Dayton Daily News...
Ohio lawmakers return to controversial agenda
A new congressional district map may be unveiled Tuesday.
By William Hershey 

COLUMBUS — When the Ohio House returns this week from its summer recess, one of the agenda items — changing the date for next year’s presidential primary — is expected to produce unusual agreement between majority Republicans and minority Democrats. 

But that may be the only act of bipartisanship this year. The House Republican map of proposed new congressional districts is expected be unveiled before a committee on Tuesday, and could be voted on by the full House by week’s end. 

The map is certain to encounter opposition from Democrats, and also may alienate a couple of prominent local Republicans. One much-talked-about possibility would put U.S. Reps. Mike Turner, R-Centerville, and Steve Austria, R-Beavercreek, in the same district. 

This has been a particularly contentious year between the two major parties in Columbus. 

Republican Gov. John Kasich and the Republican-dominated legislature worked through an aggressive agenda that in addition to SB 5 included selling a prison to a private operator, privatizing economic development, pushing a number of anti-abortion bills and drastically reducing state support for local governments. 

The rest of the year isn’t expected to be much quieter, though the primary date change may result in a rare bipartisan respite. 

House Speaker William Batchelder, R-Medina, and Minority Leader Armond Budish, D-Beachwood, both support changing the 2012 presidential primary from March 7 to May 2 to give the public more time to react to the new political maps. A March primary would mean filing deadlines are in December. 

The Senate, which is not scheduled to return until Sept. 20, is expected to go along with the date change. 

Ohio is losing two U.S. House districts, and Kasich and the legislature are in charge of redrawing the maps to reflect that change. In addition to giving the public more time, the later date would allow county boards of election to better prepare for the 2012 elections, Batchelder and Budish said. 

“Redistricting is an important process that all Ohioans will be affected by for the next decade, so ensuring that we have ample time to solicit feedback from the public and give boards of elections enough time to prepare for next year is extremely vital as we move forward in the process,” said Batchelder. 

Ohio’s U.S. House delegation will shrink from 18 to 16 because the state’s population growth has lagged behind that in other states that are gaining seats. 

In a separate procedure, the Ohio Apportionment Board — which consists of four Republicans and one Democrat — will create 99 new Ohio House and 33 new Ohio Senate districts, also based on the census. 

Currently, Republicans control the House 59-40 and the Senate, 23-10. In Congress, Republicans hold 13 of the 18 seats. It generally is assumed that each party will lose one seat in the redistricting process. If Austria and Turner are paired in the same district, an epic primary battle could occur. Both have sizable bases of support in their respective districts. 

A coalition of local business and government leaders, reacting to reports that the two districts were in play, responded with letters urging that Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the largest single-site public employer in Ohio, be represented by two congressional districts. That wouldn’t happen if Austria and Turner are in the same district. 

The primary date already was moved once, but it was attached to another bill that may end up before voters, which could put that legislation on hold. 

Kasich already has signed House Bill 194, which, in addition to establishing a May primary date, involves a major overhaul of the elections system. Opponents of the bill, led by former Democratic Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, are gathering signatures to put it up for a referendum in November 2012, and have until Sept. 29 to turn in signatures from 231,147 registered voters. The opponents object to provisions in the legislation, including the reduction of days for early voting. 

Backers say the legislation is aimed at preventing fraud and making elections more efficient. 

If opponents succeed in getting the referendum on the ballot, the law will be on hold until the November 2012 election. If they fail to come up with enough signatures by Sept. 29, the law would take effect, including a May primary date. 

Mike Dittoe, spokesman for Batchelder, said lawmakers want to act on the date change now to make sure the process works smoothly. 

There is no date certain for enacting the law creating the new congressional districts, Rep. Matt Huffman, R-Lima, chairman of the House State Government and Elections Committee, said last week. If the primary date is moved to May, the filing deadline for U.S. House candidates will be in February 2012, said Matt McClellan, spokesman for Secretary of State Jon Husted. With a March primary, the filing deadline would be in December, McClellan said. 

Also this fall, backers of the “Heartbeat” bill, House Bill 125, are expected to continue to seek Senate approval of the legislation that already has passed the House. It would prohibit abortions once a heartbeat is detected and would be the nation’s toughest anti-abortion law, supporters have said. 

Lawmakers also are expected to work on changes in the public pension system and on workers’ compensation, although it is not certain they will finish before the end of the year, said John McClelland, spokesman for Senate President Niehaus. 

Read it at the Dayton Daily News