The Ohio Academy of Family Physicians (OAFP) advocacy team monitors healthcare related legislation, rule changes, and legislative updates for Ohio’s family physicians.
To access the OAFP Bill Tracker, visit the OAFP Public Policy webpage and click on the Bill Tracker icon.
Read on for this week’s updates and contact Advocacy Coordinator Kaela Springhetti with questions or for ways to get involved.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine Picks former OSU Coach Jim Tressel to Serve as Lieutenant Governor
Source: The Columbus Dispatch
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine picked former The Ohio State University (Ohio State) football coach Jim Tressel as lieutenant governor for the remaining two years of his term.
Jim Tressel, the former national championship-winning football coach for Ohio State, retired from Youngstown State University (YSU) in 2023 after serving as president since 2014.
“I wanted someone who would focus on education, someone who would focus on workforce,” Gov. DeWine said during the announcement February 10.
“He has the requisite skill sets, he has the criteria that I outlined. He knows Ohio,” Gov. DeWine said. “Jim Tressel, I trust his judgment. He is a born leader.”
Gov. DeWine said he visited Jim Tressel at his northeast Ohio home nine days ago to talk to him about taking the job.
“I thought he was just coming to watch a couple grandkids play basketball,” Jim Tressel said of the visit.
Jim Tressel said his wife, Ellen, told him “It sounds like God has more work for you to do. You know we owe just about everything in our blessed lives to the state of Ohio.”
Read the full article in The Columbus Dispatch.
Governor DeWine’s Budget Plan Calls for Increased Taxes on Cigarettes, Cannabis, and New Child Tax Credit
Source: Health Policy Institute of Ohio
Governor Mike DeWine recently proposed a two-year state budget that included increased taxes on cigarettes and cannabis and the addition of a new child tax credit.
Gov. DeWine’s budget proposal calls for raising the tax on a pack of cigarettes from $1.60 to $3.10 to pay for a new refundable $1,000 tax credit for families with at least one full-time minimum-wage job for each child in the household who is 6 and younger. The size of the credit would decrease as income rises.
The governor’s budget also includes a plan to raise the tax on recreational cannabis to 20% from the 10% approved by voters in 2023 when they legalized the industry. The money would be distributed according to the menu originally proposed last session by the Ohio Senate on such things as local jail improvements, law enforcement, poison control, and assistance in having old cannabis-related convictions expunged, and addiction services.