 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.
Data Centers: A Local Government Decision
 *Pictured above, Reps. Newman and King at the Darke County Townhall meeting on Data Centers
Decisions about constructing a data center are predominantly under the authority of local governments, the county, township, and city/village. This preference for self-governance is secured to local communities in the Ohio Constitution Article X, Section 1 and Article XVIII, Section 3. At the same time, there are areas where local communities must be protected: energy consumption and infrastructure, water supply, farmland use, tax abatements, and more.
I am for statewide legislation that supports local governance while at the same time putting common sense requirements in place. There are currently two bills in the House seeking to secure those requirements: H.B. 646 and H.B. 983.
The City of Piqua is Growing
If you visit Piqua’s downtown on any weekend, you will notice that the city is growing and developing, with excellent businesses and hosting numerous events. If you have not paid a visit, it is a must-see. The next chapter planned for this community by local leaders is the Canalley Project, which seeks to revitalize a historic alleyway connecting downtown shops to the beautiful riverfront Lock 9 venue. This $2.6 million transformation plan has been boosted with $300,000 I helped secure in the state capital budget. This next step is sure to bring many more things to the town and to Miami County!
House Bill 84 - The Innocence Act
I voted in support of House Bill 84 – the Innocence Act – legislation that will help protect Ohio children from accessing online materials that are obscene or harmful to juveniles.
The Innocence Act aims to shield Ohio’s youth from being exposed to adult content by requiring any entity that publishes obscene or harmful content online to verify the age of its users. The bill also establishes criminal penalties for deepfake pornography where a person’s image or likeness is used in sexual imagery or videos without their consent, allowing prosecutors to bring charges against anyone who superimposes another person’s likeness into sexually explicit content.
If enacted, House Bill 84 would do the following:
- Require any entity that sells, delivers, furnishes, disseminates, provides, exhibits, or presents any material or performance that is obscene or harmful to juveniles to perform a geolocation check on all users
- Require a covered entity to submit an affidavit to the Attorney General stating its compliance with these age verification requirements
- Allow the Attorney General to investigate reasonable allegations of violation of the age verification requirements, and endows the Attorney General with exclusive enforcement authority for these age verification requirements
- Enable the Attorney General to pursue civil penalties of up to $100,000 for each day that a covered entity fails to comply with these age verification requirements
House Bill 84 now awaits consideration in the Ohio Senate.
Celebrating Miami County’s Own: The Heart of the County Fair
*Pictured above, Miami County Fair 4-H Award Winners (left) and Royalty Court (center and right)
The Miami County Fair has been a local attraction and display of our agricultural community’s excellence for 189 years. One of the greatest highlights is the local students demonstrating their talent and hard work. It was a delight for me to participate in congratulating them on their numerous accomplishments. The future of Ohio agriculture and farm families is bright!
Legislative Update At The Darke County Fair
On Monday, August 24th at 12:00 pm, there will be an informative update given by our legislators at the Darke County Fair Youth Building. Updates will include information on data centers, the proposed powerline project, and agricultural business, with time for questions and answers at the end. The event will include remarks from me, Congressman Warren Davidson, Commissioner Matt Aultman, and Former State Representative Jim Buchy. See all the details here.
Powerline To Cross West Central Ohio
 I have had numerous conversations and meetings with constituents expressing their concerns related to their homes and farms. Grid Growth and the PUCO plan to construct the West Central Ohio Power Transmission Project, approximately 190 miles of 765-kilovolt transmission lines stretching from Darke County to Guernsey County in eastern Ohio. I, along with the Miami and Darke County Commissioners, have joined efforts to meet with the project representatives, stating our opposition to the project crossing Darke and Miami Counties, suggesting instead a route that does not disrupt productive farmland and growing economic development.
My staff and I have met with representatives of the powerline project expressing the concerns we have. On behalf of my constituents, and in conjunction with county commissioners, I have written a letter stating my opposition to the project crossing District 80 land, suggesting instead that it take a more northern path where fewer disruptions are likely to be made. There will be upcoming public meetings held to give more information to the public on this project and what they can expect.
|
