2014 RATINGS of OHIO TABLE OF CONTENTS. OH Senate Vote Descriptions. Letter from the Chairman. ACU & ACUF Board Members.

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1 2014 RATINGS of OHIO Conservative.org TABLE OF CONTENTS Letter from the Chairman 2 OH Senate Vote Descriptions 5 ACU & ACUF Board Members 3 OHSenate Scores 6 How We Selected the 3 OH House Vote Descriptions Winners & Losers 4 OH House Scores 9

2 LETTER FROM THE CHAIRMAN Dear Fellow Conservatives, On behalf of our entire Board of Directors, I am pleased to present the American Conservative Union s 2014 Rating of the Ohio State Legislature. Though our State Ratings program is newer than our 44-year old Federal Ratings program, it is quickly evolving into a comprehensive evaluative tool that uses principles of conservatism to rate the voting record of state legislators. Our pledge is to rate every state for each session so that every citizen in the nation knows how his or her state officials vote. Our scoring focuses on the full array of policy issues, including taxes, budgets, religious freedom, 2nd Amendment, government regulation, life, and education. Though Reagan s presidential term ended years ago, his legacy and philosophy live on, continuing to guide modern day conservatives. While we take note how conservatives in State Legislatures cast their votes when choosing legislation to score, we at the ACU are ultimately guided by the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the principles of free markets that articulate the inviolate principles of Life, Liberty, and Property. The goal of our ratings is to educate voters about how the liberal agenda is out of sync with mainstream Americans desire for common sense legislation. It serves also to highlight and educate all Americans about how conservative solutions produce better results. As part of that educational initiative, we are proud to include Ohio in the 2014 ratings. Sincerely, Matt Schlapp Chairman American Conservative Union 2

3 ACU BOARD MEMBERS Matt Schlapp Chairman Thomas Winter First Vice Chairman Carolyn Meadows Second Vice Chairman Jameson Campaigne, Jr. Secretary Van Hipp, Jr. Treasurer Tim Goeglein Secretary Joe Bast Bob Beauprez Morton Blackwell Ambassador John Bolton Al Cardenas Ron Christie Muriel Coleman Kellyanne Conway ACU FOUNDATION BOARD MEMBERS Jose Cardenas Kimberly Bellissimo Amy Frederick Jonathan Garthwaite Tom DeLay Becky Norton Dunlop John Eddy Luis Fortuno Amy Frederick Charlie Gerow Alan Gottlieb Van Hipp, Jr. James Lacy Charlie Gerow Millie Hallow Colin Hanna Willes Lee Michael Long Grover Norquist Anne Northup Ron Robinson Ned Ryun Fred Smith, Jr. Lewis Uhler Carolyn Meadows Matt Schlapp Thomas Winter HOW WE SELECTED THE VOTES As the nation s oldest grassroots conservative organization, the American Conservative Union serves as an umbrella organization for conservatives in America. The ACU tracks a wide range of issues before Congress and State Legislatures to determine which issues and votes serve as a clear litmus test separating those representatives who defend liberty and liberal members who have turned their backs on our founding principles constitutionally limited government, individual liberty, free markets, a strong national defense and traditional values. As a result, the ACU Ratings have included a wide variety of issues covering votes on taxes, wasteful government spending, cultural issues, defense and foreign policy. To contact ACU on a policy issue, please call The votes selected by the ACU are not always considered the most important votes as defined by others, instead the votes selected are chosen to create a clear ideological distinction among those casting them. With our annual ratings, ACU s mission is informing grassroots conservatives and the public in an unbiased, transparent manner on where individual members of Congress fall on the ideological spectrum H Street NW, Suite 500 Washington, DC (202)

4 2014 WINNERS & LOSERS % AWARD FOR CONSERVATIVE EXCELLENCE < 10% COALITION OF THE RADICAL LEFT SENATE SENATE n/a AMSTUTZ HAGAN, C. McCLAIN n/a Antonio Fedor Phillips BAKER HALL RETHERFORD Boyce Foley Pillich BATCHELDER HAYES ROSENBERGER Boyd Gerberry Ramos BOOSE HENNE SCHERER Budish Hagan, R. Redfern BRENNER HILL SCHURING Carney Heard Sheehy BUCHY HOTTINGER SMITH Celebrezze Letson Strahorn CONDITT HUFFMAN SPRAGUE Clyde Lundy Sykes DERICKSON JOHNSON STAUTBERG Driehaus O'Brien Winburn DeVITIS KUNZE TERHAR DOVILLA LANDIS WACHTMANN HACKETT MAAG YOUNG 80-89% AWARD FOR CONSERVATIVE ACHIEVEMENT SENATE SENATE SENATE BALDERSON HUGHES SCHAFFER ADAMS, J. BROWN PERALES BURKE JONES SEITZ ADAMS, R. BURKLEY ROEGNER COLEY OBHOF UECKER ANIELSKI DAMSCHRODER ROMANCHUK EKLUND OELSLAGER WIDENER BECK GONZALES RUHL FABER PATTON BECKER GREEN SEARS HITE PETERSON BLAIR GROSSMAN SLABY BLESSING PELANDA STEBELTON 4

5 OHIO SENATE VOTE DESCRIPTIONS 1. SB 205 Absentee Ballots. This bill puts the burden on voters to request and submit absentee ballots and prevents a board of elections from pre-paying the return postage for absentee ballots. The bill also establishes the right to challenge a person s vote based on identification. ACU supports efforts to prevent voter fraud and supported this bill. The Senate passed the bill on February 19, 2014 by a vote of SB 260 Government Regulation. This bill prohibits the Registrar of Motor Vehicles from issuing a license to a motor vehicle manufacturer to sell or lease vehicles directly to the consumer. ACU opposes this interference in the free market and opposed this bill. The Senate passed the bill on April 1, 2014 by a vote of SB 310 Renewable Energy Mandates. This bill freezes the state renewable energy mandates for two years. ACU opposes these mandates that distorts the marketplace and drives up the cost of energy to consumers and supported this bill. The Senate passed the bill on May 7, 2014 by a vote of HB 487 Education Reform. This comprehensive education reform bill that reasserts the state s control over all academic standards and prohibits participation in multistate consortiums establishing academic standards for History, Government or Science curriculum. The bill also sets new standards for graduation and protects home school students from state assessment requirements. Under the bill, Ohio will not collect or report personally identifiable information. ACU supports local control of education and supported this bill. The Senate passed the bill on June 4, 2014 by a vote of HB 10 Fiscal Integrity Act. This bill raises the standards for local fiscal officers across the state and cracks down on schools rated unauditable by the State Auditor. ACU supports taxpayer accountability and supported this bill. The Senate passed the bill on December 4, 2014 by a vote of HB 234. Concealed Carry. This bill makes reforms to the concealed carry handgun law, including expanding the locations at which a person has no duty to retreat before using force in self-defense and that a person cannot be charged with criminal conduct solely by exercising a constitutional or statutory right among other provisions. ACU supports the expansion of Second Amendment rights and supported this bill. The senate passed the bill on December 9, 2014 by a vote of HB 511 Health Insurance Mandates. This bill eases state health insurance mandates to help businesses cope with new mandates imposed by Obamacare. ACU supports these reforms that are of particular help to small businesses that have limited resources to comply with additional mandates and supported this bill. The Senate passed the bill on December 9, 2014 by a vote of SB 342 Traffic Cameras. This bill municipalities cannot use traffic cameras to issue tickets for speeding or running a red light unless an officer is present. It also requires signs to be posted to warn drivers of the cameras. ACU opposes the use of traffic cameras for purely revenue purposes and supported this bill. The Senate passed the bill on November 19, 2014 by a vote of HB 5 Municipal Tax Reform. This bill reforms the complex municipal tax code that make it difficult and expensive for small businesses to comply different income tax forms, deadlines and rules in different cities. Another reform restricts the taxation of businesses with an annual income of $500,000 or less to the jurisdiction they are located in. ACU supports tax reform that helps small business and supported this bill. The Senate passed the bill on December 3, 2014 by a vote of

6 OHIO SENATE SCORES OHIO SENATE STATISTICS OVERALL AVERAGE 68% REPUBLICAN AVERAGE 85% LOWEST REPUBLICANS BEAGLE, MANNING 71% DEMOCRAT AVERAGE 28% HIGHEST DEMOCRAT SMITH 60% OHIO SENATE VOTE DETAIL Party District SB 205 SB 260 SB 310 HB 487 SB 342 HB 5 HB 10 HB 234 HB 511 ACU Cast ACU % BACON R % BALDERSON R % BEAGLE R X X % Brown D % BURKE R % Cafaro D % COLEY R % EKLUND R % FABER R % GARDNER R % Gentile D % HITE R % HUGHES R X % JONES R % JORDAN R % 6

7 OHIO SENATE VOTE DETAIL Party District SB 205 SB 260 SB 310 HB 487 SB 342 HB 5 HB 10 HB 234 HB 511 ACU Cast ACU % Kearney D 9 - X % LaROSE R % LEHNER R % MANNING R X X % OBHOF R % OELSLAGER R % PATTON R 24 X % PETERSON R % Sawyer D % SCHAFFER R % Schiavoni D % SEITZ R % Skindell D X % Smith D X X X X % Tavares D % Turner D % UECKER R % WIDENER R % Woodbury U % YOUNGBLOOD R E % 7

8 OHIO VOTE DESCRIPTIONS 1. HB 203. Concealed Carry Law. This bill makes reforms to the concealed carry handgun law, including expanding the locations at which a person has no duty to retreat before using force in self-defense and that a person cannot be charged with criminal conduct solely by exercising a constitutional or statutory right. ACU supports the expansion of Second Amendment rights and supported this bill. The House passed the bill on November 20, 2013 by a vote of SB 200 Voter Database. This bill allows the Secretary of State and other state agencies to share information to update the statewide voter registration database and also allow agreements with other states to share voter information. ACU supports efforts to strengthen voter integrity and supported this bill. The bill passed the House on December 11, 2013 by a vote of SB 205 Absentee Ballots. This bill puts the burden on voters to request and submit absentee ballots and prevents a board of elections from pre-paying the return postage for absentee ballots. The bill also establishes the right to challenge a person s vote based on identification. ACU supports efforts to prevent voter fraud and supported this bill. The House passed the bill on February 19, 2014 by a vote of SB 216 Ballot Integrity. This bill makes changes to Ohio s law on provisional ballots. It conforms to a court ruling that those who cast a ballot in the wrong precinct be informed of their mistake while requiring more information from those who cast provisional ballots and shortening the time voted ID must be provided from 10 to 7 days. ACU supports reforms that strengthen ballot integrity and supported this bill. The House passed the bill on February 26, 2014 by a vote of HB 375 Oil and Gas Severance Tax. This bill imposes a lower tax 2.25 percent on oil and gas produced through fracking than the Governor proposed while adding an income tax credit for oil and gas royalty holders and excluding some oil and gas sales receipts from the commercial activity tax base. ACU supported this bill as a compromise to offset income tax reductions. The House passed the bill on May 14, 2014 by a vote of SB 260 Government Regulation. This bill prohibits the Registrar of Motor Vehicles from issuing a license to a motor vehicle manufacturer to sell or lease vehicles directly to the consumer. ACU opposes this interference in the free market and opposed this bill. The House passed the bill of May 14, 2014 by a vote of HB 511 Health Insurance Mandates. This bill eases state health insurance mandates to help businesses cope with new mandates imposed by Obamacare. ACU supports these reforms that are of particular help to small businesses that have limited resources to comply with additional mandates and supported this bill. The House passed the bill on May 28, 2014 by a vote of SB 310 Renewable Energy Mandates. This bill freezes the state renewable energy mandates for two years. ACU opposes these mandates that distorts the marketplace and drives up the cost of energy to consumers and supported this bill. The House passed the bill on May 28, 2014 by a vote of HB 487 Education Reform. This comprehensive education reform bill that reasserts the state s control over all academic standards and prohibits participation in multistate consortiums establishing academic standards for History, Government or science curriculum. The bill also sets new standards for graduation and protects home school students from state assessment requirements. Under the bill, Ohio will not collect or report personally identifiable information. ACU supports local control of education and supported this bill. The House passed the bill on June 4, 2014 by a vote of HB 5 Municipal Tax Reform. This bill reforms the complex municipal tax code that make it difficult and expensive for small businesses to comply different income tax forms, deadlines and rules in different cities. Another reform restricts the taxation of businesses with an annual income of $500,000 or less to the jurisdiction they are located in. ACU supports tax reform that helps small business and supported this bill. The House gave final passage to the Senate-amended bill on December 9, 2014 by a vote of HB 10 Fiscal Integrity Act. This bill raises the standards for local fiscal officers across the state and cracks down on schools rated unauditable by the State Auditor. ACU supports taxpayer accountability and supported this bill. The House gave final passage to the Senate-amended bill on December 9, 2014 by a vote of SB 342 Traffic Cameras. This bill municipalities cannot use traffic cameras to issue tickets for speeding or running a red light unless an officer is present. It also requires signs to be posted to warn drivers of the cameras. ACU opposes the use of traffic cameras for purely revenue purposes and supported this bill. The House passed the bill on December 10, 2014 by a vote of

9 OHIO SCORES OHIO STATISTICS OVERALL AVERAGE 57% REPUBLICAN AVERAGE 87% LOWEST REPUBLICAN BUTLER 67% DEMOCRAT AVERAGE 11% HIGHEST DEMOCRAT SLESNICK 38% OHIO VOTE DETAIL* Party District HB 203 SB 200 SB 205 SB 216 HB 375 SB 260 HB 511 SB 310 HB 487 HB 5 HB 10 SB 342 ACU Cast ACU % ADAMS, J. R % ADAMS, R. R % AMSTUTZ R % ANIELSKI R % Antonio D % Ashford D X X X % BAKER R % Barborak D % Barnes D % BATCHELDER R % BECK R X X X % BECKER R % Bishoff D % BLAIR R X X X % BLESSING R % 9

10 OHIO VOTE DETAIL* Party District HB 203 SB 200 SB 205 SB 216 HB 375 SB 260 HB 511 SB 310 HB 487 HB 5 HB 10 SB 342 ACU Cast ACU % BOOSE R % Boyce D X % Boyd D 9 - X - X - X X - X - - X 0 6 0% BRENNER R % BROWN R % BUCHY R % Budish D 8 - X X X X 0 8 0% BURKLEY R % BUTLER R % Carney D % Celebrezze D % Cera D % Clyde D % CONDITT R % Curtin D 17 - X X X X % DAMSCHRODER R 88 X % DERICKSON R % DeVITIS R % DOVILLA R % Driehaus D % DUFFEY R % Fedor D 45 X X X % Foley D % Gerberry D X X % GONZALES R 19 X % GREEN R % GROSSMAN R % 10

11 OHIO VOTE DETAIL* Party District HB 203 SB 200 SB 205 SB 216 HB 375 SB 260 HB 511 SB 310 HB 487 HB 5 HB 10 SB 342 ACU Cast ACU % HACKETT R % HAGAN, C. R % Hagan, R. D X % HALL R % HAYES R % Heard D % HENNE R % HILL R % HOOD R X % HOTTINGER R % HUFFMAN R % JOHNSON R % KUNZE R X % LANDIS R % Letson D 64 X % Lundy D % LYNCH R X X % MAAG R X X % Mallory D 32 - X - - X X + - X % McCLAIN R % McGREGOR R % Milkovich D % O'Brien D X X X 0 9 0% Patmon D X % Patterson D % PELANDA R % PERALES R % 11

12 OHIO VOTE DETAIL* Party District HB 203 SB 200 SB 205 SB 216 HB 375 SB 260 HB 511 SB 310 HB 487 HB 5 HB 10 SB 342 ACU Cast ACU % Phillips D % Pillich D 28 X % Ramos D X % Redfern D 89 X X % Reece D % RETHERFORD R % ROEGNER R % Rogers D % ROMANCHUK R X X % ROSENBERGER R X X % RUHL R % SCHERER R % SCHURING R % SEARS R 47 + X % Sheehy D % SLABY R 38 + X X X X % Slesnick D X X X X % SMITH R % SPRAGUE R % STAUTBERG R % STEBELTON R % Stinziano D % Strahorn D % Sykes D 34 X X X % TERHAR R X % THOMPSON R % 12

13 OHIO VOTE DETAIL* Party District HB 203 SB 200 SB 205 SB 216 HB 375 SB 260 HB 511 SB 310 HB 487 HB 5 HB 10 SB 342 ACU Cast ACU % WACHTMANN R 81 X X % Williams D 11 X X % Winburn D % YOUNG R X % * The following member of the House did not vote on enough of the selected votes and as a result was not rated: ANTANI. 13

14 NOTES

15 NOTES

16 TO SEE MORE ACU RATINGS, PLEASE VISIT: acuratings.conservative.org Conservative.org