 I am greatly honored to represent Ohio's 80th House District, covering Miami and southern Darke counties. If you are ever in Columbus, please feel free to call and schedule a visit at The People's Office of District 80.
Strengthen Penalties for Criminals
The Ohio House passed Amanda Dean’s Law, legislation that would increase criminal penalties to ensure accountability, protect human dignity, and provide justice for victims’ families.
Amanda Dean’s Law increases penalties for a person who treats a human body in a way that deeply violates family or community standards, and it imposes even stronger consequences when the abuse involves dismemberment, mutilation, intentional disfigurement, or attempts to hide a crime or interfere with justice.
House Bill 654 is named in honor of Amanda Dean, a 36-year-old mother of four, who was tragically murdered by her boyfriend in 2017. Investigators with BCI determined that Dean was killed inside a residence where the couple lived, and that the killer later cleaned the crime scene and disposed of evidence. Dean’s body has not been found.
Key provisions of Amanda Dean’s Law include:
- Reclassifying abuse of a corpse that outrages reasonable family sensibilities as a felony of the fifth degree;
- Increasing penalties for gross abuse of a corpse to a felony of the fourth degree;
- Elevating the offense to a felony of the third degree when the conduct involves dismemberment, mutilation, or intentional disfigurement;
- Establishing a felony of the second degree when such acts are committed to conceal a crime, obstruct justice, or impair a criminal investigation or prosecution.
House Bill 654 now advances to the Ohio Senate.
Addressing Frivolous Public Records Requests
I support House Bill 314, legislation to protect local governments from harassing or disruptive public records requests.
House Bill 314 will allow a public body to request a hearing before a county common pleas court judge to determine whether an individual’s volume of requests is harassing, obstructive or otherwise interfering with government operations. The legislation seeks to protect the public’s right to transparency while also protecting taxpayer dollars by ensuring local governments can operate efficiently.
Public offices will be permitted to charge a fee for requests on a sliding scale outlined in the bill. Additionally, the bill will allow a public office or the individual responsible for maintaining public records to hire a private contractor to help in responding to voluminous public records requests. The office will be permitted to include the cost of the contractor’s service in the costs of the requested records, no higher than the maximum amount on the fee scale for all requests.
House Bill 314 now moves to the Ohio Senate for consideration.
Capital Budget Bill
 I am pleased to share we recently passed Ohio’s Capital Budget bill, a two-year capital improvements budget for state and community projects throughout Ohio totaling nearly $4 billion.
The bill provides appropriations for state infrastructure needs, including renovations to state offices, new construction for mental health facilities, land acquisition, and equipment. The plan also includes just over $200 million for community projects, which are projects that come from outside of state agencies and have a benefit or nexus to the state.
All 88 counties will receive funding for community projects.
I helped secure investments for the following community projects in District 80:
Darke County:
- $100,000 to restore the Arcanum Opera House
- $53,000 for the Arcanum Community Splash Pad
Miami County:
- $1,000,000 for the Tipp City Grocery-Anchored Project
- $475,000 to make upgrades to the Hobart Institute of Welding Equipment
- $300,000 for the City of Piqua - Cannaley Project
- $275,000 to restore the Overfield Tavern Museum
- $100,000 to expand the Bradford Ohio Railroad Museum Exhibit
I’m thrilled that we can fund so many wonderful projects in our community, here in District 80. Investing in our community is an investment in our future. Preserving long-standing facilities in town and making upgrades to local parks will help further connect people to the places they love.
Through this bill, Ohio House Republicans prioritized investing in Ohio’s future by expanding access to education and healthcare through new facilities or upgrades to existing ones, improving parks and roadways to better connect communities, and strengthening local facilities across the state by providing necessary funding for enhancements.
This bill now heads to the Governor for consideration.
Celebrating the Annual Troy Strawberry Festival
The Ohio House sends its congratulations to the Troy Chamber of Commerce on this 50th year of the Troy Strawberry Festival! Great work by Kathi Roetter, the Chamber team, and dozens of volunteers.
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