Veterans’ issues are important to me as a veteran, a legislator, and a citizen of this nation.  I am happy to have the opportunity to announce that this program is moving forward, and that Ohio’s veterans will have the opportunity and chance to be honored in this way.

 The bonus program, approved by the Legislature as House Joint Resolution 1, will offer bonuses to service men and women who have returned from the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan and Iraq Conflicts.  It carries on a time-honored tradition of veteran support in the state.  Since the Civil War, Ohio has provided bonuses and benefits to veterans, honoring the men and women who served in both World Wars, as well as the Korean and Vietnam conflicts.

 The Ohio Department of Veterans Services will administer the program, and funding will ultimately come from the bond proceeds.

 House Bill 461, the legislation that will implement the Veterans Bonus, is currently being heard I in the Ohio House Finance Committee. A floor vote is expected soon.

It is great to see money coming back in to the communities here in Southern Ohio.  I have had the opportunity to discuss this project with the Village Mayor and Village Council and I am really very happy to see that all of their hard work paid off, and that they will be able to receive this funding to better the community.

The grant will allow the village to address water systems leaks and faulty meters. The Village plans to replace approximately 27,547 linear feet of waterline and construct a new water storage tank. The estimated $3.8 million project will assist 469 households.

The Water and Sanitary Sewer Program is administered by the Ohio Department of Development’s Office of Housing and Community Partnerships and helps local governments maintain, improve, and expand water and sanitary sewer systems.

 Rep. Pryor is currently working on legislation to stop prescription drugs from being obtained illegally.

 “I am pleased that the Governor has taken the initiative to bring this task force together,” said Rep. Pryor. “I believe this is the best way to create a good, comprehensive piece of legislation to help solve this problem.”

 The Ohio Department of Health reports that an average of four Ohioans per day die because of drug related poisoning. They say drug related deaths in the state increased more than 300-percent between 1999 and 2008, and prescription pain medications are primarily to blame.

 “My colleagues and I in the House have been working very hard over the past few months to find the best way to solve the narcotics abuse problem in Ohio. We have been meeting with a wide variety of groups seeking input and suggestions,” said Rep. Pryor. “I am confident this task force will help us move the process along more quickly toward solutions that will benefit all the people of this state.”

Rep. Pryor’s legislation will empower law enforcement and prosecutors to identify and prosecute offenders, put a stop to illegal Pain Clinics, and ultimately save the lives of Ohioans.

 In an announcement today, Gov. Strickland expressed support for a number of ideas that are being considered as part of Rep. Pryor’s legislation, including the licensure of pain clinics, and he called on all doctors and pharmacists to check the Ohio Automated Rx Reporting System – a prescription tracking database – every time they prescribe or dispense pain medication.  The Governor also announced that the state has set aside $250,000 in Justice Assistance Grants that local law enforcement can apply for to expand or improve their efforts.

·         Adds Junior ROTC as a permitted elective within the Ohio Core curriculum.

·         Permits school districts, STEM schools, and chartered nonpublic schools to excuse students participating in Junior ROTC for at least two school years from high school physical education.

·         Directs the Department of Education to reevaluate each community school that was ordered to close at the end of the 2009-2010 school year for poor academic performance to determine whether the school still meets the closure criteria when the report card ratings for its first two years of operation are excluded, and permits each community school that no longer meets the criteria to remain open after that school year.

·         Permits a community school that is not sponsored by the school district in which the school is located to operate as a conversion school and, under certain conditions, to obtain a new sponsor, if the school (1) has been in its current facility for at least three years prior to the 2009-2010 school year, (2) is sponsored by a school district adjacent to the district in which the school is located, (3) emphasizes serving gifted students, and (4) has been rated continuous improvement or higher for the three years prior to the 2009-2010 school year.

·         Extends by six months the deadline for certain school districts that have been allocated a share of federally “qualified” (interest-free) school construction bonds for their state-assisted classroom facilities projects to secure voter approval for their projects.

·         Makes the performance of the Harmon Commission’s duties to designate certain classrooms as “creative learning environments” and to award grants for school districts and community schools with such classrooms contingent on available funds.

The mission of the Veterans caucus, conceived by State Representative Ray Pryor, is to make sure that veteran and military issues receive the full attention of the legislature. Rep. Pryor invited all interested state House and Senate members to join, aprox. 18 legislators attended the first meeting, where discussion’s regarding the Ohio Military Kids Camp and several pieces of pending veterans legislation in the General Assembly took place.  The caucus plans to appoint officers for the caucus in the meeting which will be held in coming weeks.

If you have a suggestion or a concern that you would like for the caucus to discuss, please contact Rep. Pryor’s Columbus office at 614.644.7928 or district85@ohr.state.oh.us

Representative Ray Pryor introduced a bill that reform the sentencing terms for those convicted of murder.  This legislation will amend section 2929.02 of the Ohio Revised Code to change the prison term for murder from an indefinite term of fifteen years to life to an indefinite term consisting of a minimum term of fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, or twenty years and a maximum term of life imprisonment.   This legislation will toughen criminal sentencing and will provide judges more discretion when declaring sentencing for a convicted murder.

·         Creates the Shared Work Unemployment Compensation Program.

·         Allows an employer who wishes to participate in the Program to submit a shared work plan to the Director of Job and Family Services for approval.

·         Lists requirements that an employer must satisfy to have an approved shared work plan, including that the plan must reduce the normal weekly hours of work for an employee in the affected unit identified in the plan by at least 10% but not more than 40%.

·         Specifies that a shared work plan takes effect on the date the Director approves the plan and expires on the last day of the 12th calendar month beginning after the effective date of the plan.

·         Prohibits an employer that traditionally has used part-time employees or a seasonal employer from implementing a shared work plan to subsidize the employer’s employees.

·         Lists eligibility requirements for employees to receive shared work benefits.

·         Limits the amount of shared work benefits an employee may receive to 26 weeks, regardless of whether the employee has exhausted the employee’s total benefit amount for the employee’s benefit year.

Please check back later this week for more information on this legislation, or contact Rep. Pryor’s office at 614.644.7928.

“Ohio is the top state for alternative energy investment” – The Conway New Plant Report

And fortunately, enterprising leaders around the state aren’t stopping at number one.  American Electric Power <www.aep.com> plans to add 1,000 megawatts of new wind energy by 2011.  And one of their subsidiaries, Appalachian Power Co. <www.appalachianpower.com> has forged a 20-year agreement <www.aep.com/newsroom/newsreleases/?id=1489> to purchase renewable wind energy from a wind farm, Beech Ridge Energy, LLC. They will purchase between 100 and 147 megawatts in the first phase from the wind farm, which is expected to be up and running by March 31, 2010.  AEP has additional requests out for up to 600 megawatts of renewable energy.

Additionally, Rotek Incorporated’s <www.rotek-inc.com/> Aurora, Ohio plant will undergo $82 million in expansion. This is expected to add 150 new jobs in the plant that manufactures slewing ring bearings, which is used in the wind industry.

These initiatives are strongly supported by our government leaders in Ohio. The Ohio Department of Development’s Ohio Energy Office <www.development.ohio.gov/cdd/oee/> administers $3.5 million in state grants for solar hot water systems and wind technologies, under what is called the Advanced Energy Fund <development.ohio.gov/cdd/oee/GrantsLoans.htm>. The grants provide support for the distribution and advancement of energy technologies in the service areas of one of Ohio’s four participating electric distribution companies. These grants are for smaller-scale consumers in an effort to stimulate Ohio’s market for smaller wind and solar thermal industries.  They complement the manufacturing efforts across Ohio, aiming to attract the high-skilled jobs of a new energy economy.

In a time when the national dialogue is so focused on how we will develop for a sustainable future, Ohio is primed to be a longtime leader. Attention to these efforts has paid off so far, and there is still opportunity to do much more. Ohio has long been known for producing people and ideas that lead the nation and the world, and these accomplishments are proof that Ohio’s future holds promise and innovation for generations to come.

The national economy is struggling, and too many Ohioans are struggling as well. These tough times require the use of every resource we have to jumpstart our economy and create jobs. If we don’t take action and work to move our economy forward, we risk putting Ohio further behind once the national recession lifts.

The Ohio House <www.house.state.oh.us/>  has taken action to use federal  stimulus money to immediately begin creating jobs and positioning our economy for long-term growth. Ohio is getting $5.8 billion from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act - a shot in the arm to our ailing economy – a bold move to get it healthy again.

These dollars are about jobs. By attracting industry to our state, the free market can promote a healthy economy as we come out on the other side of this recession. Sustainable growth and prosperity begins with the action we take now.

There are a few major ways the federal funds will come to Ohio. For one, the stimulus bill includes money for federally guaranteed loans under the Innovative Technology Loan Guarantee Program. Loans backed by the government help in an economic climate where credit is still frozen for too many businesses. The loans will go toward businesses that invest in emerging technologies.  New industries not only create jobs in the short-term, but they also help other businesses to grow alongside them, providing long-term economic development.

We are also using federal funds to invest in infrastructure. $1.1 billion of our transportation budget went toward keeping our roadways safe. Good roads also allow small businesses to move their goods and industry to develop along transportation corridors. The jobs created as a result can invigorate communities. We’ve pulled down $629 million for energy efficiency, green technologies, and weatherization. These are investments that reap lasting benefits. For example, weatherizing our buildings decreases energy use and increases cost savings. When people save money on energy, they invest it back into the economy.

There are many opportunities for investments now that save money later. $26 million will support preventive health care services. Countless studies show that the more we invest in preventive measures like wellness and regular doctor visits, the more long-term costs we save. And we’ve also used stimulus funds to support vital services in Ohio, such as Medicaid, unemployment compensation, and school lunches.  In tough times, when more and more Ohioans are in need, it is critical to maintain our social safety net. We’ve also invested $38 million from the federal government to uphold our police forces to help keep citizens safe.

These are unique times. With major layoffs and foreclosures in the news, we must act to put Ohio back on the road to prosperity. The investments we are making will help get Ohio’s economy moving again and improve our financial position for tomorrow.

 “Town Hall” style meetings have also been a way for me to meet constituents, keep them
informed, and address their concerns.
 
 My office has created a Veterans Advisory Group, Education Advisory Group, Economic
Development and an Agriculture Group as a resource in the district to came back to with and for
ideas.  One of the many pieces of legislation is the veterans’ bonus resolution that is now part of Ohio law.

The State budget, of course, is a top priority.  We are working within committees to meet the
needs of the State in a responsible way.  As it is early in the process, there are still many
unanswered questions regarding the budget  and I welcome any input from constituents.  I will
continue to provide information as it becomes available.

At the web site  www.recovery.ohio.gov , the public can find updated information on the
stimulus package from the Federal Government to the State of Ohio.  Monitoring this website
will allow constituents to stay aware of the current availability and how the stimulus money is
being used in Ohio.

Community organizations, local governments, and individuals can submit requests  for stimulus
grants.  As the grants are very competitive, we advise monitoring the website for updates and
submission deadlines.  For assistance in applying, please contact my office.  It is my intention
that  the 85th District will receive an equitable  amount of the stimulus money.

Community input is always welcome.  Citizens can contact my office by phone at 614.644.7928,
email at district85@ohr.state.oh.us.  or mail at any time.  
 
Sincerely,
 
Representative Ray Pryor
Ohio 85th  House District