COLUMBUS — New legislation aimed at improving government transparency was introduced by an area lawmaker.
Ohio Senate
Sen. Keith Faber, R-Celina: On Wednesday, Faber introduced Senate Bill 321, which provides an expedited process for individuals who have had a public records request denied by a public official at state, county or local levels, a bill believed to be the first of its kind in the nation. Should a request be denied, individuals would be able to file a complaint with the Court of Claims to begin a mediation process designed to resolve the dispute.
“This is about open government and bringing fairness and the public’s confidence in a process that often is out of sight and out of mind until someone needs to put the government to the test,” Faber said. “I greatly appreciate the recommendations and support of Auditor [Dave] Yost, Attorney General [MIke] DeWine, the judicial branch and the Ohio Newspaper Association over the last several months as we worked on making this process more affordable and accessible to Ohioans.”
U.S. House of Representatives
Rep. Bob Latta, R-Bowling Green: On Thursday, Latta sent a letter to the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission opposing the agency’s proposal to open up the cable set-top box market to third-party companies, potentially giving cable subscribers other ways to access content.
Latta and other lawmakers maintained that this new regulation would stifle innovation and would be costly to rural providers.
“Our bipartisan letter recognizes the efforts of the FCC to support a competitive environment for video competition, but disagrees with their approach,” Latta said. “The Commission’s set-top box proposal is a technical mandate that will obstruct the future of pay-TV by having programmers retrofit their systems to comply with a new standard that doesn’t yet exist. Not only would a new standard likely take years to develop, slowing and stifling innovation, but it would also be costly to reconfigure systems, especially for small and rural providers.”
U.S. Senate
Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio: On Friday, Portman praised the decision by the Treasury Department to reject the application from Central States to reduce benefits for workers by as much as 70 percent.
“Today’s decision is a victory for the hard-working families who deserve better than these massive proposed cuts in the pensions they earned. I’m hopeful that this will give all parties the opportunity to re-engage on a more thoughtful plan to address the Central States pension crisis,” he said. “I continue to believe that Ohio workers deserve a seat at the table during future negotiations, and I will continue to push legislation that gives them a say in the process.”
Portman had previously rallied with Teamsters at the U.S. Capitol in protest over the proposed cuts.
