Leadership

Our Holiday Best to You

Best wishes for a safe & peaceful holiday season from your OMA staff.  Leadership Briefing will be back on January 6, 2017.  Our office is closed on Friday, December 23 and will remain closed until we return to serve you on Monday, January 2.

Governor Signs Gun Bill

This week, Governor Kasich signed Senate Bill 199, a controversial gun bill that expands Ohio’s concealed carry laws.  Under Senate Bill 199, public and private employers, business entities and property owners may not prohibit individuals with concealed carry licenses from transporting or storing firearms in their privately-owned vehicles.

Employers and business entities can continue to prohibit all individuals from carrying firearms or other weapons inside their buildings.  Similarly, employers can prohibit employees from storing or carrying firearms inside company-owned or leased vehicles.

Senate Bill 199 also eliminates Ohio’s current ban on carrying concealed firearms in daycare centers, aircraft and public areas of airport terminals before security checkpoints. The bill gives public and private colleges and universities the option to allow concealed carry firearms on campus and also gives the state and political subdivisions the ability to enact laws that would allow concealed carry firearms in certain government facilities.

Additionally, under the new law, active duty members of the U.S. Armed Forces do not need a concealed carry license to carry a firearm if the member is carrying valid military identification and documentation of successful completion of specified firearms training.

Employers should plan to review any policies impacted by the new law, which will take effect March 19, 2017.  OMA opposed the bill.  We recognise OMA counsel, Bricker & Eckler, for its legal work on the matter.   12/20/2016

132nd Ohio General Assembly to be Sworn in on Jan. 3, 2017 – Leaders Set Schedules

Speaker of the Ohio House Clifford A. Rosenberger (R-Clarksville) announced the House legislative session schedule for the first half of 2017.  Generally speaking, House session will be held Tuesdays at 11:00 a.m., Wednesdays at 1:30 p.m., and Thursdays at 1:00 p.m.  Here’s the House calendar.  Dates are subject to change.

The Senate’s session schedule for the first half of 2017 calls for the chamber to gradually increase its number of session days through June, when lawmakers are expected to finalize Gov. John Kasich’s final biennial budget proposal.

Sen. Larry Obhof (R-Medina), who will become the president of the Senate in January, announced the chamber’s first-half session schedule.  The calendar calls for up to three session days in January, four days in February, nine in March, four in April, seven in May and twelve in June.  The calendar also includes a number of committee hearing days.  Sen. Obhof also scheduled three if-needed session days for mid-July.

Here’s a combined schedule. 12/20/2016

OMA Asks for Veto of Bring Your Gun to Work Bill

During the last week of lame duck session, Ohio lawmakers passed a controversial gun bill that will impact public and private employers across the state.  Under Senate Bill 199, employees with concealed carry licenses will now be permitted to bring their firearms to work, so long as the firearms remain in their vehicles.

The bill also prohibits business entities and property owners from establishing a policy that bans concealed carry licensees from transporting or storing firearms in their privately-owned vehicles.

Though the bill does not impact an employer’s ability to ban individuals from having a firearm inside the employer’s buildings or employer-owned or leased vehicles, employers should be prepared to revisit their weapons in the workplace policies in the upcoming months.

Lawmakers also merged into the bill another gun-related measure (House Bill 48), which expands the places concealed carry is permitted to include previously gun-free zones such as universities, daycares, and more.

Here is an analysis of the bill from OMA counsel, Bricker & Eckler.

The estimated effective date of the new law is late March 2017, unless vetoed by the governor.

OMA wrote this letter to Gov. Kasich asking for his veto of this bill.  If your company is concerned about the bill, then you might also want to write Governor Kasich in the next couple days as he is considering his veto options. 12/14/2016

A Reporter’s Spectulation about the Unemployment Compensation Debate

Veteran Statehouse reporter Darrel Rowland of the Columbus Dispatch wrote:  “Something didn’t quite seem right. Republicans putting the brakes on a measure designed to ensure financial health for the state’s unemployment fund … because unions were unhappy? The GOP isn’t necessarily renown for shirking deals that primarily benefit businesses and employers, so what’s up?  Campaign contributions, for one.”

Read his short article Unions’ donations to GOP bear fruit.  12/15/2016

Trump’s Ohio Campaign Manager to Help Lead RNC

This week veteran Ohio campaign manager Robert “Bob” Paduchik was named to the number two spot at the Republican National Committee.

In addition to his campaign and political expertise, Bob is a recognized leader in national energy policy circles.  Read more in the Cincinnati Enquirer or Columbus Dispatch.

Paduchik recently shared campaign and election insights with OMA members at an OMA Government Affairs Committee meeting.  (All members are welcome to attend committee meetings; register here for the March 15, 2017 meeting.)

Good luck, Bob!  12/15/2016

OMA Promotes Infrastructure Investment

The OMA joined forces with the National Association of Manufacturers and the Youngstown Regional Chamber of Commerce this week to promote investment in American infrastructure.

About one hundred business leaders joined a discussion with Congressmen Tim Ryan and Bill Johnson, as well as Rocky DiGennaro, President of the Western Reserve Building Trades, and Dave Ledonne of MarkWest Energy.

The panelists conveyed broad support for infrastructure investment, a policy favored by Republicans and Democrats alike.  OMA’s Ryan Augsburger was on hand to share the findings of a recent poll registering Ohioans’ support for infrastructure.  12/15/2016

Manufacturing Summer Camps for Kids to Expand in 2017

With a goal to introduce students to manufacturing careers by developing a curriculum based on hands-on activities and direct interactions with local manufacturers, the Summer Manufacturing Institute of Senator Sherrod Brown’s office would like to expand to more Ohio counties.

The program has been operating for four years and has engaged kids in more than 11 counties.  Each participating county develops a summer day camp for middle school students to suit the needs and resources of the local community.  Kids visit local manufacturers for hands-on experience.

Here is a fact sheet about the program.  We’ll keep you updated about opportunities.  In the meantime, please contact either Jeanne Wilson or Sarah Lowry in Sen. Brown’s office.  12/13/2016

Linear Friction Welding for Automotive Sector

Manufacturing Technology Inc., (MTI) announced it will develop North America’s largest linear friction welder, in terms of force capacity and tooling envelope, and deliver it to LIFT – Lightweight Innovations for Tomorrow – for use in lightweight metals research and development projects, based in Detroit.

Poised to be the first of its kind of equipment in the U.S., the LF35-75 welder, currently under development and set for completion in spring of 2018, will be housed in LIFT’s Corktown manufacturing center. The machine will bring to the automotive industry the same linear friction welding technology used in aerospace to achieve lightweighting in blisks and integrally bladed rotors in aircraft engines.

Read more from LIFT here.  This particular machine won’t be up and running for about 18 months  – due to the size and scope – but please contact LIFT with questions about technology or equipment.  12/13/2016

When a Duck is Dangerous

This session’s lame duck session, which ended yesterday, was a dangerous time for the state’s citizenry, as always.  Days ran long, and emotions high, while legislators tried to pass sundry bills and amendments that had languished, or been in hiding, for the run of this two-year session of the General Assembly.

Manufacturers and other businesses dealt with unemployment compensation reform, a gun bill that would deprive business property rights, municipal minimum wage pre-emption, an autism mandate, a ban on the manufacture of certain baby products, regulation of used tires, and assorted other issues behind the scenes.

By the way, the term “lame duck” was originally used in the 1700s at the London Stock Exchange to refer to someone who couldn’t pay his debts.  In modern American politics, the term now refers both to the period of time after an election but before the next session of a legislative body, and to an individual who is now incompetent but formerly was perhaps not.  12/8/2016