Ohio lawmakers look to bet on legalizing online gambling, lottery games: Capitol Letter

En route: The state’s two-year budget is in the Ohio Senate, where lawmakers are looking at how to fund and manage school transportation. State law generally requires districts to bus elementary and middle school students who live in the district to charter and private schools, even if the buildings are outside the district. With a school bus driver shortage, many districts are being hit with fines for not providing transportation, Laura Hancock reports.

Cold cuts: U.S. Rep. Shontel Brown on Wednesday delivered a heartfelt personal plea against cutting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, telling a House committee how it got her family through lean times during her childhood. Sabrina Eaton writes that Brown revealed that she has epilepsy and that her mother stayed home to care for her, forcing their family onto food stamps. “To this day, I hate cold cuts because I had so many bologna sandwiches growing up, because that’s all we could afford,” Brown recalled. ”Pancakes for dinner, which I thought was a treat, but later learned that’s all we could afford for dinner, because we depended on food stamps.”

Natural families: A pair of Republicans want to create “Natural Family Month” to highlight marriage and two-parent households. The designation, set between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, is symbolic and carries no legal impact. Staver reports that the sponsors say it’s in response to falling birth rates and shifting family norms. Opponents say there are better ways, like subsidized childcare, to encourage people to have kids.

Such a pest: Six more Ohio counties were added to the spotted lanternfly quarantine, subjecting nursery businesses and farms to new restrictions and homeowners to new guidance. The invasive species is a threat to Ohio agriculture, especially grapes and winemaking, Hancock reports.

JAD Day: Gov. Mike DeWine is slated to sign legislation during an Ohio Statehouse ceremony on Monday afternoon designating Sept. 28 as Jo Ann Davidson Day, in honor of the former Ohio House speaker who died last October. That’s according to a release from state Sen. Michele Reynolds, the Columbus-area Republican who sponsored the bill.

Hamilton hubbub: Hamilton County commissioners voted Thursday to replace attorney Tom Gabelman, who has represented the county for nearly 30 years in discussions over the Cincinnati Bengals’ stadium and a recent push for Ohio lawmakers to raise sports-gambling taxes to pay for stadium projects. As Erin Glynn of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports, new Hamilton County Prosecutor Connie Pillich said there was “a lot of frustration” with Gabelman, whom she said failed to return six phone calls from her. The Bengals, meanwhile, voiced concern that the consulting firm that county officials hired to negotiate a new Paycor Stadium lease with the team was also working with the Cleveland Browns on their proposed new stadium in suburban Brook Park.

Full Disclosure

Here are five things we learned from the May 15, 2025, financial disclosure form filed by Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman, a Lima Republican, about his 2024 finances.

1. As Senate president last year, Huffman’s legislative salary was $119,827.44. Besides that, he listed nine other sources of income in 2024, including more than $100,000 from his law firm of Huffman, Kelley & Brock; additional income of somewhere between $25,000 and $49,999 as a “member” of his law firm; somewhere between $25,000 and $49,999 each in distributions from two life insurance companies; and somewhere between $10,000 and $24,999 in rental income.

2. Ohio State University gave Huffman two tickets worth a total of $826 to see the Buckeyes beat the University of Tennessee Volunteers on Dec. 24, in the first round of the College Football Playoff. Huffman also got access to a suite at the Cincinnati Open tennis tournament on Aug. 19 – a gift valued at $250.

3. He listed three investments of more than $1,000: a 401k at Huffman, Kelley & Brock; a retirement fund with the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System; and an Ohio Deferred Compensation mutual fund.

4. His travel reimbursements last year included getting a total of $3,924.60 in mileage and lodging from the Ohio Senate; $3,875 from the nonpartisan National Conference of State Legislatures; $1,046.65 from Excellence in Education, an education reform nonprofit; and $242.17 from the Cleveland chapter of Legatus International, a Catholic business group.

5. Huffman neither owed nor was owed more than $1,000 at any time in 2024.

On the Move

U.S. Rep. Max Miller, a Bay Village Republican, has endorsed Kevin Coughlin, a GOP candidate for Ohio’s 13th Congressional District.

Straight from the Source 

“While my dad is trying to cut taxes for Americans, why is a REPUBLICAN Governor trying to raise taxes?”

– Donald Trump Jr., posting on X in opposition to Gov. Mike DeWine’s proposal to double Ohio’s tax on sports-betting companies to raise money for pro stadium projects (like the Cleveland Browns’ proposed new stadium in suburban Brook Park) and youth sports.

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