Bernie Moreno

Rotunda Rumblings

Strange bedfellows: In an increasingly rare display of bipartisanship, Ohio Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno and Massachusetts Democrat Sen. Elizabeth Warren have teamed up on a proposal to shore up Social Security by eliminating the payroll tax cap, Sabrina Eaton writes. The pair argue that high earners should pay Social Security taxes on all of their income, just as most workers already do, saying the change could extend the program’s solvency for decades and avert benefit cuts projected as early as 2032. Their unlikely alliance comes as lawmakers face mounting pressure to address Social Security’s long-term finances.

Power bill: Ohio still hasn’t decided who should pay for the electricity needed to power the state’s booming data center industry. Lawmakers left Columbus without passing a bill that would have required tech companies to cover more of those costs and provided other safeguards for local communities. With a key power auction scheduled for September, Anna Staver reports that regulators and courts may now decide whether those costs land on data centers or everyone else.

Death sentence commuted: Gov. Mike DeWine has issued his first death-sentence commutation as governor, reducing the sentence of convicted Cleveland murder Gregory Lott to life in prison without parole. As Jeremy Pelzer reports, DeWine’s May 27 order cites the 64-year-old convicted Cleveland murderer’s intellectual disability, the victim’s family’s anti-death penalty stance, and prosecutors dropping their opposition to the move. A spokesman for the governor said the clemency was unrelated to DeWine announcing his opposition to capital punishment in general last week.

Unfinished business: Ohio lawmakers headed off on a months-long summer break this month without passing a range of pending bills—most notably, high-profile legislation to create new regulations for the state’s booming data center industry. Pelzer lists some other prominent bills whose fate will be decided this fall, when state legislators return for their “lame duck” session, including measures on child marriage, school bus safety and childcare fraud.

Cheaters not allowed: The Ohio Senate sent to the House a bill that would ban companies that offer student cheating services and subject them to civil penalties. Senate Bill 311 also changes the requirements for which a student is reported to juvenile court for truancy. The bill also expands the requirements for how a district must offer a vacant public school building for sale or lease to a charter school to include private schools, among other changes. This comes amid allegations of Cleveland Metropolitan School District and other urban school districts not offering their buildings to charter schools, Laura Hancock reports.

See you next year: Organizers who were once hoping to place two equal rights amendments on the ballot this November are changing course. Lis Regula, co-chair of Ohio Equal Rights, said that “after careful consideration,” the campaign has decided to focus its efforts on making the 2027 ballot rather than 2026, Mary Frances McGowan reports. To make the ballot this year, organizers would have had until July 1 to collect and submit more than 400,000 valid signatures for each amendment from registered voters in at least half of Ohio’s 88 counties if they wanted to place both measures on the November 2026 ballot.

Vance on the tightrope: As he negotiates with Iran, Vice President JD Vance is also negotiating with President Donald Trump’s impulses, The New York Times writes. As Vance tries to turn a fragile ceasefire into a lasting nuclear agreement, Trump has alternated between threatening Iran, contradicting parts of the proposed deal and joking that if negotiations fail, “I’m blaming JD.” For the Ohio Republican and presumed 2028 contender, the talks could become either a career-making diplomatic triumph or an object lesson in the hazards of serving as Trump’s designated dealmaker.

Homelessness spike: Ohio’s homeless population rose more than 3% in 2025, going against a national trend that saw homelessness decline by the same margin, Ohio Capital Journal’s Megan Henry Reports, according to figures from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. About 20% of Ohioans without stable housing were living unsheltered.

Lobbying Lineup

Five organizations that were registered to lobby on Senate Bill 29 through April, which would allow two or more municipalities to create a joint economic development district without involving a township.

1. American Council of Engineering Companies of Ohio

2. New Albany Company

3. Cleveland Neighborhood Progress

4. Ohio Association of School Business Officials

5. Cuyahoga County Mayors and City Managers Association

On The Move

Ohio Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Brunner, a Columbus Democrat running for reelection this year, has been endorsed by Eric Holder, a former U.S. attorney general and chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee.

Attorney John Kulewicz, the Democratic nominee for Ohio Attorney General, announced a summer “Transparency Tour” running June 29 through Aug. 1 across the state starting in Cuyahoga Falls, outlining his agenda. He faces Republican state Auditor Keith Faber in the general election.

Birthdays

U.S. Rep. Shontel Brown

Sarah Donaldson, Ohio Public Radio and TV Statehouse News Bureau reporter/producer

Adam Gumpf, public affairs liaison, Ohio Treasurer’s Office

Camryn Reitz, public policy coordinator for the Columbus Partnership

Straight from the Source

“We have to speak truth to power, and we have to not be afraid, but we also have to have hope.”

-- Rep. Joyce Beatty, a Columbus Democrat, explaining why she sued to force removal of Donald Trump’s name from the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. Beatty, a member of the Kennedy Center board, described the venue as a “sacred institution” during an appearance at Columbus’ Lincoln Theater this week.

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