Ohio should invest in high-quality child care
Policy changes could improve access for working families In a new report, Policy Matters Ohio researcher Rob Moore identifies changes to Ohio’s child care assistance policies that could help put high-quality care within reach for more Ohioans. Children who participate in high-quality early education programs grow up to have higher graduation rates and test scores. […]
House Farm Bill would take food aid from millions
Yesterday, the House of Representatives narrowly passed a partisan, flawed and harmful Farm Bill that would take food aid away from 2 million people. Policy Matters Ohio’s State Policy Fellow Victoria Jackson released the following statement: “The Farm Bill passed yesterday in the House would make it harder for the nearly 1.4 million Ohioans who […]
U.S. Supreme Court overturns outdated sales-tax rule
Ohio should take steps so on-line merchants collect taxes that are due In a long overdue and long-awaited decision (South Dakota v. Wayfair), the U.S. Supreme Court today reversed obsolete precedents from 1967 and 1992 and empowered states to require online, catalog, and other remote retailers to collect sales tax on their sales to their […]
State should close online hotel tax loophole
Policy Matters Ohio supports House Bill 571, which would do so Legislators should eliminate a loophole in the tax code that provides an unfair advantage for online travel companies and deprives state and local governments of tax revenue they should receive. That was the key point Policy Matters Ohio made today in written testimony to […]
Valley Voices United for Change hosts forum on creating living wages in the Mahoning Valley
Policy Matters Ohio, Innovation Ohio and leaders from Labor and economic development will address the question of Jobs with Living Wages for the Mahoning Valley in a public forum Mahoning Valley — Youngstown Policy Matters Ohio and the Innovation Ohio Education Fund (IOEF) along with union and local economic development leaders will engage with community […]
Medicaid cuts threaten hundreds of thousands
Proposed changes to Ohio’s Medicaid expansion will threaten health care access for hundreds of thousands of Ohioans. Estimates by the Kasich administration understate the severity of the cuts, which disproportionately affect people of color in urban centers across the state. Policy Matters Ohio senior researcher Amanda Woodrum finds more than 300,000 Ohioans will be at […]
Statement on Vice President Pence visit: Tax cuts to put the richest first
Vice President Pence should make his slogan square with the facts As Vice President Mike Pence arrives in Columbus to promote the new federal tax law, Policy Matters Ohio Executive Director Amy Hanauer issued this statement: “The tax law Congress approved last December provides huge benefits to those who need them least, America’s wealthiest. This […]
Policy Matters urges rejection of deregulation bill
Policy Matters Ohio told a Senate committee today that it should reject a bill that calls for slashing by 30 percent the rules that implement Ohio state law, calling it “impractical and unwarranted.” The bill, Senate Bill 293, would have agencies examine the rules that make up the Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) and develop an […]
Policy Matters calls on state lawmakers to expand broadband infrastructure
Nearly 900,000 Ohioans still don’t have access to broadband, according to the Federal Communications Commission. A new bill moving through the Ohio Senate attempts to remove some of the barriers to high-speed internet access by appropriating $50 million a year to build out the state’s broadband infrastructure. Policy Matters Ohio testified in support of the […]
Tax Expenditure Review Committee should scrutinize tax breaks
State lawmakers spend Ohioans’ tax dollars through the budget, but also through the tax code. Tax breaks (“tax expenditures”) cost the state more than $9 billion annually. While policymakers watch the budget carefully, until this year, they haven’t paid much attention to spending through the tax code. In a policy brief released today, Policy Matters […]
Kalitha Williams elected to Consumer Federation of America board
Kalitha WIlliams Kalitha Willliams, policy liaison at Policy Matters Ohio, was recently elected to the board of the Consumer Federation of America (CFA), a research, advocacy, education and service organization. Kalitha has led Policy Matters Ohio’s consumer protection work for six years and convenes Ohio CASH, the state asset building coalition which includes health and […]
Farm Bill failure preserves food aid for 1.4 million Ohioans
After the House of Representatives rejected the Farm Bill today, Policy Matters Ohio’s Executive Director Amy Hanauer released the following statement: “The Farm Bill that failed in the House today would have created new barriers for the 1.4 million Ohioans who rely on food aid to keep their families fed. “The failure of this bill […]