News and Analysis
JobsOhio Releases 2018 Annual Report/2019 Strategic Plan
March 8, 2019JobsOhio has released its 2018 Annual Report and 2019 Strategic Plan.
In it, JobsOhio announced 266 projects last year. With these projects, companies committed to create 27,071 new jobs. That is apparently a 19% growth over the previous year, and $1.3 billion in new payroll, a 23% increase from the previous year.
Additionally, these companies committed to retain 69,905 existing jobs and make $9.6 billion in new capital investments, which is also a new high for JobsOhio. 3/1/2019
#2 Again!
March 8, 2019For the seventh year in a row, Ohio has finished second in Site Selection Magazine’s 2018 Governor’s Cup, a competition that measures the economic development power of states by qualifying new site selections. Each of those years, Ohio was bested only by Texas.
Ohio reported 454 qualifying projects to Texas’s 608.
States are also ranked by qualifying projects per capita. In this race, Ohio ranked third, after Nebraska and Kentucky.
To be included, projects must meet one of three criteria: a minimum investment of $1 million, creation of 20 or more new jobs or 20,000 square feet or more of new space. 3/5/2019
VP Pence Addressed NAM Board this Week
March 8, 2019Vice President Mike Pence appeared at the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) board meeting in Arizona this week. OMA president Eric Burkland is a member of the NAM board.
The vice president touched on taxes, immigration, energy infrastructure and the political debates ahead.
You can watch the 35-minute speech here. 3/6/2019
Registration Open: OMA’s Ohio Food Manufacturers’ Policy Council
March 8, 2019
OMA’s Ohio Food Manufacturers’ Policy Council on Tuesday, June 4, in Columbus, is one of the most important public policy events of the year for Ohio’s food and beverage manufacturers.
- Meet the new state directors of Agriculture, Transportation and Ohio EPA.
- Dive deep on the impacts of federal tariffs on Ohio’s food & beverage industries.
- Understand the threats to Ohio’s food & beverage packaging regulations.
- Find out what you can do about Ohio’s plans to regulate manufacturers’ water supply.
- Participate with peers in round table discussions on national trends and Ohio impacts.
Register now to put this on your calendar! There is no charge for this event. Manufacturers only, please. 3/1/2019
Governor to Give State of the State Address on Tuesday
March 1, 2019Governor Mike DeWine will deliver his first State of the State address to a joint session of the Ohio General Assembly at the Statehouse on Tuesday, March 5.
Members can watch the noon speech live at The Ohio Channel.
OMA members can join the March 6 meeting of the OMA Government Affairs Committee to learn how the governor’s policy priorities line up with the manufacturing competitiveness agenda.
Ohio’s lawmakers will be in Columbus almost continuously now through the end of June according to the House and Senate session calendar. The state budget bill is required to be passed by the end of June and will dominate legislative activity until that time. 2/28/2019
OMA Supports Senate’s #1 Priority Bill
March 1, 2019This week the OMA submitted testimony in support of Senate Bill 1. The Senate’s highest priority bill requires each state agency to reduce the regulatory restrictions contained in its rules by 30% by 2022.
The bill also prohibits a state agency from adopting new regulatory restrictions that would increase the percentage of restrictions in the agency’s rules.
OMA described its support in testimony: “… it is also important to ensure that the regulations promulgated are necessary, non-duplicative, and the least burdensome possible while still providing their intended protections. Manufacturers are regulated by all levels of government, from local jurisdictions through the federal government and also internationally. We believe that Senate Bill 1 will help ensure that Ohio’s regulatory structures provide necessary protections while making Ohio more business friendly by eliminating unnecessary regulations that can stifle growth.” 2/28/2019
Staub Hosts Portman State of MFG Tour
February 22, 2019
National Association of Manufacturers President & CEO Jay Timmons is on a two-week sweep through eight states to spotlight the importance of manufacturing and to recruit talent for the future of manufacturing.
Here is a link to a video of the State of Manufacturing remarks that Timmons delivered in Houston, TX, to an audience including students at Lone Star College (or read the remarks here). He is introduced by Gerald Napoles, Ph. D., President of Lone Star College North Harris campus. In his remarks, Timmons challenges the young people in the audience to consider manufacturing careers and also calls for Congress to act on infrastructure, trade, and immigration reform.
Meanwhile, in a NAM and OMA event this week, Staub Manufacturing Solutions in Dayton hosted a roundtable of manufacturers with Senator Rob Portman. Steve Staub, president and co-owner, is on the OMA and the NAM boards of directors. Senator Portman and the manufacturers discussed the impact of tax reform on the manufacturing industry, concerns about trade policy, and solutions to close the skills gap and invest in a modern manufacturing workforce.
More about #MFGTour19 here and here. 2/21/2019
OMA member Steve Staub, President & Co-owner, Staub Manufacturing Solutions, Dayton, with Senator Rob Portman
DeWine Names New JobsOhio Leader
February 22, 2019Last week Governor Mike DeWine announced that J.P. Nauseef had been selected as the next president and chief investment officer of JobsOhio.
JobsOhio is Ohio’s private non-profit corporation that was founded to drive job creation and new capital investment in Ohio through business attraction, retention and expansion efforts.
Accoring to the governor’s news release, Nauseef, a Dayton resident, is a “former U.S. Air Force officer with 30 years of experience in the public, private, and non-profit sectors with a longstanding passion for and focus on technology, innovation, and economic development. He is currently chairman and co-founder of Krush Media Group and continues to be a strong advocate for military missions and families. In addition, J.P. was the president and CEO of the Dayton Development Coalition, which is one of JobsOhio’s regional partner organizations.”
Nauseef takes over next month and replaces John Minor, who has been president and chief investment officer of JobsOhio since 2012. 2/16/2019
Senate Hears Sponsor Testimony on Priority Legislation
February 22, 2019This week Senators Kristina Roegner (R-Hudson) and Robert McColley (R-Napoleon) gave sponsor testimony on Senate Bill 1. The bill is a carryover from the 132nd General Assembly and is the chamber’s number one priority. The Senate remains focused on reducing the regulatory burden facing Ohio’s businesses.
SB1 requires each state agency to reduce the regulatory restrictions contained it its rules by 30% by 2022. It also prohibits a state agency from adopting new regulatory restrictions that would increase the percentage of restrictions in the agency’s rules.
Roegner testified: “According to the 2018 Mercatus Center study, Ohio has the third-most regulations of all states that have been researched, only trailing New York and Illinois in the number of administrative rules currently in place. That is twice the number of regulations on the books in Maryland or Missouri, or three times the number of regulations in place in Michigan.” 2/21/2019
Governor Proposes 18 Cent Gas Tax Increase
February 22, 2019Governor DeWine this week proposed an 18 cent increase in the state gasoline tax to fill a deep pothole in the budget for building and maintaining the roads and bridges in the state. The tax would be indexed against the consumer price index.
Department of Transportation Director Jack Marchbanks has testified that the state’s transportation system faces a “fiscal cliff” in an annual $1 billion shortfall for maintenance and new projects.
The current state gasoline tax is 28 cents. The proposed increase would raise $1.2 billion annually that would be shared with local governments.
In 2013, Governor Kasich raised $1.5 biillion by bonding against future turnpike revenue. The move masked the state’s gasoline tax revenue deficiency; the bond money ran out this year. 2/21/2019