	by having those conversations
00:12:35	and talking to people
00:12:36	who are
00:12:36	from a different background,
00:12:37	and you can actually get
00:12:37	a lot more done that way.
00:12:39	But it doesn't mean
00:12:39	you have to compromise
00:12:41	your principles either.
00:12:42	And I think that's
00:12:42	what we've been able to show.
00:12:44	And finally, real quickly,
00:12:44	you won't be speaker
00:12:46	as you decided
00:12:46	not to run again
00:12:47	and that you will be a House
00:12:47	GOP caucus member.
00:12:50	Yes. Will that be strange?
00:12:50	I think it'll be fun.
00:12:53	You know what?
00:12:54	Well,
00:12:55	you know,
00:12:55	having said in the chair,
00:12:57	you know,
00:12:57	there's not been
00:12:57	very many people who've
00:12:58	been speaker of the House
00:12:58	and had that honor.
00:13:00	And it's it's
00:13:01	been, you know, life changing
00:13:01	and a wonderful experience.
00:13:05	But, you know,
00:13:05	I am looking forward
00:13:07	to, you know, representing
00:13:07	my district.
00:13:09	You know, I love,
00:13:10	love our counties
00:13:10	and love our people there,
00:13:12	but also doing it
00:13:12	with a perspective
00:13:14	to, understand that it's
00:13:14	there's a lot of things
00:13:18	that come into play
00:13:20	when it comes into leadership
00:13:20	and what bills
00:13:22	get on the floor
00:13:22	and all that kind of thing.
00:13:24	So I'm looking forward
00:13:24	to being a productive member.
00:13:26	And, you know, standing
00:13:26	for what I believe in.
00:13:28	And then and, you know,
00:13:30	trying to help people
00:13:30	throughout the whole state.
00:13:32	And then, of course,
00:13:32	our district
00:13:33	Allison Russo
00:13:33	is the leader of the House.
00:13:35	31 Democrats
00:13:36	who have chosen her
00:13:36	to continue
00:13:38	in that leadership position
00:13:38	in the next General Assembly.
00:13:40	We spoke
00:13:40	before the end of Lame Duck.
00:13:43	A lot of the things
00:13:43	we talked about this time
00:13:43	last year did not pass.
00:13:47	Changes
00:13:47	to recreational marijuana.
00:13:48	I didn't pass changes
00:13:48	to abortion legislation
00:13:51	following the approval
00:13:51	of the Reproductive Rights
00:13:51	Amendment.
00:13:53	Senate Bill 83,
00:13:53	the higher education bill
00:13:56	that was targeted
00:13:56	at what Republicans think is
00:13:58	and say is, liberal ideology
00:13:58	on college campuses.
00:14:02	So at the end of this two year
00:14:02	session, what did get done?
00:14:06	What didn't get done?
00:14:06	What are you looking at
00:14:06	as being, let's say,
00:14:09	the positive that got done?
00:14:11	Well,
00:14:11	I think, you know, for me,
00:14:13	a couple of those things
00:14:13	not passing,
00:14:14	it is positive
00:14:14	we minimize damage.
00:14:17	You know,
00:14:17	the people spoke on the issue
00:14:19	of adult use cannabis,
00:14:19	that, those new provisions
00:14:23	have rolled out, and that's
00:14:23	now available, to Ohioans.
00:14:29	Senate Bill 83,
00:14:29	which I think is very damaging
00:14:32	to higher education
00:14:32	in the state.
00:14:33	You know,
00:14:33	we've held that at bay so far.
00:14:36	You know, the anti abortion
00:14:36	legislation,
00:14:41	you know, I,
00:14:42	I think we probably will start
00:14:42	to see more of that again,
00:14:45	but, have been able to hold
00:14:45	some of that stuff at bay.
00:14:49	So from my perspective,
00:14:49	that is not a bad thing.
00:14:52	But, you know, in terms of
00:14:52	what did get done,
00:14:55	I mean, I will remind you,
00:14:55	we passed, just,
00:14:59	hundreds
00:14:59	of millions of dollars
00:15:02	going out to our communities
00:15:03	for those large
00:15:04	transformational projects
00:15:05	and as part of the
00:15:05	capital budget. That was huge.
00:15:08	Saw lots of good stuff
00:15:08	get, funded in communities.
00:15:12	And, you know,
00:15:12	is there more work to be done?
00:15:15	I can list all kinds of things
00:15:15	that need to be done
00:15:18	and should be done
00:15:18	for everyday Ohioans. Yes.
00:15:21	And we're still pushing
00:15:21	those things.
00:15:23	this has been called
00:15:24	the most
00:15:24	unproductive legislature
00:15:26	in half a century in terms
00:15:27	of the number of bills
00:15:27	that have passed.
00:15:30	Is that fair?
00:15:31	Do you agree
00:15:31	with that assessment?
00:15:32	Well, I think, Karen,
00:15:32	we have to look at,
00:15:34	you know,
00:15:34	as being unproductive.
00:15:36	Again, you're stopping
00:15:36	a lot of bad things.
00:15:38	I think that's actually
00:15:38	pretty productive.
00:15:40	But also, I think
00:15:40	we're seeing more and more,
00:15:43	pieces of legislation
00:15:43	that maybe didn't make it
00:15:45	across the finish line
00:15:45	in the previous GA,
00:15:48	being added
00:15:48	to the operating budget.
00:15:50	The operating budget
00:15:50	is becoming more
00:15:52	and more of a policy,
00:15:53	document that more
00:15:53	so than it probably has ever.
00:15:56	And so in that respect,
00:15:56	you know,
00:15:59	are we comparing apples
00:15:59	and an apples to apples here?
00:16:02	I don't know,
00:16:03	certainly the division,
00:16:04	especially amongst
00:16:04	the majority caucuses
00:16:07	and the division
00:16:07	between the Senate
00:16:08	and the House,
00:16:08	has created some obstacles.
00:16:12	But, you know,
00:16:14	it's, I think we've gotten
00:16:14	some good things done,
00:16:17	still some damaging things
00:16:17	that I wish had not passed.
00:16:21	And some things
00:16:21	we've held at bay.
00:16:24	What are the issues
00:16:24	that you would like
00:16:26	to have seen go forward?
00:16:27	I mean, Democrats
00:16:27	have talked about issues
00:16:29	related to families to
00:16:29	to women.
00:16:31	Some of these issues.
00:16:32	What were you
00:16:33	hoping
00:16:33	would happen in this two year
00:16:35	session that you plan
00:16:35	to potentially bring back?
00:16:37	Well, at the top of our list,
00:16:37	and we've been talking about
00:16:39	this for months,
00:16:39	is real property
00:16:41	tax relief, for residents
00:16:41	in our communities.
00:16:44	I mean, there's not a single
00:16:46	legislative legislature,
00:16:46	in the General Assembly,
00:16:49	both sides of the aisle
00:16:49	that does not hear
00:16:51	directly from constituents
00:16:51	about this issue.
00:16:54	And so,
00:16:54	you know, we we got something
00:16:57	pretty small done
00:16:57	this past week.
00:16:59	It's good, but not enough.
00:17:02	There's definitely more work
00:17:02	that could be done.
00:17:04	So we would like to see
00:17:04	progress there.
00:17:06	We would like to see
00:17:06	more progress in the space
00:17:09	of making sure that we have,
00:17:09	quality child care,
00:17:13	affordable child care
00:17:13	that is available.
00:17:15	We continue to hear about that
00:17:15	not only from parents,
00:17:18	working parents,
00:17:18	but also from businesses
00:17:21	who know that
00:17:21	that, impedes productivity,
00:17:25	or the ability for,
00:17:25	especially working parents
00:17:28	to be able to come back fully
00:17:28	in, to the workforce.
00:17:31	And so,
00:17:31	we think that there's a lot
00:17:33	more that can be done there.
00:17:34	Of course,
00:17:34	we are always, pushing
00:17:36	and on the watch,
00:17:36	for our public education
00:17:40	funding, particularly for our
00:17:40	disadvantaged students,
00:17:44	and making sure
00:17:44	that our schools
00:17:46	and our students
00:17:46	have the resources
00:17:47	that they need to be good
00:17:49	learning environments
00:17:49	to build the future of Ohio.
00:17:52	I think reporters
00:17:52	tend to focus on the things
00:17:55	that you disagree on.
00:17:57	The, individual lawmakers
00:17:57	disagree
00:17:59	on and the bills that sparked
00:17:59	the most controversy.
00:18:01	But, representative Bill
00:18:01	Seitz, who's on his way out
00:18:04	the door, said on the show
00:18:04	last week
00:18:06	that there are more things
00:18:06	that there is agreement on.
00:18:10	Do you agree with that?
00:18:11	There are there
00:18:11	plenty of things
00:18:12	that Republicans and Democrats
00:18:12	actually do agree?
00:18:14	I do, I do
00:18:15	I fully agree with,
00:18:15	Representative sites on that.
00:18:18	And you know,
00:18:20	from my perspective that, yes,
00:18:20	there are certainly a lot
00:18:23	more that we that we can find
00:18:23	compromise and agreement on.
00:18:27	That actually does good
00:18:27	things for everyday Ohioans.
00:18:30	Our perspective,
00:18:30	my perspective is it doesn't
00:18:32	matter if it's Democrat
00:18:32	or Republican idea.
00:18:35	If it's a good idea, we should
00:18:35	move forward with it.
00:18:38	And we you know,
00:18:38	I think we're up to 600
00:18:41	something bills
00:18:41	just in the house.
00:18:43	A lot of those are bipartisan.
00:18:44	What I get really frustrated
00:18:44	with, and I think the public
00:18:48	rightfully so,
00:18:48	gets very frustrated
00:18:50	with, is there is a tremendous
00:18:50	amount of time in this body
00:18:55	that is spent on those things
00:18:55	that are incredibly divisive,
00:18:58	and that at
00:18:58	the end of the day,
00:19:00	do absolutely nothing to
00:19:01	improve the lives of everyday
00:19:01	Ohioans.
00:19:04	We're doing these year
00:19:04	end interviews, with you
00:19:07	and Speaker Jason Stephen.
00:19:08	Separately, he became speaker
00:19:08	in January 2023
00:19:11	with Democratic support
00:19:12	and has fought
00:19:12	with Republicans, the House
00:19:15	Republican caucus ever since.
00:19:17	House Democrats,
00:19:17	though, haven't been thrilled
00:19:17	with a lot of the things
00:19:19	that have come forward
00:19:19	under his speakership.
00:19:21	What's your relationship
00:19:22	been like with him
00:19:22	over the last two years?
00:19:24	Well, listen, Speaker Steve
00:19:25	and I have a very cordial,
00:19:25	good working relationship.
00:19:29	All,
00:19:30	you know, I remind people
00:19:30	I will be going into my third
00:19:33	speaker as minority leader,
00:19:33	this next General Assembly.
00:19:36	But, you know,
00:19:36	I mean, listen, what we ask,
00:19:38	we understand
00:19:38	we're in the minority.
00:19:40	It's going to be incredibly
00:19:40	difficult
00:19:41	to get some of our ideas
00:19:41	across the finish line
00:19:44	doesn't mean that
00:19:44	we don't keep trying
00:19:44	and working again
00:19:47	to find common ground
00:19:47	and compromise.
00:19:49	But, you know, we simply ask,
00:19:49	that there's open
00:19:52	lines of communication,
00:19:52	mutual professional respect,
00:19:56	because we do think,
00:19:56	as we talked about earlier,
00:19:58	lots of opportunities
00:19:58	for agreement, good ideas
00:20:02	that are coming
00:20:02	from both sides of the aisle.
00:20:04	And, you know, for us
00:20:04	that that is for me at least,
00:20:09	that is what matters most,
00:20:11	when we're trying
00:20:11	to serve our communities.
00:20:14	And really what
00:20:14	the people sent us here to do,
00:20:16	and that is to do good things
00:20:19	for our communities
00:20:19	and for people.
00:20:21	Do you think the speaker hears
00:20:21	democratic ideas?
00:20:24	Here's your members
00:20:24	as you're proposing
00:20:26	different bills and ideas.
00:20:28	Well, the current speaker has
00:20:28	been incredibly respectful.
00:20:31	Again, lots of things
00:20:31	we disagree about.
00:20:34	You know, things
00:20:34	that I have been very unhappy,
00:20:37	that have gone
00:20:37	across the finish line.
00:20:39	But where we can find
00:20:39	common ground,
00:20:42	for example, on school
00:20:42	funding, for example, or,
00:20:47	you know, getting,
00:20:47	infrastructure projects
00:20:50	in our communities.
00:20:51	You know, he, he has always
00:20:51	been very receptive to that.
00:20:55	And, and I think that
00:20:55	that's a good thing.
00:20:57	Again, that's what
00:20:57	most people want us to do.
00:21:00	They want us to be,
00:21:01	functional adults
00:21:01	and professionals here,
00:21:04	because that's
00:21:04	what we were elected to do.
00:21:06	As you look forward,
00:21:06	what's your hope next year?
00:21:09	Under likely incoming Speaker
00:21:09	Matt Hoffman,
00:21:11	he and his replacement
00:21:11	as Senate president, Rob
00:21:13	McCauley, seem very closely
00:21:13	aligned on a lot of things.
00:21:16	So it feels like it's going
00:21:17	to be a different environment
00:21:17	moving forward than Stevens
00:21:21	and Hoffman,
00:21:21	who seem to be kind of
00:21:24	blocking one or the other
00:21:24	every now and then.
00:21:27	Well, I mean, listen,
00:21:28	from my perspective,
00:21:28	I'm going to approach,
00:21:31	President Hoffman, incoming,
00:21:31	speaker elect Hoffman.
00:21:35	In the same way that,
00:21:35	you know, I would any time I'm
00:21:39	working with individuals and
00:21:39	colleagues across the aisle.
00:21:42	I still think that
00:21:42	there are opportunities,
00:21:45	for certainly bipartisanship,
00:21:47	for progress on the UN areas
00:21:47	that we align on.
00:21:51	So, for example,
00:21:52	you know, President
00:21:53	Hoffman has been very good on
00:21:53	the issue of criminal justice
00:21:56	reform.
00:21:56	We have several members
00:21:58	who have interest
00:21:58	in that space.
00:22:00	I'm sure we will have lots
00:22:00	of, disagreement, on,
00:22:04	public education and school
00:22:04	funding, on that issue.
00:22:09	But I think that
00:22:10	there are still opportunities
00:22:10	and, you know,
00:22:12	I expect to continue
00:22:12	to have a good working
00:22:15	relationship
00:22:15	regardless of who is speaker.
00:22:17	Do you or any of your members
00:22:19	fear that
00:22:19	because of this relationship,
00:22:22	between the House and Senate
00:22:22	next year, that whatever
00:22:25	likely Speaker Hoffman
00:22:25	wants, he's going to get?
00:22:28	There's
00:22:28	nothing you can do about it?
00:22:29	Well, without a doubt.
00:22:30	You know,
00:22:30	I think, President Hoffman
00:22:34	will come into the house
00:22:34	in a very powerful position.
00:22:38	And, listen, also,
00:22:38	you know, we just got through
00:22:41	an election
00:22:41	and, Republicans were
00:22:46	had a lot of wins
00:22:46	in that election.
00:22:48	And I'm sure they feel
00:22:49	coming into this next General
00:22:49	Assembly in particular,
00:22:52	that they have a mandate
00:22:52	to do all kinds of things.
00:22:54	And I'm sure we are going to
00:22:54	disagree with, but, you know,
00:22:58	I think, many of us
00:22:58	who have been successful
00:23:01	in these roles, you know,
00:23:02	we understand
00:23:02	we can disagree on policy.
00:23:06	We can have good debate,
00:23:08	in disagreement
00:23:08	on those issues,
00:23:10	but you can still find common
00:23:10	ground on some other things
00:23:13	and have good working
00:23:13	relationships with people.
00:23:16	You mentioned the election
00:23:16	voters rejected the issue
00:23:18	that would have created this
00:23:18	15 member Citizens
00:23:20	Commission to draw statehouse
00:23:20	and congressional maps,
00:23:23	because the current maps
00:23:23	passed the Ohio Redistricting
00:23:26	Commission unanimously,
00:23:26	including with your vote.
00:23:28	It seems those maps
00:23:28	will stay in place until 2031
00:23:32	after the next census.
00:23:33	I think
00:23:33	that's still being discussed
00:23:35	because it's never happened
00:23:35	before. Of course.
00:23:37	You said you were hopeful
00:23:39	that issue one would pass,
00:23:39	and here we are.
00:23:41	Well, what are your thoughts
00:23:42	going
00:23:42	forward on redistricting?
00:23:43	So a couple of things
00:23:43	just to clarify, the the maps
00:23:46	that were passed, last year,
00:23:50	only applied to the state
00:23:50	legislative districts.
00:23:54	So there is
00:23:54	still this question
00:23:55	of what to do with
00:23:55	the congressional districts,
00:23:57	which I anticipate
00:23:57	or probably,
00:23:59	we're going to be back
00:23:59	at the table again,
00:24:02	for the congressional maps.
00:24:03	So that remains to be seen.
00:24:05	It will be under
00:24:05	the current rules
00:24:07	that are in the Constitution.
00:24:08	I mean, listen,
00:24:08	regarding issue one,
00:24:10	I feel wholeheartedly that,
00:24:10	most people,
00:24:16	if they really understood
00:24:17	and were not confused
00:24:17	by the description,
00:24:20	that they saw in the ballot
00:24:20	box, supported that issue.
00:24:23	And in fact,
00:24:24	we know that
00:24:24	there were many people
00:24:25	who intended to vote yes,
00:24:25	but the language was confusing
00:24:28	and that was intentional.
00:24:30	And so, you know,
00:24:30	many of the Republicans
00:24:35	who were in positions,
00:24:35	to impact, that vote
00:24:42	that did they use that power.
00:24:44	And it was effective
00:24:44	and it confused voters.
00:24:47	So I think, you know, it
00:24:47	I think it
00:24:51	probably will at some point
00:24:51	come back up again.
00:24:53	We'll see. That remains
00:24:53	to be seen.
00:24:55	In terms of timing,
00:24:56	do you expect anything
00:24:56	to come up in the legislature?
00:24:59	Governor
00:25:00	Mike DeWine has talked
00:25:00	about this Iowa like plan.
00:25:02	Do you expect something
00:25:02	to happen in the legislature?
00:25:04	Well,
00:25:04	that will be interesting.
00:25:06	You know,
00:25:07	I think there are a lot of
00:25:07	people, including Republicans
00:25:11	who, are dissatisfied
00:25:11	with the current process.
00:25:16	Is it dissatisfaction enough.
00:25:18	Now, that issue one failed,
00:25:18	to go back and change it?
00:25:22	I don't know.
00:25:24	And that is it for this week
00:25:24	for my colleagues
00:25:25	at the statehouse News
00:25:25	Bureau of Ohio Public Media.
00:25:27	Thanks for watching.
00:25:29	Please check out our website
00:25:29	at State news.org
00:25:31	or find us online by searching
00:25:31	State of Ohio Show.
00:25:34	You can also hear more from
00:25:34	the Bureau on our podcast.
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00:25:38	Look for it
00:25:38	every Monday morning
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00:25:41	Thanks for watching.
00:25:42	Happy New Year
00:25:42	and please join us again
00:25:44	next time
00:25:44	for the State of Ohio.
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Note : Transcripts are compiled from uncorrected captions