The morning newsletter of the Ohio Capital Journal
Reporting for the People
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By David DeWitt | Editor in Chief
Good morning Ohio!
Ohioans will vote in November on a constitutional amendment requiring photo ID to vote after state Republican lawmakers passed the ballot resolution Wednesday. They introduced the proposal a few weeks ago.
Voting booths. (Photo by Seth Tupper, States Newsroom.)
By Megan Henry
Ohio law already requires citizens to provide photo identification before voting thanks to a bill the lawmakers passed in 2022 and took effect in 2023.
By Megan Henry
Ohio Republican state lawmakers have sent a bill requiring absentee voters to provide a copy of their driver’s license or state ID starting with the November 2027 election to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine for his signature.
By Marty Schladen
Two sets of data released this month, including one from the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland in Ohio, indicate that the high cost of gas is taking a bite out of consumers — and things are likely to get worse.
By Megan Henry
The Ohio Supreme Court will decide if Ohio cities can ban flavored tobacco products — a ruling that could have wide-ranging implications for municipal home rule.
COMMENTARY
(File photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images).
By James B. Annan
With 12 years of experience in corrections, doctoral student James B. Annan says post-prison reentry has become a critical social issue: When returning Ohioans lack stable employment or housing, their chances of successful reintegration diminish.
STATELINE
The big challenges and policy issues that cross state lines.
By Robbie Sequeira
With many students and educators already using widely available artificial intelligence tools, state lawmakers and school districts are playing catch-up on AI policies.
THE RUNDOWN
News from other states
By Ralph Capoco, Alabama Reflector
A federal judge Tuesday ruled that Alabama's nitrogen gas execution protocol constituted "cruel and unusual punishment," throwing future uses of the controversial method into doubt.
NATIONAL NEWS
By Jennifer Shutt
Congress must act to shore up Social Security during the next six years to avoid an automatic drop-off in benefits in 2032, according to a report released Tuesday.
By Jennifer Shutt
President Donald Trump significantly bolstered funding for immigration enforcement Wednesday when he signed into law a nearly $70 billion package that will keep key federal agencies operating without any new restrictions.
By Jonathan Shorman
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is walking back, for now, a plan to sweep up data on millions of Americans who vote by mail under President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting mail ballots.
By Ashley Murray
A federal judge denied a temporary restraining order Wednesday on President Donald Trump’s nearly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund, saying the issue is moot after acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said last week the administration is “not moving forward” with the controversial plan.
By Shauneen Miranda
A bill to crack down on financial aid fraud passed the U.S. House on Wednesday.
By Ariana Figueroa
A hastily constructed immigrant detention facility on a military base in Texas wasted millions in federal funding and failed to meet basic standards, according to a report released Tuesday by a nonpartisan government watchdog.
By Ashley Murray
As groups aim to use the upcoming 250th anniversary of the United States’ founding, a bipartisan group of lawmakers, with the help of a famed sitcom actor, turned the spotlight Tuesday to a central tenet of U.S. democracy: religious freedom.
HISTORY THURSDAY
On this day, June 11, 1776, the Continental Congress appointed the “Committee of Five” to draft the Declaration of Independence, with Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston as members. Learn more
CATCHING OUR EYE
Giving away federal land in Ohio to data centers. Reuters reports, “OpenAI eyes potential $500 billion data center on federal land in Ohio, per report.”
OpenAI is in talks to lease a proposed 10-gigawatt data center campus on federal land in Ohio, in a deal that could include financial backing from Nvidia, The Information reported on Tuesday, citing two people with direct knowledge of the discussions.40-year data center tax breaks. The Columbus Dispatch’s Haley BeMiller reports, “Kasich deal gave 40-year data center tax break to Amazon, Google.”
Ohio provided at least $2.3 billion in sales tax breaks to companies building data centers. Tech giants Meta, Google and Amazon received 100% tax exemptions for up to 40 years.
The tax breaks for Meta, Google and Amazon alone are estimated to be worth at least $1.8 billion. State lawmakers are considering legislation to limit future data center tax exemptions to 50%.Inflation. The Associated Press reports, “Inflation rises to a 3-year high on spiking gas prices, highlighting affordability challenges.”
Rising gas prices pushed inflation to its highest level in three years last month, a headache for the Federal Reserve and a potential political challenge for the Trump administration as midterm elections near.
Consumer prices rose 4.2 percent in May from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Wednesday, up from 3.8 percent in April and the third straight increase. On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.5 percent last month, after big gains of 0.6 percent in April and 0.9 percent in March.Back on the bench. Cleveland Scene’s Mark Oprea reports, “Geauga County Probate Judge Tim Grendell Back on Bench After Six Month Suspension.”
Timothy Grendell is back on the bench in Geauga County after serving a six-month suspension by the Ohio Disciplinary Counsel for violating professional conduct policies stemming from his decision to put two teens in juvenile detention for refusing to visit their father.
Grendell, who is 73, will serve out the remainder of his term as probate and juvenile court judge. He was initially given an 18-month suspension but the Ohio Supreme Court signed off on his reinstatement after he completed continuing education and training.
THE POD
THAT'S ALL FOR NOW, FOLKS.
Mahalo!
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