Larry Obhof

The Republican leader of the state Senate says he’s confident that new central Ohio Congressman Troy Balderson will win in November, even as he’s announcing that Balderson’s replacement in the Senate won’t be picked until after the election.

Gov. John Kasich has been urging lawmakers to pass a bill that would put a red flag law in place to prevent people deemed dangerous by a court from buying guns. It would also ban bump stock attachments for guns and make other reforms. But it appears it won’t be easy to get it passed.

The Republican leader of Ohio’s Senate says the short term goals of his caucus have been accomplished. But some lawmakers disagree.

Gov. John Kasich has put out a package of gun law changes he hopes to get through the Republican-dominated state legislature. This comes after several weeks of talking about a private group he convened to discuss gun laws, and after a very public pivot on gun regulations after the Florida high school shooting on Valentine’s Day.

The leader of Republicans in the Senate says he thinks a “stand your ground” bill that Gov. John Kasich said he wouldn’t sign will pass anyway.

There are 22 pieces of legislation related to guns pending in the Ohio Legislature right now. It’s hard to predict what might happen to them after the deadly Florida school shooting last week and Gov. John Kasich’s new apparent willingness to embrace some gun regulations.

State Senators have taken the first step toward removing Ohio Supreme Court justice Bill O’Neill, who has announced he’s a Democratic candidate for governor and has picked a running mate but hasn’t officially filed paperwork to run. But the move seems to be at a dead stop in the legislature for now.

The Senate plans to deliver the final blow to what are currently known as Ohio’s green energy standards. These standards require utilities to get a certain amount of energy from renewable sources. A bill to toss out those requirements could move first thing next year.

Former Ohio Senate President Bill Harris has passed away after months of battling cancer. Here's a look back at Harris and his contributions to the Ohio Legislature.

There’s about a month left for legislators to get anything done before the new year. There’s one issue that the top Senate leader specifically wants to move forward in that time.

In the past month two lawmakers and one high-ranking staffer have resigned under the guise of “inappropriate conduct.” But that phrase can be attributed to a wide-range of infractions. The Senate president says their goal is to be as transparent as possible.

News that Ohio House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger is considering a run for state Auditor has made the GOP primary for that office more interesting. If he runs, he will likely face former state Senate President Keith Faber. 

Facebook plans to build its tenth data center in New Albany in Central Ohio, to open in 2019. The huge $750 million project in Central Ohio comes with a mixture of local and state funding incentives. 

*Editor's note (8/15/17): The Senate has now announced the voting session will happen on August 22, and the session on August 23 has been cancelled.

Last month, state representatives voted to override a budget veto for the first time in 40 years. They actually overrode 11 of Gov. John Kasich’s 47 vetoes. Senators are now deciding which of those overrides to vote on, and that they may ask the House to consider overriding more vetoes.

Now that the Ohio House and Senate has passed the proposed two-year budget, its fate now lies in the hands of Gov. John Kasich. While he is expected to sign it into law, there are some parts he might veto. And the Senate President says if that happens, it might not be the end of the story. 

The Senate has unveiled its version of the two-year state budget. It dedicates even more money for the state to fight the opioid epidemic and includes more money for most schools. But it also comes with spending cuts for state agencies and outright elimination of some programs.

House Republicans went back to the drawing board to roll out a new budget plan after seeing tax revenues coming up short month after month. The changes include taking out nearly all of Gov. John Kasich’s tax reform proposals and redirecting focus on the drug epidemic.

Months of tax revenues coming in under estimates has Gov. John Kasich trimming back his state budget by $800 million. And that has budget watchers wondering what will get the ax.

A proposal in Gov. John Kasich's budget that requires teachers to get on-site workplace experience at a company in order to renew their licenses is getting pushback from several groups. And now there are signs it might not get too far.

State lawmakers and policy advocates are sounding off in response to Gov. John Kasich’s proposal to cut income taxes while increasing other taxes to pay for those tax cuts. 

For the first time in four years, the Ohio Senate will have a new president. And he and the incumbent Minority Leader come out of this lame duck session with a lot of work ahead of them when they return in January. They recently sat down for an exclusive interview.