As the Ohio General Assembly prepares for its next session, the Ohio Municipal League is in the process of reviewing each of the bills under consideration as well as making recommendations for new legislation.
At the Ohio Municipal League's last meeting we were charged with presenting ten recommendations for possible legislative action. As reported in the "Portsmouth Daily Times," one of my recommendations was the passage of House Bill 346, sponsored by Rep. Kenny Yuko (D-7th District). The bill proposes amendments to sections of the Ohio Revised Code to provide disability benefits to a firefighter, police officer, or public emergency medical services worker who is disabled as a result of specified types of cancer, or certain contagious or infectious diseases incurred while performing official duties. I would like to see more emphasis on vision and hearing loss added to the bill, especially as it pertains to total hearing or vision loss.
HB346 is a good bill in its current form but I believe the addition of vision and hearing benefits would strengthen the bill's impact for first responders. I believe it to be a critical piece of legislation.
I would like to mention the other nine recommendations I made to the Ohio Municipal League for consideration:
1. More protection for collective bargaining rights for state, county and municipal employees.
2. Restrict state control over local income tax collection.
3. Prohibit the suspension of retirement benefits in a public retirement system to a retiree who returns to public employment.
4. Endorement of HB346
5. To allow only one recall election per county, city or municipality within two calendar years.
6. (Currently proposed in SB193) (SEITZ B) To require scrap metal dealers to take and keep as part of the sales record a photograph of each person selling or giving an article to the dealer.
7. Permit villages and townships authority to establish sales tax for their areas
8. Permit landlords to evict tenants for two successive months on nonpayment of rent after three certified letters without court hearing.
9. Eliminate student-performance requirements as a condition for teacher pay increasess.
10. Establish mandatory hazard pay schedule for state, county and village service workers.
Mike Payton
6-26-2012
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