Restore the 40-hour workweek: Reform needed so Ohioans receive the overtime pay they earn
Columbus — Today, Policy Matters Researcher Hannah Halbert joined State Representatives Brigid Kelly and Kent Smith to call for revamped overtime pay rules. The Center for American Progress Action Fund, the Economic Policy Institute, For Ohio’s Future Action Fund, Innovation Ohio, Policy Matters Ohio and ProgressOhio sponsored the event. Halbert’s remarks are below. Hannah Halbert […]
Grain handlers’ discount drains state resources
Ohio’s rural landscape is dotted with big, silvery grain storage facilities. In some places, concrete silos tower over railroad tracks. These are where some of the nation’s largest grain handling companies store grain produced by Ohio farmers before moving it to market. And for that, the state of Ohio gives them a tax break of […]
Roland Anglin, Ash Sehgal join Policy Matters board
This month, Policy Matters Ohio welcomed Dr. Roland Anglin, Ph.D. and Dr. Ashwini Sehgal, M.D. to its board of directors. Anglin is the recently-appointed dean of the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University. Sehgal is the Duncan Neuhauser Professor of Community Health Improvement and co-director of Center for Reducing Health […]
Home energy assistance, social service programs safe for now, but threats loom
Despite draconian cuts in his 2019 budget proposal, last week President Trump signed a 2018 spending bill that maintains funding for crucial programs that protect children and the elderly from abuse and make sure struggling families stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Trump’s fiscal year 2019 federal budget proposal would cut […]
Will Ohio tax breaks keep multiplying?
Bills for new ones proliferate, potentially costing tens of millions a year Ohio legislators are considering a variety of new tax breaks that would cost the state tens of millions in annual revenues and have recently ratified others. Yet a new legislative committee that is supposed to review Ohio’s $9 billion-plus in annual tax breaks […]
House Bill 494 would shield corporate franchisors when franchisees violate labor laws
House Bill 494 would give corporate franchise owners a free pass when it comes to their franchisees complying with labor and employment law. Today, Policy Matters Researcher Hannah Halbert submitted testimony against the legislation to the Ohio House Government Accountability and Oversight Committee. “If this bill were enacted, workers and the state could no longer […]
Policy Matters testifies in support of unemployment compensation for military spouses, against expanding movie tax break
Policy Matters weighed in on two bills before state legislators today. Researcher Hannah Halbert testified before the Senate Finance Committee in support of legislation to extend unemployment benefits to military spouses who have to leave their jobs due to relocation of an enlisted spouse. Senior Project Director Wendy Patton testified before the House Government Accountability […]
Policy Matters to Kasich Administration: Scrap Medicaid work requirement proposal
Public comments on Ohio’s proposal to impose work requirements on people who receive health care through Medicaid expansion close March 18. Today, Policy Matters Ohio Executive Director Amy Hanauer sent a letter to Ohio Department of Medicaid Director Barbara Sears, asking the Kasich administration to reconsider submitting the proposal to the Trump Administration. Hanauer’s letter […]
Policy Matters calls for $15 state minimum wage by 2025
Columbus – Today Policy Matters workforce researcher Hannah Halbert joined House Assistant Democratic Whip Brigid Kelly (D-Cincinnati), Senate Assistant Democratic Whip Cecil Thomas (D-Cincinnati), State Sen. Joe Schiavoni (D-Boardman), and Cleveland-area nursing home employee Chaundra Kidd to call for a modernized minimum wage. Below is Halbert’s statement: Ohio’s economy has grown more than 65 percent […]
Trump tax plan: Corporations win, Ohio families lose
As Vice President Mike Pence joins U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci in Cleveland to promote the Trump tax cuts, Policy Matters Ohio Executive Director Amy Hanauer issued the following statement: “Powerful corporations are using the Trump tax cuts passed last year to line their shareholders’ pockets. Since January, the nation’s largest companies have authorized more than […]
Policy Matters opposes Medicaid work requirements
Today Policy Matters Ohio joined activists, advocates and health care providers to oppose a new and dangerous barrier to health care in the state. With encouragement from the Trump Administration, the state is applying to the federal government for a 1115 waiver to require all of the 700,000 Ohioans who receive health insurance through Medicaid […]
Policy Matters opposes using college savings plans for private K-12 tuition
The new federal tax law gives wealthy Americans who send their kids to private school a tax cut. Meanwhile, the Trump Administration and congressional Republicans propose cutting funding for public education. Today, as Ohio lawmakers work to align state law with changes to the federal tax code, Policy Matters Ohio testified against expanding the state’s […]