Members of Congress increase use of proxy voting despite GOP criticism: Capitol Letter

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Rotunda Rumblings

Working remotely: Sabrina Eaton takes a look at the US Houses increased use of proxy voting, in which members of Congress can authorize a fellow legislator to vote for them. While created by Democrats in response to the coronavirus pandemic, members of Congress from both parties now use proxy voting for reasons such eye surgery, paternity leave, or campaign appearances. All but four members of Ohios congressional delegation have used proxy voting at one point or another; US Rep. Tim Ryan, a Niles-area Democrat running for US Senate, has cast 268 proxy votes, the most of anyone in the delegation.

Deadlines schmeadlines: Ohio House Democrats released their rebuttal on Friday to Republicans latest legal theory that they actually didnt have to observe an initial redistricting deadline, set by the Ohio Supreme Court, that passed on Thursday. Their response? They said Republicans falsely say the July order from the Ohio Supreme Court is appealable the basis for Republicans saying they have an extra three months to act — since the Ohio Supreme Court is the states top court. The current status of the congressional map is this: It is unconstitutional. The General Assembly ignored its duty to draw a constitutional map by the August 18 deadline, said House Minority Leader Allison Russo and state Sen. Vernon Sykes. Therefore, the Redistricting Commission now has until September 17 to draw a new congressional map, just as the Ohio Constitution and Ohio Supreme Courts order clearly state.

Discovery channel: A federal magistrate scolded FirstEnergy on Friday for being slow in providing discovery to other parties involved in a shareholder lawsuit stemming from the House Bill 6 scandal. In a Friday order, US Magistrate Judge Kimberly Jolson set a Sept. 7 court date to go over any outstanding discovery issues and said there will be similar hearings every three weeks. Jolson also threatened to make parties attend the hearings personally. Jolson set the hearing in an order requiring FirstEnergy officials to sit for a second deposition with lawyers for ex-FirstEnergy executives Chuck Jones and Mike Dowling, who are defendants in the case, after finding a company representative was unprepared when she sat for the first deposition . The Court further notes that this latest dispute is not an aberration. It instead appears to be part of a developing pattern of disputes which threaten to unduly slow the progress of discovery, Jolson said.

Rally time: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was in Youngstown on Friday for a rally with Republican US Senate nominee JD Vance. As WKBN-TVs Stan Boney reports, DeSantis touched on a number of popular GOP talking points, including opposing vaccine mandates and critical race theory. Cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer did not cover the event because, as Vice President of Content Chris Quinn explains, event organizers set a number of restrictions for journalists covering the rally.

Mike check: Gov. Mike DeWine on Friday reappointed Ohio Right to Life President Mike Gonidakis to the state medical board for another five years just as Ohio is on the verge of banning abortion, writes Laura Bischoff of the Columbus Dispatch. It will be Gonidakis third five-year term on the board that oversees licensing and discipline for 96,000 medical professionals.

Taken down: The Butler County for Trump Facebook page was taken offline on Thursday by the social-media giant for an alleged violation of the companys community standards. Butler County GOP Executive Chairman Todd Hall told the Journal-News Michael D. Pitman that Facebook didnt explain which of its standards were violated. The last post on the page, which was created in 2015, was a podcast interview with former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who spoke at the county GOPs Lincoln Day Dinner earlier this year.

Gas it up: Republican-sponsored legislation in the Ohio House would allow local governments to request that natural-gas pipeline projects in their area receive state tax breaks or interest-free loans, or allow gas companies to add a surcharge to customers bills. As Jake Zuckerman of the Ohio Capital Journal writes, bill co-sponsor state Rep. Jon Cross, a Kenton Republican, as well as an industry spokesman argued that House Bill 685 would help areas of the state that struggle economically because of the high cost of building energy infrastructure. But Ohio River Valley Institute researcher Sean OLeary noted that the Ohio counties with the most natural-gas production havent seen jumps in employment or population.

Full Disclosure

Five things we learned from the May 16, 2022 financial disclosure of Jill Rudler, a New Albany Republican running for Ohios 4th House District in suburban Columbus. Rudler is challenging Democratic state Rep. Mary Lightbody:

1. She is a licensed real estate agent.

2. Her business is called The Rudler Team, LLC.

3. In addition to the money she makes as a relator, disclosed sources of income include a title agency of which she has a partial ownership share, as well as three rental properties of which she also owns a stake.

4. She disclosed receiving gifts from Lexus of Easton, Keller Williams Excel Realty and Kevin Bacon.

5. She disclosed debts with: Fifth Third Bank, Huntington Bank, Bank of America, Citi Bank and Chase Bank.

birthdays

Terra Goodnight, Innovation Ohios policy director

State Rep. Doug Green

Lauren LaRose, former Ohio Republican Party State Central Committee member and wife of Secretary of State Frank LaRose

Straight From The Source

Joe Bidens letting Ohio solar manufacturers be undercut by China. But Marcy Kapturs fighting back, working with Republican Rob Portman protecting our jobs.

– A new campaign ad from US Rep. Marcy Kaptur, a Toledo Democrat, that attempts to put distance between her and President Joe Biden, as shared Friday by the New York Times. Republicans quickly noted that Kaptur enthusiastically campaigned for Biden in 2020. Kaptur is running in a tough race for re-election this year in a newly drawn district.

Capitol Letter is a daily briefing providing succinct, timely information for those who care deeply about the decisions made by state government. If you do not already subscribe, you can sign up here to get Capitol Letter in your email box each weekday for free.

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