Rotunda Rumblings

Taking aim: Akron, Cleveland, and four other cities in Northeast Ohio are expected in court this morning in their lawsuit seeking to block a state firearms law from going into effect this month. As cleveland.com’s Robin Goist reports, the lawsuit in Summit County Common Pleas Court contends that a provision of House Bill 228, set to take effect Dec. 28, violates home-rule protections under the Ohio Constitution by restricting local firearms ordinances.

Ripple effects: The Trump administration’s SNAP rule change will have effects on Ohio Medicaid’s work requirement that will go into effect in 2021, cleveland.com’s Laura Hancock reports. Hancock also writes that the food aid changes come after a new study that found U.S. life expectancy is down, lead in part by Ohio, where people will likely be kicked off SNAP.

Man with a plan: In an interview with cleveland.com, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost defended a proposal for how to use money the state could receive as part of any opioid settlements, Eric Heisig reports. Yost, who has faced criticism by local government leaders for what they see as an ill-timed and power-hungry move, said he is open to other ideas in addition to a proposed constitutional amendment, which would direct opioid settlement money to a nonprofit foundation for treatment of addiction and related programs statewide.

In the money: Prominent supporters of President Donald Trump say they’re planning an event in Downtown Cleveland this weekend that will include a $25,000 cash giveaway for the general public, cleveland.com’s Andrew Tobias reports. The Dec. 14, which will be attended by Trump administration officials, is being organized by the Urban Revitalization Commission, a non-profit founded by two members of the National Diversity Coalition for Trump, including Cleveland Heights Pastor Darrell Scott.

Deadline approaches: Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose says he’s confident Ohio will have a secure 2020 election, Tobias reports. Ohio’s 88 county boards of elections are at various stages of completing a mandatory pre-election security checklist. LaRose, at a security briefing Friday, set a Jan. 31 deadline to get everything done.

Butler passes: One of the most anticipated legislative primary fights in 2020 won’t end up happening, as House Speaker Pro Tem Jim Butler tells Capitol Letter he won’t run in the Senate District 6 GOP primary against state Rep. Niraj Antani. But Greg Robinson, owner of a Dayton medical billing company, tells Gongwer News Service (subscription required) he’ll decide next week whether to enter the primary; at least one other unnamed GOP candidate is considering a run as well for the open seat, which Republican state Sen. Peggy Lehner is leaving because of term limits.

Impeachment break: The White House team charged with countering Democrats’ efforts to impeach Trump told cleveland.com’s Sabrina Eaton that the process is being driven by a small cadre of politicians, “coastal elites” and their “their allies in the media." “There’s a whole country in between New York and L.A.,” said Trump’s senior advisor for strategy, Tony Sayegh. “And that part of the country doesn’t think impeachment is important to them.”

Voting rights: The House of Representatives on Friday passed a voting rights bill that backers including Warrensville Democratic Rep. Marcia Fudge said would fight voter suppression and Republicans argued would cripple local election officials around the country, Eaton reports. Fudge chaired a subcommittee that held hearings in Cleveland and other parts of the country to collect evidence of voter suppression. It’s not likely to come up for a vote in the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate.

More Epstein fallout: “Five former Ohio State athletes are asking the Ohio attorney general and federal prosecutors to investigate fashion billionaire Leslie Wexner and his wife, Abigail Wexner, following allegations that Jeffrey Epstein assaulted a woman in a house surrounding the Wexners’ estate outside of Columbus in 1996,” Jonathan O’Connell and Sarah Ellison report for the Washington Post. “The writers of the letter are former varsity athletes who say they were sexually assaulted by Richard Strauss, who was found to have abused at least 177 athletes while serving as a university physician until 1998.”

Dam it: Up to 1,420 dams in Ohio could be failing, reports the Statehouse News Bureau’s Karen Kasler. Most are privately owned, and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources is working with the Ohio Attorney General’s office to let owners know they’re not in compliance and work to get the dams safe.

The 2019 Sloopy Awards

Voting on the 2019 Sloopys, Capitol Letter’s Ohio politics awards, is now officially open. We received hundreds of nominations for more than 30 categories that readers have the chance to vote on this week.

Today, five categories are up for grabs:

Hardest Working Lobbyist

Most Effective Lobbyist

Best Capitol Square Restaurant

Most Popular Bar for Ohio Democrats

Most Popular Bar for Ohio Republicans

Initially, we had six categories for today’s edition, but we received an overwhelming response for Jim Siegel of the Columbus Dispatch, who died in June, in the category for Best Politics/Government Reporter. Because of what Siegel meant, both professionally as one of the best statehouse reporters in Ohio and personally to so many people, we have decided to award our 2019 Best Politics/Government Reporter award to him.

Voters have until 10 a.m. tomorrow to submit their entries for the other categories at this link. We’ll announce the winners in an all-Sloopys edition of Capitol Letter on Dec. 23.

You can view the 2018 Sloopys winners here.

On the Move

Taylor Jach has been named majority press secretary of the Ohio House of Representatives. She comes from a public relations firm in Washington, D.C. Former House GOP spokeswoman Gail Crawley has become director of public affairs for the caucus.

Birthdays

Hannah Stanbery, legislative aide to state Rep. Scott Lipps

Straight From The Source

“Teddy’s true loves were simple — listening to Sam Cooke on Sunday morning, licking a good drippings-coated skillet from Mom after dinner, and falling asleep at Dad’s golden-toed-socked feet before bed.”

-Anna DeWine Bolton, daughter of Gov. Mike and First Lady Fran DeWine, in a tribute she wrote to the family’s dog Teddy, who died in September.

Capitol Letter is a daily briefing providing succinct, timely information for those who care deeply about the decisions made by state government. If you do not already subscribe, you can sign up here to get Capitol Letter in your email box each weekday for free.