Legislative Advocacy
OPLC Joins With Other Consumer Advocates in Changing Lifeline language in Budget Bill.
May 2017The Ohio Poverty law Center (OPLC) joins with the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel, Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, Pro Seniors, and Communities United for Action (represented by the Legal Aid Society of Southwest Ohio) in filing joint testimony with the Senate General Government and Agency Review Subcommittee seeking to change a provision in the House version […]
Continue ReadingAttorney Mike Smalz testified on behalf of the Ohio Poverty Law Center and Ohio Consumers of Health Coverage in support of continuing Ohio’s Medicaid expansion and in opposition to work requirements that were included in Sub. HB 49.
May 2017Attorney Mike Smalz testified on behalf of the Ohio Poverty Law Center and Ohio Consumers of Health Coverage in support of continuing Ohio’s Medicaid expansion and in opposition to work requirements that were included in the House version of the budget bill, Substitute House Bill 49. Mike testified that the proposed work requirements are counterproductive […]
Continue ReadingWe Thought We Had Resolved Electronic Access to Unemployment Compensation, But…
April 2014Last July we told you about House Bill 2 – the bill that as originally proposed would have required every unemployed Ohio worker seeking unemployment compensation benefits to electronically “register” (prepare and post a complete job resume) on the new OhioMeansJobs before he or she could receive any unemployment benefits. Check out our July 25, […]
Continue ReadingAdvocates Improve Unemployment Compensation Bill for Ohio Workers
July 2013The Ohio General Assembly has passed new unemployment compensation legislation, House Bill 2 (HB 2), and Governor Kasich signed HB 2 on July 11, 2013. It becomes law 90 days after the Governor’s signature, but certain requirements take effect at a later date. As a result of advocacy by Mike Smalz (Ohio Poverty Law center), Hannah Halbert (Policy Matters) and […]
Continue ReadingOhio At A Cross Roads: Medicaid Expansion
April 2013Ohio At A Cross Roads: Medicaid Expansion The Ohio General Assembly and Governor Kasich are at odds over Medicaid expansion as anticipated by the Affordable Care Act. The Governor, a conservative Republican, included a Medicaid expansion in the state budget for all Ohioans with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level. This is […]
Continue ReadingMedicaid Expansion is Right for Ohio (letter to editor, Columbus Dispatch, 4.4.13)
April 2013The Medicaid expansion currently being debated in the state budget would improve the health, safety and stability of Ohioans and Ohio families. People who have access to health care are healthier. They get more appropriate preventive care and avoid emergency-room visits and heath crises. Many low-wage workers do not have access to employment-based health insurance, […]
Continue ReadingTestimony to Joint Senate School Safety Subcommittee: Creating a Positive School Climate and Eliminating Harsh Zero Tolerance Policies Improve School Safety
March 2013The following is written testimony submitted by Ohio Poverty Law Center staff attorney Sarah Biehl at the Joint Senate School Safety Committee hearing at the Ohio Statehouse on March 12, 2013: Senator LaRose, Senator Lehner, members of the School Safety Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today on the subject of school safety. […]
Continue ReadingOPLC Fights to Preserve Ohio Consumers’ Access to Landline Telephones
December 2012This piece was written by OPLC Staff Attorney Joe Maskovyak. The legislature has adjourned for the 2011-12 term, and opponents of SB 271, including OPLC, can breathe a little easier knowing that SB 271 died a quiet death when this legislature adjourned for the final time. The breathing will only be a little easier, since […]
Continue ReadingChild Support Bill Likely to be Passed During General Assembly’s Lame Duck Session
November 2012House Bill 561 (HB 561)—sponsored by Representative Lynn Slaby—was introduced last May and has been assigned to the House Judiciary and Ethics Committee. It is on a “fast track” and will likely be passed by the Ohio General Assembly before the end of this year. The Ohio Child Support Directors Association (OCDA) drafted and is […]
Continue ReadingNew Legislation Would Extend Unemployment Compensation Benefits to Some Part-Time Ohio Workers
July 2012HB 484, sponsored by Rep. Mike Duffey (R-Worthington), would create the so-called Shared Work Ohio program. Under the bill, if a Shared Work program is approved by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS), employees whose hours are reduced instead of being laid off will maintain pension and health care benefits and would […]
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