Signed sealed and delivered: A campaign backing a proposed redistricting reform amendment turned in more than 731,000 signatures to state officials on Monday. As Andrew Tobias writes, the development puts Ohio one step closer to a high-stakes political fight this November over whether to kick out the Republican elected officials that run the Ohio Redistricting Commission and replace them a citizen’s commission composed of equal parts Republicans, Democrats and political independents. Elections officials now will work over the next few weeks to verify whether at least 413,487 of the signatures the campaign turned in are valid, including a minimum number in 44 of 88 Ohio counties.
Another one: Backers of an amendment that would raise Ohio’s minimum wage to $15 an hour plan to submit their own batch of signatures this Wednesday, the official state signature submission deadline for ballot issues for the November election.
On the cutting room floor: Cleveland State University froze enrollment in 42 bachelor’s and master’s degrees while it is reviewing whether they should be reimagined or eliminated. Laura Hancock reports this is part of a larger review from Ohio colleges and universities amid declining enrollment and funding.
Premium cuts: Starting Monday, 257,000 Ohio employers’ workers’ compensation premiums fell by an average of 7% – improving on what was already a four-decade low in rates. Jeremy Pelzer has more on why workers’ comp premiums have, overall, fallen dramatically for both public and private employers in the state.
Police training: Two years after 25-year-old Jayland Walker was fatally shot by Akron police, U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes introduced bipartisan legislation that she hopes will improve community-police relations and avoid further tragedies by providing police with better training, Sabrina Eaton writes. The “Law Enforcement Scenario-Based Training for Safety and De-escalation Act of 2024″ that Sykes introduced on the anniversary of Walker’s death would require the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) to create real-life, scenario-based training curriculum for law enforcement personnel to cover a wide range of the issues police face daily.
Out-of-state visitors: Sen. John Thune, a South Dakota Republican competing to become the next GOP leader in the U.S. Senate, is due to be in Ohio today to help raise money for Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno. Per an invitation, Thune’s day here will kick off with a fundraiser in Ashland. Another contender, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, headlined a fundraiser here for Moreno a couple weeks ago, per Punchbowl News.
