Ohio Senate

COVID cases are leading to schools and entertainment venues scrapping events; the Ohio Senate has approved a bill that eliminates the requirement for a concealed weapons permit; more Ohio dispensaries could sell medical marijuana, cultivators could grow more of it, and more conditions would qualify for using it under legislation passed Wednesday by the Republican-led state Senate; and more stories.

The National Weather Service on Thursday issued 11 tornado warnings throughout Northeast Ohio yesterday, the most during a single event since 2005; Ohio’s coronavirus case rate is at 420 case per 100,000 residents; a newly surfaced text exchange between then-FirstEnergy executives give a new peek into the favors the company got from Ohio’s top utility regulator; and more stories.

Its version of the budget eliminates all money for bus purchases and increases funds for transportation stipends for families of students who attend nonpublic schools.

State employees get Friday off in observance of the new federal Juneteenth holiday; the College of Wooster says it will require all students to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before the fall semester; more COVID restrictions and orders end Friday in Ohio. Gov. Mike DeWine says the state of emergency, which streamlined the purchasing process for things like PPE, will be lifted, along with more state restrictions on nursing homes and assisted living centers. DeWine says just under 47% of Ohioans are vaccinated. He says that number doesn't include those who were vaccinated in other states, or through the VA.

Former President Donald Trump will hold a rally June 26 in Cleveland; Indicted former Ohio House speaker Larry Householder testified in a hearing for a bipartisan effort to remove him from his seat; startup electric truck maker Lordstown Motors says it’s still on track to begin production this fall despite a bumpy past week; and more stories.

Akron City Council is considering a law that would require police to automatically post body camera footage within a week of an officer using deadly force; Dennis Kucinich will seek another bid for Cleveland mayor more than 40 years later; several Northeast Ohio municipalities are speaking out against an amendment slipped into the Senate’s state budget proposal that limits public broadband projects and cuts all broadband-related funding; and more stories.

The Ohio Senate passed the state budget bill Wednesday which sets up a likely conference committee where the House and Senate must agree on a final spending measure to send to the governor.

The Ohio Senate Finance Committee has sent the latest budget proposal for a floor vote after adding more than 100 amendments to the bill. Republican Senate leaders say the measure is making more investments to help people.

The state has selected six managed care organizations to carry out Medicaid services, amounting to a $20 billion contract, but a provision in the Senate's budget proposal would stop that procurement process and require the state to consider other measures.

Republican leaders of the Ohio Senate have proposed a $75-billion-dollar, two-year budget that includes a 5% across-the-board income tax cut – which is a boost from a 2% cut in the House budget.