Police funding, mental health among Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine's focus in State of the State
From funding police training to growing state parks and reviving rural Appalachia, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced his list of goals for 2022 and maybe beyond.
"The sun is coming up in Ohio," DeWine told a packed room of state officials Wednesday. "The wind is at our back, and together, we have the power to change the course of Ohio’s history."
DeWine, who is up for re-election in November, also voiced support for Ukraine, Ohio's National Guard and families who lost loved ones to COVID-19 during the past two years.
State of the State: Key takeaways from Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine's address
Here are the issues the governor wants to tackle in the coming months:
Police funding and reform
The governor wants to continue funding for police training.
"While some people talk of defunding the police, we’re doubling down on our support for law enforcement," DeWine said.
The governor pushed to spend $250 million from the American Rescue Plan Act funds on first responder training earlier this year, and now he wants state lawmakers to take the next step and create a permanent funding source for ongoing training.
"Some years, the state funds police training. Most years, we don’t," DeWine said. "Professional development training, year after year, is something that every single police officer wants, and it directly benefits the public."
DeWine also asked Republican Reps. Cindy Abrams and Phil Plummer to send him a police reform bill to create a statewide database for disciplinary reports, licensing board and "require independent investigation of officer-involved critical incidents."
"I support this bill and look forward to signing it into law," DeWine said.
The bill, which has been promised since the summer of 2020, has yet to materialize.
When asked for an update on the potential bill, House Speaker Bob Cupp, R-Lima, said, "I have lost track of it."
More:From taxes to education: Has Gov. Mike DeWine delivered on promises since taking office?
State parks
During the COVID-19 pandemic, more Ohioans explored their local and state parks.
"Access to nature is a vital part of both our physical and mental wellbeing," DeWine said.
He plans to ask state lawmakers to reinvest in the state's soon to be 76 state parks. But Cupp and Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima, said they haven't seen any details or cost estimates.
"State of the state speeches are pretty general," Cupp said. "Details will be coming."
But they are both supportive of the idea, saying Ohio's state park lodges and facilities are out of date and need repairs.
"I think most people realize there is a lot of potential," Huffman said.
Mental health
DeWine spent a chunk of time addressing mental health and addiction issues during his 2019 state of the state, and Wednesday's address was no different.
"Mental illness remains on the rise in Ohio," DeWine said. "Suicide is one of the top ten causes of death for Ohioans ages 10 to 64, with the rate rising in rural Ohio and in our communities of color."
The governor called for a major investment in Ohio's behavioral health workforce, research, capacity at crisis services providers and outpatient facilities.
"My friends, the system isn’t broken," DeWine said. "It was just never fully built."
Both Cupp and Huffman said they were open to hearing more.
"I think the mental health issue is right on target," Cupp said.
Rural revival
DeWine spent several minutes talking about the state's Appalachian region and asked state lawmakers to invest in the southeastern part of the state.
The governor called for investments in downtown re-development, broadband coverage, addiction services and workforce development.
Huffman said this is an area where state lawmakers could spend federal COVID dollars, especially on water improvement projects.
But Robert Alt from the conservative Buckeye Institute "strongly" cautioned the General Assembly to watch the state's budget when it came to DeWine's new spending requests.
"Much of the spending that seems like a good idea today will become a financial burden that taxpayers of Ohio cannot afford in the years to come—particularly when the federal government turns off the COVID stimulus funding," Alt said in a statement. "Ohio cannot afford to forget this fundamental reality.”
Redistricting
Looming over DeWine's second state of the state was the ongoing fight over how Ohio will draw its state House, Senate and Congressional maps.
Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor sat with Justices Jennifer Brunner and Melody Stewart, both Democrats, at the speech. But some of her fellow justices were noticeably absent from the Ohio House Chamber.
And Democratic leaders criticized the governor for ignoring the issue entirely.
"Democrats have stood up for the vast majority of Ohioans who overwhelmingly voted for fair maps...," House Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, said. “Republicans continue to blatantly disregard these cries by passing unconstitutional state and congressional maps five times.”
COVID-19
Even though the global pandemic dominated headlines in the three years between the governor's state of the state speeches, DeWine mentioned COVID-19 twice in his one hour speech.
The governor thanked doctors, nurses, grocery store clerks, retail workers, teachers and "so many, many others – all of whom have stepped up in countless ways over these past two years."
Those 2019 promises
In his 2019 state of the state address, DeWine prioritized raising the gas tax, increasing funding for mental health services, cleaning up state waterways and programs that help kids outside the classroom.
The governor highlighted the program he created, H2Ohio, to fund clean water projects around the state. Those projects got a big boost from the federal coronavirus relief dollars.
But Democrats wanted to hear more about Ohio's communities of color.
In 2019, DeWine called closing the infant mortality gap between white and Black children a moral imperative. Black babies die at rates that are three times higher than white children, according to 2020 data from the Ohio Department of Health.
“Republicans continue to push legislation that harms minority communities,” Rep. Thomas West, D-Canton, said. “Gov. DeWine has the responsibility of governing on behalf of all Ohioans. But too often the Republicans bills that he signed into law endanger Black lives and brown Ohioans.”
DeWine recently signed a bill eliminating concealed carry permits.
USA TODAY statehouse reporter Titus Wu contributed to this story.
Anna Staver is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.