Keeping it Brief

Federal

Pelosi introduces bill to create a commission on presidential capacity under the 25th amendment 

  • Speaker Pelosi introduced a bill that would allow for a bi-partisan commission to assemble and determine a sitting president’s ability to carry out their responsibilities. 

    • Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) is the original author of the bill 

  • The bill is in no response to President Trump, despite the president’s claims. 

    • The 25th amendment was set in place to set procedures for the transfer of power from the President to the Vice President, if the President is no longer able to lead the nation due to death, incapacitation, removal, or resignation.

Pelosi signals no relief for airlines without bigger Covid deal  

  • “Speaker Pelosi will not move a coronavirus bailout for airlines unless the administration agrees to a broader stimulus package”.

    • “I have been very open to having a single standalone bill for the airlines or part of a bigger bill. But there is no standalone bill without a bigger bill,” Pelosi told reporters Thursday at her weekly news conference”.

  • Steve Mnuchin and Speaker Pelosi are working together to come closer to an agreement on a stimulus package. 

Supreme Court hears arguments over states’ ability to regulate drug costs

  •  Rutledge v Pharmaceutical Care Management Association was argued in the Supreme Court on Tuesday. This case pits 47 state attorneys general and the U.S. Solicitor General against an industry group representing three of the 20 largest corporations in the United States. 

    • “The states are arguing that the pharmacy middlemen owned by those corporations are engaging in anti-competitive practices and driving community pharmacies out of business”. 

  • “Seth P. Waxman, the lawyer for the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, said that if every state can make its own rules, “It’s an immense complication and it affects the benefits the beneficiaries receive. Employees of the same company will have unequal benefits from one state to another.”

  • The case is expected to be voted on by Friday 10/9

Months into the pandemic, digital divide still leaves poor kids at a disadvantage

  • Members of the U.S. Senate are pushing for a $4 billion COVID relief plan to provide high speed internet to students who live in rural and low-income communities. 

    • Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) has been pushing for this relief plan

  • Senators are also putting pressure on the FCC to provide high speed internet to students who live in rural and low-income communities. 

    • The FCC could provide this resource without relying on the President or Congress

State

Legislators pushing for education funding before end of general assembly

  • Members of the Ohio State House of Representatives are pushing to change the school funding formula that has been in place for decades. Members on both sides of the aisle do not believe the old formula accurately distributes funding. 

  • Rep. Patterson has been working closely with Speaker Cupp on HB 305

  • The bill hopes to ease testing standards

Bill seeks to improve Holocaust understanding in Ohio 

  • State Senator Michael Rulli (R-Salem) introduced SB 372 to create a Holocaust and Genocide Memorial and Education Commission.

    • The commission would be composed of 15 members, all of whom would be legislators, state officials, educators, and researchers. 

    • The goal of the commission is to improve widespread understanding of genocide. 

  • This bill was brought to the floor in response to a recent survey that states that many people are not aware of the Holocaust or other genocides that have occurred in history.

  • Senator Rulli’s statement: “Given the heightened tensions in our nation, I believe now more than ever we need to help educate the next generations about how horrors like the Holocaust can be perpetrated by even the most civilized and sophisticated people,” Rulli said. “We know that simply pledging to never forget is not enough as sadly, genocide continues to this day. My hope is that Ohio’s youth will become enlightened as a result of this legislation to avoid such atrocities from ever happening again.” 

Judge: Ohio must allow multiple drop boxes

  • On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Dan Polster ruled that Ohio county boards of elections can offer off-site drop boxes for absentee ballots.

    • This blocked Ohio Secretary of State’s order to prohibit off-site drop boxes

    • “Polster found that limiting each county to one drop box location had a "disproportionate effect on people of color" living in more populous counties, imposing a "significant burden" on their right to vote.”

Visitation logs, face masks among guidelines for indoor nursing home visits

  • The Ohio Department of Health Interim Director Lance Himes signed an order on Thursday that required face masks, visitation logs, and coronavirus screenings for those who visit nursing homes. 

    • Visits will be limited to 30 minutes and only two visitors are allowed per resident. 

Local

Nearly 50,000 voters received wrong ballots in Franklin County

  • When ballots were printing on Oct. 3, a scanning machine broke and almost 50,000 ballots were printed with errors. All who received the wrong ballot will receive new ones in the mail 

  • The error in the printer has now been fixed. If residents do not want to wait for their ballot to be mailed, they can vote early and in person at the Franklin County Board of Elections office.


Policy Matters Ohio: View a summary of the latest policy data trends from local and state legislatures here.

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