Ohio Resource Guide
Background:
Ohio is a swing state with a Democratic Governor, Ted Strickland. In the 2006 election, a tax and expenditure limitation (TEL) amendment was proposed, but it never made it onto the ballot. A minimum wage increase was passed, however, along with a smoking ban.
Issues:
Taxpayer-funded lobbying: Throughout Ohio, tax dollars are being used to lobby for more tax dollars. Both the Buckeye Institute and the Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST) have spoken out against this. Click here for a Cincinnati Enquirer article about this practice.
Education: Parents of children in poor performing school districts are eligible for a program called EdChoice, which gives students vouchers to attend better schools. In its second year, the number of program applicants doubled. However, Governor Strickland would like to cut the program—and send almost 8,000 children back to failing schools.
Spending Priorities: Although Hamilton County has a $252,000,000 annual general fund budget, county officials claim they can’t find the $500,000 needed to keep the county jail operational. Meanwhile, they're threatening to release the 300 inmates currently housed in nearby Butler County if they don’t start collecting a jail tax. Officials wanted to do this without a vote; the local leaders behind COAST collected signatures in an effort to put the jail tax on the ballot so citizens could decide if they thought the tax increase made sense.
Action Groups:
Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST)
http://www.gocoast.org/
Ohio Coalition for Open Government
http://www.ohionews.org/ocog.html
Americans for Prosperity – Ohio
http://www.americansforprosperity.org/index.php?state=oh
Think Tanks:
The Buckeye Institute
http://www.buckeyeinstitute.org
Ohio Public Expenditure Council
http://www.ohiopolicy.org/
Blogs:
State of Ohio Blogger Alliance
http://soballiance.blogspot.com/
Ohio Conservative
http://www.ohioconservative.blogspot.com
Right Angle Blog
http://www.rightangleblog.com/
Resources:
Cleveland Law Library’s Public Records Guide
http://clevelandlawlibrary.org/Public/Misc/FAQs/Public_Records.html
Ohio Piglet Book (PDF) (exposes government waste)
http://www.buckeyeinstitute.org/docs/Policy_Report_2_2006_09_21_Piglet_Book_2006.pdf
Cincinnati Enquirer Lobbyist Guide
http://dunes.cincinnati.com/data/misc/lobbyists/
Cincinnati Enquirer Government Data Guide
http://dunes.cincinnati.com/data/#gov
As featured in Common Sense :
Common Sense: Race Against Time
http://samadamsalliance.org/common_sense/id.2346/sense_detail.asp
Common Sense: Learning from the Amish
http://samadamsalliance.org/common_sense/id.2292/sense_detail.asp
Common Sense: Polls and Lies
http://samadamsalliance.org/common_sense/id.1926/sense_detail.asp
