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Yahoo
3 hours ago
- General
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Ohio lawmakers push for stricter rules on ‘obscene' drag queens, indecent exposure
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Lawmakers argue Ohio must restrict 'adult cabaret performances' and update indecent exposure laws, citing recent 'obscene' drag queen shows and the case of a transgender woman found not guilty on charges related to using a women's locker room. The Ohio House Judiciary Committee had the first hearing on Wednesday for House Bill 249, legislation to prohibit nudity and sexual conduct in public. The bill would also limit 'adult cabaret performances,' defined as a show 'harmful to juveniles' that features topless or go-go dancers, strippers, and 'entertainers who exhibit a gender identity that is different from the performers' or entertainers' biological sex.' Locals paint rainbow fence at German Village bar that had Pride flags stolen H.B. 249 would ban these shows in all locations other than 'adult cabarets,' meaning 'a nightclub, bar, juice bar, restaurant, bottle club or similar establishment.' Coined the 'Indecent Exposure Modernization Act,' the bill is being proposed by Reps. Josh Williams (R-Sylvania) and Angela King (R-Celina), with the support of 42 out of 65 Ohio House Republican representatives. Watch a previous NBC4 report on H.B. 249 in the video player above. 'The catalyst for this bill came from my own community. I was appalled to watch a video of a 'family friendly' event held in our city park where adults where dancing for children,' King said during the hearing, describing a drag queen show in Celina. 'One of the performers, dressed in a skimpy thonged leotard, twerked and gyrated on the concrete.' King emphasized the bill doesn't include 'sexual orientation discrimination' and promised 'the trans community will be able to dress and express their gender as they go to a grocery store, the post office and live their daily lives.' Content like plays written by Shakespeare and performances like 'Mrs. Doubtfire' and 'Tootsie' will not be impacted, she said. Still, the proposal has been condemned by LGBTQ+ organizations, like the ACLU of Ohio, which argued it 'broadly targets anyone who performs exhibiting a gender identity different than the entertainer's biological sex at birth' and 'relies on notoriously vague legal standards used to determine whether content is considered obscene.' Ohio announces 2-week sales tax holiday 'This bill represents an unacceptable attack on our First Amendment rights to freely express ourselves,' the group said in a statement. 'Drag is protected speech, just like any other art form. It is not a crime. Support drag queens and kings, and the entire LGBTQ+ community, by speaking out against this bill.' H.B. 249 is identical to previous legislation introduced by Williams and King also banning 'adult cabaret performances.' Williams has long argued the bill's intention is to modernize revised code regarding obscenity and indecent exposure to minors, not to ban drag. The representative cited the case of Rachel Glines, a trans women who was charged with public indecency for changing in a women's locker room at a Xenia YMCA. Glines was found not guilty by a Xenia judge because her genitals were not directly visible. Williams said Glines would've been convicted under H.B. 249, which changes Ohio law from prosecuting exposure of 'private parts' to 'private area,' meaning 'the genitals … where nude or covered by an undergarment'. 'Though these terms do not seem to differ much in common parlance, amending the section to say 'private area' has a large impact on the viability of the enforcement of the law,' Williams said. 'Had the section said 'private area,' our justice system would have been able to fully prosecute Glines.' Ohio residents are among America's biggest gamblers, according to recent study Rep. Dani Isaacsohn (D-Cincinnati) argued during the hearing that there are already thorough laws on the books for obscenity and indecent exposure and emphasized that the Celina incident King described is already against Ohio law. 'My concern here is that this bill is not only redundant, but it's redundant in a way that's actively targeting a group of people that don't need more things targeted at them,' Isaacsohn said. 'It's just not right to say all over the state of Ohio, you're walking down the street, you look to the left, look to the right and you're subject to people taking off their clothes and showing their private areas.' Like Williams and King's previous proposal, H.B. 249 outlines the following penalties if Ohioans are found violating the legislation: A misdemeanor of the first degree if a performance occurs in the presence of a juvenile under the age of 18. A felony of the fifth degree if the performance is 'obscene.' A felony of the fourth degree if the performance is 'obscene' and occurs in the presence of a juvenile under the age of 13. The bill's language is modeled after a Tennessee law that also bans 'adult cabaret performances.' The contested measure was ruled 'unconstitutionally vague and substantially overbroad' by a district judge in 2023, but then reinstated by an appeals court last year. In February, the Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge to the law. Ohio lottery winner takes $2 million prize from Columbus Sheetz A conservative Lancaster group advocated for its city council to adopt a measure with the same language last year after they argued a performance during a LGBTQ+ Pride event with a drag queen was 'pornographic.' Small business owners in Lancaster said they experienced an influx of customers after their shops were included in a social media post tying them to the debated event. Bellefontaine, a rural Ohio city, was originally supposed to be the first in the state to vote on whether to ban such performances in public. However, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the proposed ordinance, which also used the 'adult cabaret performance' wording, would not appear on the ballot given it was submitted fraudulently. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Ohio leaders at odds about property tax relief in budget
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — State lawmakers will be passing a multi-billion-dollar state budget in just a few weeks, but more changes are coming to the spending bill on Tuesday. Public school teachers said they hope some of the changes are in school funding. 'We're just asking for things to be made fair,' Ironton City Schools physical education teacher Daniel Murphy said. Murphy said he grew up in a low-income house, went to public school and is now a teacher and president of his local union. Without his public school, he said none of it would have been possible. 'It's a stamp on what public education can truly do when it's given a fair, equal cut of the budget,' Murphy said. Murphy said that's why budget talks worry him right now, and said it risks cutting programs for students. 'How does that effect funding for meals? How does that directly affect us on how we do our after-school activities,' Murphy said. Under the proposal, schools do see an increase in funding compared to the past two years, but the 'fair school funding plan' that was created several budget cycles ago is no longer in play. 'If we had done what some call the 'third phase,' it would've been a $1.8 billion increase in school funding, which pretty much would've wiped out other funding we did for daycare, a whole number of other things,' Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima) said. Instead, schools now see $550 million in the house version of the budget; Huffman called it substantial. Property tax relief plays into all of this too. Right now, the state budget has a relief plan that works like this: if you live in a school district that carried over more than 30% of its budget from the previous year, your property tax bill will go down. But Republican leadership between chambers is at odds about the proposal. 'The 30% number was based on the fact that prior to this conversation, the school standard was 25% carryover,' Huffman said. 'I think 30% is too low. I think it fails to account for some of the unforeseen circumstances that schools that may have to deal with from a capital perspective,' Ohio Senate President Rob McColley (R-Napoleon) said. The proposal would impact 486 of the state's 600-some school districts. Huffman touts this as likely the largest property tax relief in the state's history, estimated to help Ohioans save $4.2 billion dollars. But will he compromise on the 30%? 'It's not a matter of sort of, 'well how about 70%, how about 50%,' or whatever,' he said. 'It's 'what is the reason that some other number is appropriate,' so I guess I'd have to have that argument as to what would be appropriate.' McColley said schools need enough money to be ready for unforeseen circumstances, like replacing a boiler or a getting a new roof. But he said he can see that too much stored money is not ideal. 'Acknowledging that if a school is carrying over very large amounts of money, is that really a good thing either? So, we'll see where we end up,' McColley said. 'I don't know that we've reached a final idea as to what we're going to do.' The Senate is planning to amend the state budget on Tuesday. Once the Senate passes its version of the state budget, the House and Senate will need to come to an agreement by July 1. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Attorneys for Householder, Borges ‘hopeful' following pardon for Cincinnati politician
Larry Householder, left, and Matt Borges, right. (Photos by WEWS/WCPO.) The attorneys for former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and former Republican leader Matt Borges are feeling 'hopeful' after a Cincinnati politician convicted of bribery got a pardon from President Donald Trump. Once convicted of accepting $20,000 in bribes, former Cincinnati City Councilmember PG Sittenfeld's slate has been wiped clean. President Donald Trump pardoned the Democrat, who was sentenced to more than a year in prison in 2023. And with this pardon comes interest from other influential Ohio politicos. We asked Householder's attorney Scott Pullins if that gives him hope for Householder. 'Yeah, I can't comment, obviously, on what we're doing right now, what I'm working on, our legal team's working on,' Pullins replied. 'But it certainly gives us a lot of hope.' Thursday, Borges's appeals attorney, Dennis Belli, said in a phone interview that the Sittenfeld pardon also gives him hope. In March 2023, a jury found Householder and Borges guilty of felony racketeering in the largest public corruption and bribery scandal in state history. And earlier this month, a panel of federal court judges upheld the convictions of Householder and Borges. We asked Gov. Mike DeWine if he believes Householder and Borges should be pardoned. 'Look, I don't have any comment about the pardons,' he responded. 'These are decisions that are made by the president of the United States. I have authority in regard to state pardons, and I always will tell you about why I made a decision.' Pullins has been telling us for months now that the former speaker is seeking clemency, arguing the FBI was politically motivated in arresting the former speaker. 'They singled out Larry, him alone,' he said. 'No one else has been charged, no other politician — period.' Legal expert Steve Gooden, partner at Porter Wright Morris & Arthur, said this could be a sympathetic argument for a pardon. 'It obviously strikes very close to home for Donald Trump who has been the subject of these kinds of inquiries and cases in the past,' Gooden said. In an interview in February, Attorney General Dave Yost refuted this allegation. 'He was indicted by President Trump's United States Attorney, David DeVillers, who, I believe, is the same political party,' Yost said. 'I don't think that dog hunts.' And Yost said he was against Householder getting out. Householder is also facing Ohio charges. He has pleaded not guilty to 10 felony counts in Cuyahoga County. 'I oppose,' Yost said in February. Asked why, he said, 'Because I've seen the evidence and he committed multiple crimes. Even if his appeal is successful in the federal case, there is additional evidence of criminal acts that are included in the state's indictment.' If convicted on state charges and appeals fail, it would take an act of the governor to clear him of that. Previously, Pullins told us in an interview that the team is hoping to leverage Householder's close relationship with Trump to get him out. Asked about the appearance that Householder could be using his connections in order to get out of prison, Pullins responded, 'Well, yeah. He is. Hopefully, he has some friends left that can help.' After our exclusive, in-depth interview in 2023, we've kept in touch with the head juror, Jerrod Haines, who convicted Householder in federal court. He said that Householder was, once again, using power to get what he wanted. 'I definitely feel like he is using his connections to skip his sentence,' he said. 'I would feel that the justice system failed if he would be pardoned. I would feel that my time as a juror was wasted, even though I think it was a very valuable experience for me, my life was interrupted for seven weeks.' Haines told us in 2023 that he was left disillusioned with state government, hoping political leaders would finally learn not to undercut their citizens in exchange for power and money. Paula Christian from WCPO contributed to this story. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Area lawmaker gave $4K to county prosecutor accused of turning away sexual misconduct allegations
May 30—Five months after then-Preble County Prosecutor Martin Votel was credited by the county sheriff with turning away allegations of sexual imposition against state Rep. Rodney Creech, Creech made a substantial donation to the prosecutor's campaign for county judge. An eventual state investigation into the allegations involving Creech and a teenage minor female produced no charges, but a special prosecutor over the case called Creech's behavior "concerning and suspicious." Creech, a third-term Republican lawmaker from West Alexandria, says the state probe cleared him of any wrongdoing. Votel, who was elected Preble County Common Pleas Court judge in November, disputes Preble County Sheriff Mike Simpson's characterization of Votel's involvement in the case. Votel told this outlet that he sees no concerns with accepting Creech's donation. "I did not then, and do not now, feel that my campaign's acceptance of these contributions was unethical or inappropriate," Votel wrote in a statement. "Any/all allegations are, to my knowledge, presently and wholly unsubstantiated." Creech was removed from his committee posts in the Ohio House and was asked by leadership to resign once the investigation surfaced this month. He has framed the surfacing of the investigation as a "political hit job." Creech currently represents Preble and parts of Montgomery and Butler counties in the Ohio House. As the allegations against him were about to be published, he announced a run for Ohio Senate. Sheriff, prosecutor disagree In July 2023, an allegation that Creech acted inappropriately with a minor teenage female was brought directly to Sheriff Simpson by the minor's stepfather — an Ohio police chief. In the time since, Simpson has seemingly told two different stories of his initial phone call with the minor's stepfather, though both of Simpson's stories end with Votel turning down the allegations in one way or another. According to a state investigative record summarizing a November 2023 conversation between Simpson and a state special agent, Simpson relayed that the stepfather felt he had to report the alleged incident as a mandatory reporter under state law. From there, Simpson relayed that he received text messages that outlined Creech's alleged May 2023 conduct, which he then took to Votel for his opinion. The state's lead investigator on the case after meeting with Simpson wrote: "Simpson said Mr. Votel indicated there was no criminal complaint at that time. No report or other action took place from the sheriff's office." The alleged victim's mother called Simpson's handling of the case "an absolute dereliction of duty by a public official," according to state records. To the Dayton Daily News, Simpson said the stepfather had not actually tried to report the alleged incident. Instead, Simpson said the stepfather asked whether he had to report the potential crime under the state's mandatory reporter laws. In that version of the story, Simpson said he brought the question to Votel and Votel advised that the stepfather was not a mandatory reporter in this instance. In a statement to this news outlet, Votel seemingly denied both versions of Simpson's story. "There was never a question presented to me about mandatory reporters," wrote Votel. "...Further, the office did not and would not either encourage or discourage an investigation — the role of the prosecuting attorney is to consult with law enforcement when called upon, and to make criminal charging decisions based upon submitted law enforcement reports." It's unclear what Votel's actual involvement, if any, was in Preble County's initial handling of the allegations. Votel did not respond to a request for interview before publication. Both Simpson and Votel — personal friends of Creech — recused themselves from the eventual investigation into the allegations that came months later after it was reported in Montgomery County in September 2023. The donation Creech routed $4,100 from his own campaign to Votel's bid for the Preble County Court of Common Pleas on Dec. 19, 2023. Creech was Votel's first and largest donor — his donation accounted for roughly 75% of the financial support Votel received. It was also the sole donation Creech's campaign has given to Votel dating back to at least mid-2019, according to a Dayton Daily News analysis of state campaign finance data. And it's the fourth-largest expenditure Creech has made to an individual candidate in that same time frame, according to state records. In a statement to this outlet, Creech denied any connection between the donations and Votel's reported involvement in fielding the allegations. "Marty Votel is a tremendous public servant, and I am proud to know him," Creech wrote. "Though our friendship goes back nearly 15 years, I have donated to his campaign once — the first time Marty has run a contested race since I've known him." "Unfortunately, the simple act of one conservative supporting another is now some sort of scandal in the media. There is literally nothing more to this supposed story, and I will continue to support strong conservatives in Preble County and throughout the State of Ohio." Votel had two elections to win in order to become judge: A contested March 2024 Republican primary and an uncontested November 2024 general election. He won the primary with 70% of the vote and won unopposed in November. Votel also donated $100 to Creech's re-election campaign in September 2024. ------ For more stories like this, sign up for our Ohio Politics newsletter. It's free, curated, and delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday evening. Avery Kreemer can be reached at 614-981-1422, on X, via email, or you can drop him a comment/tip with the survey below.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Ohio House votes to give state's inmates free menstrual products
May 29—The Ohio House approved a bipartisan bill this week that would require all Ohio correctional facilities to provide menstrual products to inmates free-of-charge. House Bill 29, passed Wednesday by a vote of 91-to-0, now heads to the Ohio Senate for further consideration. If it makes its way into law, the bill should have no substantial impact on the prisons run by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections, as it's already the ODRC's policy to offer free tampons and pads to inmates. The impact of H.B. 29 could come, however, at the county level. The state's nonpartisan Legislative Budget Office found that many county jails already provide these products for free. Those jails that don't can expect costs to increase based on how many female inmates they have, the lengths of their stay, and the costs of products provided. Dayton Democrat and first-term legislator Rep. Desiree Tims told this outlet that she voted for the bill "because it will ensure some form of dignity for women menstruating while incarcerated." An identical bill passed the Ohio House 92-0 in 2024 before stalling out in the Ohio Senate under the leadership of then-President Matt Huffman, R-Lima, who now leads the Ohio House. He said the bill's fate in his former chamber wasn't an indicative of a lack of support. "I don't think it will have any problem getting passed in the Senate," Huffman told reporters Wednesday. Current Senate President Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, however, said he doesn't have a personal opinion on the bill and said his caucus has not yet discussed the bill. When asked for her stance, Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, said feminine hygiene products were akin to toilet paper and asked posed a hypothetical about a Statehouse without T.P. "It would not be healthy, it would not be hygienic, and the same thing is true of feminine products. They should be provided absolutely everywhere without cost to the people who are using them." ------ For more stories like this, sign up for our Ohio Politics newsletter. It's free, curated, and delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday evening. Avery Kreemer can be reached at 614-981-1422, on X, via email, or you can drop him a comment/tip with the survey below.
