From the Desk of Rep.

Dovilla

•         From the Desk of Dear 18th District Resident:

Rep. Dovilla
The arrival of June brings high school graduations, the beginning
• Around the 18th of summer, and the final weeks of negotiation that will lead to passage of
Ohio’s budget for the next two years. My colleagues and I in the 129th
General Assembly have been working diligently on this important
• Military and
appropriations legislation, which will fund our state’s operations for Fiscal
Overseas Voting
Years 2012 and 2013, while successfully filling an $8 billion gap and not
raising taxes on working Ohioans. This newsletter includes more
• School Funding information on my efforts in this challenging fiscal environment to fight for
additional funding for our public school districts here in the 18th House
• Upcoming Events District.

In addition to working on the major legislation that we have

Forward this newsletter brought to the floor during the first five months of this session – including
to a friend! bills to stimulate economic development and job creation, reduce
€ burdensome regulations on small business, and eliminate unfunded
mandates on our schools – I have been pursuing a proactive legislative
agenda of my own. Please take a moment to read about two bills on
803 – Baldwin-Wallace
which I have been working, the first of which passed the House on
College Graduates
Wednesday afternoon.
 
79 – Proud New
Summer in Ohio is a time for us to enjoy additional time outside
Homeowners
with our families and friends. I will be around the district for parades,
€
festivals and other events in Berea, North Royalton, Olmsted Falls,
467 – Responses to
Olmsted Township and Strongsville. Please come up and say hello when
Constituents
we run into one another around the district. And as always, you can
€
contact me any time by calling 614-466-4895 or sending an e-mail to
district18@ohr.state.oh.us. I hope to hear from you soon!
Dean Heil
OSSAA Division I State Sincerely,
Champion Wrestler
State Representative Mike Dovilla
Dustin Kilgore
NCAA Division I National
Champion Wrestler

Christopher Lysyj
Around the 18th
2011 National Junior High
Chess Champion On May 6 at the Ehrnfelt Senior Center in Strongsville, I held a
 news conference to announce the introduction of House Bill 215,
Michael Meldon legislation to designate June 15th of each year as “Elder Abuse Awareness
Strongsville High School’s 1st Day.” In a traditional example of representative government at work, the
State Champion Swimmer concept for this bill was brought to my attention by Kathi Lowery, Senior
Director for the City of Olmsted Falls. More broadly, it builds on the
international recognition of elder abuse by the World Health Organization,
and our need as a society to take action to reduce its prevalence.
To unsubscribe please reply
to this newsletter with the As a 36-year-old who is blessed to have three living grandparents
response, “Unsubscribe.” in their late 80s, all of whom still live on their own at home – with some
assistance from family – I am aware of how vulnerable our senior citizens
can be. While Adult Protective Services does its best to investigate and
evaluate all reports of our senior citizens who are in danger of harm or are
unable to protect themselves, over 16,300 reports of abuse, neglect and
exploitation of adults age 60 and over were received in 2010. More
locally, some 108 such incidents were reported in the 18th State House
District last year.

H.B. 215 seeks to recognize the vulnerability of our senior citizens,

which goes largely unnoticed. Far from a bill that simply reserves yet
another day on the calendar to recognize one of myriad causes, important
though they may be, this legislation should be considered a substantive
first step toward focusing increased attention on the important role senior
citizens play in our society and the efforts in which all of us must engage to
protect and honor them.

On Wednesday, I am pleased to report the House passed H.B. 215

by a vote of 93-4. The bill will now go to the Ohio Senate for further
consideration. To view my remarks about H.B. 215 on the House floor,
please visit the following link on the Ohio Channel.
 
Uniform Military and Overseas Voting Assistance (UMOVA) Legislation

On May 10, I introduced House Bill 224, bipartisan legislation

cosponsored by Rep. Michael Stinziano (D-Columbus) to revise Ohio’s
uniformed military and overseas voting assistance law. This bill, which
quickly gained support from Republicans and Democrats across the state,
will assist our military personnel and other Ohioans working overseas at
the time of an election in exercising their constitutional right and civic
responsibility to vote. H.B. 224 would: permit a uniformed services or
overseas voter to apply for an absentee ballot by e-mail or through
Internet delivery and make several other important revisions to Ohio
election law that will help expand accessibility to the ballot box.

This legislation is just one of the ways we can honor the military
members within our communities. While these brave individuals are
protecting our country and our families around the globe, we have a duty
to protect their ability to vote. Their willingness to defend our freedoms,
including at the ballot box, only underscores the importance of this effort
to allow their voices to be heard in each and every election.
 For me, this bill has personal significance. During my deployment
to Iraq in 2007, I fell victim to the current process for military and overseas
voting when, through no fault of my own – and despite a proactive effort
to obtain a ballot – I was disenfranchised in that year’s municipal
elections. Since that time, I have vowed that if I were ever in a position to
be able to address this public policy challenge and prevent it from
happening to others serving in uniform overseas, I would do so. I am
privileged to have the opportunity to fulfill that promise here in the Ohio
House.

Last week while on Navy annual training in Japan, I offered

sponsor testimony on H.B. 224 via Skype before the House State
Government and Elections Committee – the first sitting lawmaker in Ohio
history to use this technology to testify from around the world. In the
coming weeks, I will continue to work with my colleagues to advance this
important legislation to expand access to the ballot box. To view the news
conference announcing the introduction of H.B. 224, please visit the
following link on the Ohio Channel.

Update on School Funding in the State Budget

One of my top priorities for this budget is restoring adequate

funding for our public schools. Not only is quality education a cornerstone
of our democracy, but it serves as a critically important driver for
economic development, job creation, and the brighter future we all desire
for our state. Suburban school districts, such as those in the 18th District –
three of which are rated Excellent and one of which is designated Excellent
with Distinction by the Ohio Department of Education – historically have
taken a disproportionate hit when it comes to state funding. This has
been exacerbated in many districts by less than robust revenue from the
commercial activity tax, which replaced the tangible personal property
 (TPP) and corporation franchise taxes several years ago. Phased
out TPP hold harmless payments have been mitigating this funding
challenge but would have been eliminated outright by the original budget
proposal for the upcoming biennium.

As the House considered the budget, I was successful in working

with several of my colleagues to include a provision to limit the reduction
in state foundation formula funding for all school districts to a maximum
of 20 percent. The House also proposed restarting TPP hold harmless
payments for schools and local governments in Fiscal Year 2014. I
maintained this did not go far enough to provide essential resources to
our schools and offered a floor amendment that would have provided
additional relief to school districts by limiting the total reduction in state
aid to 20 percent that any district would realize. Unfortunately, the House
voted to table my amendment. I am continuing to work with my
colleagues to include this provision in the Senate version of the budget.

Earlier this week, the Senate released its substitute budget bill,
which takes some modest steps in the right direction with regard to school
funding. This version of the bill would ensure that no school district
receives less in state aid in the next two years than it has during the
current year – although this would not include federal stimulus dollars. It
also provides a $17 per pupil supplement for each student attending a
school district with an Excellent or higher state report card rating, which
applies to all four districts in the 18th District. And it retains the House
provision to reinstate TPP hold harmless payments after the next
biennium.

I remain concerned that these actions, while positive, are not

enough to address the funding challenges confronting our top-notch
school districts. Our residents choose to live in the communities that
comprise the 18th District in part for their excellent schools and
outstanding educators. They do so knowing they will pay more in property
taxes but with the entirely reasonable expectation that those dollars will
remain at home in the districts where they have chosen to live and
educate their children – not be shipped elsewhere in the state.

Looking ahead, I expect the Senate to adopt its version of the

budget in the next week, after which a conference committee will convene
to reconcile all differences in the bills passed by each chamber of the
legislature. As this process continues, I encourage you to contact me with
your views on the budget and in particular its education provisions. Please
know that I am listening to your concerns and am working hard to make
our collective voices heard on this important matter in Columbus.

Upcoming Events

June 10, 11:00 a.m.: Momentive Groundbreaking, Strongsville

June 15: Elder Abuse Awareness Day in Ohio
June 17: Rep. Dovilla speaks at Buckeye Boy’s State, Bowling Green State
University
July 3, 6:00 p.m.: Berea Grindstone Parade, steps off from Cuyahoga
County Fairgrounds
July 4: Independence Day – 235th Birthday of the United States of America

For more information on any event or to submit an event for

inclusion in a future issue of the 18th District Newsletter, please email me
at district18@ohr.state.oh.us. It is my objective to attend and showcase
as many community events as possible. Thank you for all you do to make
our district a great place to live, work and raise a family!