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The State of Ohio

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A chat with a lawmaker leaving lame duck - and the Statehouse. And an overview of how AI is assisting state government. Studio guests are Michael Skindell (D-Lakewood) and Lt. Governor Jon Husted (R)

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00:00:39	a chat with a lawmaker
00:00:39	who is leaving lame duck
00:00:42	and the state House,
00:00:43	and an overview of how AI
00:00:43	is assisting state government.
00:00:47	That's this
00:00:47	weekend, the state of Ohio.
00:01:07	Just.
00:01:07	Welcome to the state of Ohio.
00:01:09	I'm Karen Kasler.
00:01:11	The 135th General Assembly
00:01:11	has ended after a lame
00:01:14	duck session where lawmakers
00:01:14	approved more than 20 bills.
00:01:18	That includes the so-called
00:01:18	parents Bill of rights,
00:01:20	which opponents say is a don't
00:01:20	say gay bill.
00:01:23	It requires
00:01:23	parental notification
00:01:25	on sexuality
00:01:25	content in schools
00:01:27	and on changes in a child's
00:01:27	physical and mental health,
00:01:30	including around
00:01:30	gender identity issues.
00:01:32	That bill also includes the
00:01:32	provision requiring districts
00:01:35	to set policies for students
00:01:37	to leave school during the day
00:01:37	for religious instruction,
00:01:41	known
00:01:41	as the Life Wise Amendment.
00:01:43	Lawmakers
00:01:43	also passed a measure
00:01:44	to expand school policies
00:01:44	on expelling students,
00:01:47	a bill
00:01:48	that allows
00:01:48	the Attorney General
00:01:49	to review the titles
00:01:49	of proposed ballot issues,
00:01:52	legislation
00:01:52	to make sextortion or threats
00:01:55	to text sexual images a crime.
00:01:58	But there was also bipartisan
00:01:58	approval of a public works
00:02:00	program
00:02:00	that allows the state of Ohio
00:02:02	to issue bonds
00:02:02	for local infrastructure
00:02:05	projects,
00:02:05	such as roads and bridges.
00:02:07	It's a renewal of the public
00:02:07	works program that expires
00:02:10	in July, with an increase
00:02:10	from $2 billion
00:02:13	to a $2.5 billion in bonding
00:02:13	authority over ten years.
00:02:17	It must be approved by voters
00:02:17	as a constitutional amendment
00:02:20	and had to pass now
00:02:21	because the deadline for
00:02:21	the May ballot is in January.
00:02:24	But there was no pay raise
00:02:24	for elected officials,
00:02:27	including those
00:02:27	in the next General Assembly.
00:02:30	One person who won't be in
00:02:31	that next
00:02:31	session is Michael Schindler,
00:02:33	who will be home
00:02:33	for the start of the day
00:02:35	for the first time
00:02:35	in more than two decades.
00:02:37	Scandal has been in the House
00:02:38	and Senate
00:02:39	and decided last year not to
00:02:39	seek reelection to the House.
00:02:42	For nearly all his time
00:02:44	here, he's
00:02:44	been in the minority
00:02:45	and brought a progressive
00:02:45	voice to budgets.
00:02:47	Lame duck
00:02:47	and other regular events,
00:02:50	and has spoken out
00:02:50	and proposed bills
00:02:51	dealing with the environment,
00:02:53	health care,
00:02:53	children and families,
00:02:54	especially those
00:02:54	with lower incomes,
00:02:56	and on anti-discrimination
00:02:56	and LGBTQ issues.
00:02:59	And he's passionate
00:02:59	about those.
00:03:01	He was so infuriated
00:03:01	at the addition
00:03:03	of a ban on trans
00:03:03	athletes and girls sports
00:03:06	to a popular name, image
00:03:06	and likeness bill in the House
00:03:09	in 2021 that he shouted
00:03:09	and banged on his desk.
00:03:13	And outrage!
00:03:14	Scandal was open
00:03:14	about a major health crisis
00:03:16	in late 2023, when he ended up
00:03:16	having to have open
00:03:20	heart surgery.
00:03:21	I spoke with Representative
00:03:21	Michael Scandal
00:03:23	before lame
00:03:23	duck ended last week.
00:03:25	So you were in the house
00:03:25	for four terms
00:03:27	and in the Senate
00:03:27	for two terms.
00:03:28	And back in the House
00:03:28	since 2019.
00:03:30	You announced your retirement
00:03:30	from the House
00:03:31	last December
00:03:31	after the filing deadline.
00:03:34	Around the same time
00:03:34	Representative
00:03:35	Mary Light Body did.
00:03:36	She resigned in January
00:03:37	and was replaced
00:03:37	by Representative Burl Brown.
00:03:41	Pedro Antonio, you chose to
00:03:41	continue on and end your term.
00:03:45	Why did you choose to do that
00:03:46	and why did you not want
00:03:46	to run for reelection?
00:03:48	I wasn't sure
00:03:48	at that point in time
00:03:50	if I could make it
00:03:50	through the term.
00:03:52	And, I had some health issues
00:03:52	and just, decided to,
00:03:56	see if I could manage
00:03:56	that health, situation
00:04:00	till the end of the term.
00:04:02	And there was no thought about
00:04:02	who was going to succeed you
00:04:05	or anything.
00:04:05	So when I decided to pull out,
00:04:08	somebody had circulated
00:04:08	petitions
00:04:10	because there was the
00:04:10	redistricting issue going on.
00:04:13	They had circulated petitions
00:04:13	just as a standby,
00:04:16	and they decided to file.
00:04:17	And when they filed, it was
00:04:17	a very rapid thought process.
00:04:21	It gave me the opportunity
00:04:21	to say, based upon
00:04:26	health issues that I had,
00:04:26	this is the time to to call it
00:04:30	quits, in your long goodbye
00:04:30	and in your 22 years
00:04:34	here at the state House,
00:04:36	you've been vocal
00:04:36	on some issues,
00:04:37	such as public transit,
00:04:37	including passenger rail,
00:04:40	environmental concerns,
00:04:40	funding for children's
00:04:42	services, tax cuts
00:04:42	for lower income Ohioans,
00:04:44	LGBTQ issues,
00:04:46	including the
00:04:46	anti-discrimination bill known
00:04:46	as the Fairness Act.
00:04:49	Also, the law
00:04:49	that banned gender transition
00:04:49	treatment for minors.
00:04:51	You are opposed to that.
00:04:52	You've also called
00:04:52	for the repeal of House
00:04:54	Bill six, the nuclear power
00:04:54	plant bailout.
00:04:57	Basically, a lot of core
00:04:57	Democratic positions.
00:05:00	How frustrating is that
00:05:01	when you are
00:05:02	in the super majority,
00:05:02	and have you gotten
00:05:04	any backlash
00:05:04	over those positions?
00:05:06	We were in the super minority.
00:05:08	I'm sorry, the super minority.
00:05:08	Let's try that again. Yes.
00:05:10	Sorry
00:05:10	and frustrating
00:05:10	in the super minority
00:05:12	or better
00:05:12	in the super majority.
00:05:14	So you how frustrating is that
00:05:14	in the super minority?
00:05:18	And has that resulted in any
00:05:18	backlash?
00:05:20	No backlash, but
00:05:24	I spoke for
00:05:25	the the citizens and residents
00:05:25	of my districts.
00:05:28	In my legislative districts,
00:05:28	the boundaries have changed
00:05:31	over the years
00:05:31	because of redistricting
00:05:33	and also being in the Senate.
00:05:35	And some folks, said that,
00:05:39	I was more progressive
00:05:39	than my district,
00:05:41	but actually,
00:05:41	when you saw the vote,
00:05:43	they actually were probably
00:05:43	more progressive than me.
00:05:46	And,
00:05:47	but it was important
00:05:47	to have that voice down here
00:05:50	in Columbus.
00:05:51	And I, as you are well aware
00:05:51	of, I spoke up on the floor
00:05:55	or in committee,
00:05:56	on those various topics
00:05:56	and expressed the viewpoints,
00:06:00	that, the citizens of my
00:06:00	district generally supported
00:06:03	not everybody,
00:06:03	but the vast majority.
00:06:06	You led the lawsuit
00:06:06	against the creation of jobs
00:06:08	Ohio by Republican former
00:06:09	Governor John Kasich,
00:06:09	along with Progress
00:06:11	Ohio and former
00:06:11	Representative Dennis Murray.
00:06:13	The Ohio Supreme Court ruled
00:06:13	that you did not have standing
00:06:15	to sue.
00:06:16	We've now had a decade
00:06:18	since that lawsuit
00:06:18	was filed in jobs Ohio.
00:06:20	How we've seen it perform.
00:06:22	Are you still opposed to it,
00:06:23	or are you still concerned
00:06:23	about it?
00:06:25	I am concerned about this
00:06:25	and, understand
00:06:28	that in the mid 1800s,
00:06:28	they had a similar situation
00:06:31	with the development
00:06:32	of the canals and the money
00:06:32	and the, the, the program
00:06:35	that was,
00:06:35	supporting the development
00:06:37	of canals
00:06:37	in the state of Ohio.
00:06:39	And after several decades in
00:06:39	place, the Supreme Court held
00:06:43	that that, whole operation
00:06:43	was unconstitutional.
00:06:45	Now,
00:06:45	the problem is, is nobody
00:06:47	withstanding has come forward.
00:06:49	And that's what, Justice
00:06:49	Phifer and I think,
00:06:52	justice O'Neill said,
00:06:52	if Shindo in progress,
00:06:56	Ohio and and Representative
00:06:56	Murray didn't have standing.
00:07:00	Who does?
00:07:01	There are folks
00:07:01	that would have standing.
00:07:03	It would be like
00:07:04	a municipality that was denied
00:07:04	a project, for example,
00:07:08	that had gone through jobs
00:07:08	Ohio would have standing.
00:07:11	But so far, nobody has come
00:07:11	forward to challenge it.
00:07:13	There may be a day.
00:07:14	There may be a time
00:07:14	that'll be challenged.
00:07:17	And,
00:07:18	some of the justices raised
00:07:18	real constitutional issues
00:07:21	with the establishment
00:07:21	of jobs. Ohio.
00:07:23	Ohio has done since then.
00:07:23	What jobs
00:07:25	Are you concerned
00:07:27	about anything
00:07:27	that's happened in that decade
00:07:30	since this lawsuit was filed?
00:07:31	There's no real transparency
00:07:31	with jobs, Ohio,
00:07:34	and that's the problem.
00:07:35	They're not subject
00:07:35	to the records laws.
00:07:36	They're not subject to open
00:07:36	meetings, laws.
00:07:40	They've had lavish, offices,
00:07:40	spent on revenue
00:07:45	generated,
00:07:45	that was once state revenue.
00:07:49	I have a lot of concerns now.
00:07:52	Some of the, investments.
00:07:55	Yes,
00:07:56	I would support,
00:07:57	but I think that should have
00:07:58	gone through
00:07:58	Department of Development,
00:08:00	so on and so forth.
00:08:01	But Jobs Ohio was created
00:08:01	to avoid that transparency
00:08:05	because, the proponents
00:08:05	of jobs Ohio argued
00:08:10	that it was that transparency
00:08:11	that placed Ohio
00:08:11	at a disadvantage.
00:08:14	And, if we had, secrecy in,
00:08:19	getting,
00:08:19	tracking and making proposals
00:08:22	to potential develop
00:08:22	development,
00:08:24	we would be able to have,
00:08:24	a better position
00:08:27	in, in getting, those
00:08:27	developments here in Ohio.
00:08:31	You've taken some positions
00:08:31	that are controversial.
00:08:33	You voted against
00:08:33	a temporary budget in 2009
00:08:35	under Democratic Governor
00:08:35	Ted Strickland.
00:08:37	You advocated against the film
00:08:37	tax credit.
00:08:39	In 2012.
00:08:40	You opposed 2022
00:08:40	amendment on the ballot
00:08:43	that said that only citizens
00:08:43	can vote.
00:08:45	Basically strengthening
00:08:45	the language. It's already
00:08:47	in the Constitution
00:08:47	about non-citizens voting.
00:08:50	Anything you regret
00:08:50	or wish you could take back
00:08:53	or wish you hadn't taken
00:08:53	that stand on.
00:08:55	There's always,
00:08:55	some votes that you look back.
00:08:58	I can't think of anything
00:08:59	specific, but,
00:08:59	the noncitizen voting,
00:09:03	my opposition to
00:09:03	that was primarily
00:09:05	because of the
00:09:05	the phraseology that would,
00:09:10	right now, somebody that 17
00:09:12	but would turn 18 by
00:09:14	the general election
00:09:14	could vote in a primary
00:09:17	that's at risk under that
00:09:17	new constitutional language.
00:09:20	And I have deep concerns
00:09:20	about that.
00:09:22	And it's still at risk someday
00:09:22	somebody may say,
00:09:25	oh, that, individual
00:09:25	doesn't have a right to vote
00:09:28	in that primary.
00:09:29	That may come up sometime.
00:09:30	The, and the vote
00:09:30	you mentioned, I'm
00:09:36	pretty, still solid, behind
00:09:36	like the film tax credit.
00:09:41	The film tax credit.
00:09:42	Do the the
00:09:42	the production of films
00:09:45	in Ohio, spur the economy?
00:09:49	Yes, it
00:09:49	does, but, there have been,
00:09:49	legitimate studies out there
00:09:53	that shows something
00:09:53	like for every tax dollar,
00:09:57	we provide for the film
00:09:57	tax credit,
00:10:00	we are only getting $0.75
00:10:00	back.
00:10:03	What investment is that?
00:10:05	Here in Ohio,
00:10:07	when you don't get the revenue
00:10:07	back,
00:10:09	for the dollar you spent
00:10:11	on the other side of that,
00:10:11	what vote or bill
00:10:13	have you been proudest of?
00:10:18	There's,
00:10:19	a number of, amendments
00:10:19	that I brought forward
00:10:23	or, helped with negotiations.
00:10:27	The Great Lakes Compact,
00:10:27	there was a, and
00:10:31	this was under Speaker
00:10:31	John Houston at the time
00:10:33	and actually, speaker
00:10:33	former Speaker Houston
00:10:36	and I just spoke a little bit
00:10:36	about this, but,
00:10:38	there was a, roadblock
00:10:38	within the Republican caucus,
00:10:43	because, Representative
00:10:43	Tim Grindle wanted
00:10:46	another provision
00:10:46	dealing with protection
00:10:48	of property rights
00:10:48	along Lake Erie shoreline.
00:10:51	And, I was help
00:10:54	I helped to negotiate
00:10:54	the compromise
00:10:57	and that that allowed
00:10:57	the Great Lakes Compact
00:10:59	and that deals
00:10:59	with the withdrawals of water
00:11:02	from Lake Erie so that only,
00:11:02	the withdrawals within
00:11:06	the great in the basin
00:11:06	can occur and not,
00:11:09	having that water
00:11:09	shipped to Arizona.
00:11:11	So we were able to strike
00:11:11	that compromise to get that,
00:11:14	and that was a proud,
00:11:14	vote and work that I did.
00:11:17	The other one is expanding,
00:11:19	working
00:11:19	with a group of legislators
00:11:21	during one of the budgets
00:11:21	to expand
00:11:23	the children's
00:11:23	health insurance program
00:11:25	in the state of Ohio.
00:11:27	These are kids
00:11:27	that really need
00:11:29	the health insurance
00:11:29	because of medical conditions.
00:11:31	And,
00:11:31	we actually expanded that
00:11:35	to include about
00:11:35	another 200,000 children.
00:11:37	Are there any issues
00:11:37	that remain unresolved now
00:11:41	as you're leaving
00:11:41	that you hope are dealt with
00:11:41	and resolved at some point?
00:11:44	There are a number of issues.
00:11:46	For example, one of them is,
00:11:50	the Renewable Energy
00:11:51	Portfolio Standard
00:11:51	or efforts to,
00:11:54	encourage the development
00:11:54	of renewable energy in Ohio.
00:11:58	I actually brought forward
00:11:58	the first,
00:12:00	standalone legislation
00:12:00	in the state of Ohio
00:12:02	that called for renewable
00:12:02	energy portfolio standard
00:12:05	after a couple sessions
00:12:05	that was actually adopted,
00:12:08	in 2007,
00:12:08	that has been repealed.
00:12:12	Would like to see that
00:12:12	or something else put in place
00:12:16	to, develop, encourage
00:12:16	the development
00:12:18	of renewable energy
00:12:18	in the state of Ohio,
00:12:21	like other states are doing.
00:12:23	We are falling behind
00:12:23	many states in that area.
00:12:26	The other, major
00:12:26	piece of legislation
00:12:31	is the Ohio Fairness Act,
00:12:31	the Ohio Fairness Act.
00:12:34	This session, amounted to
00:12:34	the 11th consecutive session
00:12:38	in which the Fairness Act
00:12:38	had been introduced.
00:12:41	Representative Dan Stewart
00:12:41	and I brought it forward 22
00:12:44	years ago, for the first time
00:12:44	in the state of Ohio.
00:12:48	And I brought it forward
00:12:48	ever, session since.
00:12:52	And we got it voted out of
00:12:52	the House of Representatives.
00:12:54	One time it
00:12:55	stalled in the Senate,
00:12:56	but we've not been able to
00:12:56	pass it in the state of Ohio,
00:12:59	despite the fact that,
00:13:02	more than
00:13:02	21 states across the nation
00:13:04	have adopted a version
00:13:04	of the Ohio Fairness Act,
00:13:07	and you've gotten Republicans
00:13:07	support for that.
00:13:09	The Chamber of Commerce even
00:13:09	supported that. At one point.
00:13:11	Are you worried that
00:13:13	with the current political
00:13:13	environment that it's going to
00:13:16	once again stall,
00:13:16	if it comes forward again?
00:13:19	We have seen that.
00:13:20	And to explain the Ohio
00:13:20	Fairness Act
00:13:22	is to provide
00:13:22	the nondiscrimination
00:13:24	protections, for the LGBTQ
00:13:24	plus community. And,
00:13:30	what I've seen is waves.
00:13:32	Sometimes you'd get a group
00:13:32	of Republicans supporting it,
00:13:35	and then that, support
00:13:35	dissipates a little bit,
00:13:38	but then it comes back
00:13:39	and hopefully there's,
00:13:39	there's some time
00:13:41	that we had the momentum,
00:13:41	to get it over the threshold.
00:13:44	As you mentioned,
00:13:44	you've been here for 22 years.
00:13:46	This legislature,
00:13:47	this particular session
00:13:47	has been called
00:13:49	the most unproductive
00:13:49	in a half a century.
00:13:51	Is that fair?
00:13:51	Do you agree with that?
00:13:53	I think
00:13:53	it has been unproductive.
00:13:55	I was just engaged
00:13:55	in a conversation
00:13:57	with a, Republican colleague,
00:13:57	just earlier today,
00:14:01	talking about how, years ago,
00:14:01	we used to have a
00:14:05	session in September,
00:14:06	a, session in October
00:14:06	of the election year.
00:14:10	And this year we did not have,
00:14:10	those sessions.
00:14:13	And that went,
00:14:13	to be unproductive.
00:14:15	When you have
00:14:15	a week of session,
00:14:17	you usually have
00:14:17	a week of committees,
00:14:18	and that did not occur.
00:14:20	So we were basically off
00:14:21	from when we took a break
00:14:21	in June
00:14:23	all the way through,
00:14:23	after the election.
00:14:26	And I know there were
00:14:26	some people who would say,
00:14:28	that's a good thing,
00:14:28	that that certain
00:14:30	pieces of legislation
00:14:30	didn't get through.
00:14:32	Do you think that's
00:14:32	a good thing?
00:14:33	It's not a good thing because
00:14:33	you do not spend the time,
00:14:37	to, research and understand
00:14:37	the legislation.
00:14:41	And because of that,
00:14:41	you have these situations
00:14:44	that we're experiencing
00:14:44	now with lame duck
00:14:46	where bills
00:14:46	are rolled into other bills.
00:14:49	You don't get to read them.
00:14:50	There's all this new language,
00:14:52	and you don't know
00:14:52	what you're voting on.
00:14:54	And it results in that sausage
00:14:54	making that everybody talks
00:14:59	about and really poor,
00:14:59	legislating.
00:15:02	We in the media
00:15:02	talk a lot about controversial
00:15:04	bills and areas
00:15:04	where Republicans
00:15:06	and Democrats disagree.
00:15:07	But many of the House bills
00:15:07	that passed
00:15:10	and a lot of the Senate bills
00:15:10	that passed
00:15:11	did pass
00:15:11	with unanimous support.
00:15:14	There were some close votes
00:15:14	in some areas.
00:15:17	But, as we're doing this
00:15:17	interview during lame duck,
00:15:20	you did have a lot of
00:15:20	agreement on some of the bills
00:15:22	that passed in the two year
00:15:22	session.
00:15:24	Is bipartisanship dead
00:15:24	or is there area are
00:15:28	there areas where Democrats
00:15:28	and Republicans can agree?
00:15:31	Yes.
00:15:32	You had my colleague,
00:15:35	Senator,
00:15:35	Bill cites on and Bill and I
00:15:40	although
00:15:41	we're from different parties,
00:15:41	we're both attorneys
00:15:43	and we have sparred
00:15:43	on many issues.
00:15:45	There are a lot of times
00:15:45	that we have agreed
00:15:46	on legislation or concepts
00:15:46	or ideas, and that occurs
00:15:50	actually most legislation
00:15:50	in in a General Assembly,
00:15:53	something like 80,
00:15:53	85% of legislation passes,
00:15:57	nearly with near unanimous
00:15:57	support, bipartisan support.
00:16:03	You only have that ten, 15,
00:16:03	possibly 20%
00:16:06	that has, the real dispute
00:16:06	and the the arguments
00:16:10	and,
00:16:10	the divisive social issues.
00:16:13	What do you think
00:16:13	is the way to go beyond that?
00:16:17	I don't think you're going to
00:16:17	get that because,
00:16:21	there's
00:16:21	always going to be legislators
00:16:23	that want to bring forward
00:16:24	those divisive
00:16:24	political issues,
00:16:27	and you're going to have,
00:16:27	those those fights.
00:16:30	In the 22 years
00:16:30	I have seen that,
00:16:32	I think I've seen a growth
00:16:32	in that, over the years.
00:16:36	And I'm certain
00:16:36	you have over the years
00:16:38	that you've been doing
00:16:38	what you've been doing and,
00:16:42	but it also existed
00:16:42	100 years ago.
00:16:44	And you're not going
00:16:44	to get away from that.
00:16:46	And finally,
00:16:46	what will you do now
00:16:48	that you are leaving
00:16:48	the state House?
00:16:50	You were a finalist for a seat
00:16:50	on the Public
00:16:52	Utilities
00:16:52	Commission of Ohio last year.
00:16:53	There's an opening right now.
00:16:54	Are you going to seek that
00:16:55	or is there something else
00:16:55	you're going to do?
00:16:56	I saw that
00:16:56	there is an opening right now
00:16:58	on, the Public Utilities
00:16:58	Commission of Ohio.
00:17:01	I, I also, would like to
00:17:01	maybe do some advocacy around,
00:17:06	the protection of the Great
00:17:06	Lakes, particularly Lake Erie.
00:17:09	I have worked on many issues
00:17:09	to protect, Lake Erie
00:17:13	from the plastic pollution
00:17:13	to the invasive species.
00:17:16	To the, the, nutrients
00:17:16	being released into the lake.
00:17:20	And maybe we can
00:17:20	do some work around that,
00:17:23	but maybe some advocacy
00:17:23	around the environment.
00:17:26	Are you going to try to seek
00:17:27	that public Utilities
00:17:27	Commission chair?
00:17:28	Commissioner position.
00:17:28	I'm giving it some thought.
00:17:31	I also spoke with longtime
00:17:33	Republican lawmaker
00:17:33	Bill Seitz is also
00:17:35	leaving the legislature
00:17:35	this year.
00:17:37	You can see my conversation
00:17:37	with representative sites
00:17:39	in our archives at State News.
00:17:41	Morgue bots have become a tool
00:17:41	for state government,
00:17:45	an effort
00:17:45	to streamline government
00:17:47	and take out unnecessary
00:17:47	words and regulations.
00:17:50	Got an assist
00:17:50	from artificial intelligence
00:17:52	under the supervision
00:17:52	of Lieutenant Governor
00:17:54	John Houston.
00:17:55	My Statehouse News
00:17:55	Bureau colleague, Sarah
00:17:56	Donaldson sat down with
00:17:56	you state a few weeks ago
00:17:59	to talk to him
00:17:59	about AI in state government,
00:18:02	starting with a project
00:18:02	that began under Governor
00:18:04	John Kasich
00:18:04	that Houston took over
00:18:06	when he became
00:18:06	lieutenant governor.
00:18:08	What's called the common Sense
00:18:08	Initiative.
00:18:10	Yeah, well,
00:18:10	the Common Sense Initiative
00:18:12	is established in law,
00:18:12	and it's designed to review
00:18:15	all the rules that are made,
00:18:15	by the,
00:18:19	administration in response
00:18:19	to new laws that are passed.
00:18:22	And we're supposed
00:18:22	to make sure
00:18:23	that they're business
00:18:23	friendly.
00:18:25	And so that's the process
00:18:25	we go through.
00:18:27	But I said
00:18:28	I wanted to take it
00:18:28	a step further
00:18:29	and play offense,
00:18:29	go through the code
00:18:32	and find things
00:18:32	that really are outdated,
00:18:34	don't need to be
00:18:34	there, need to be modernized.
00:18:36	And so we started using this
00:18:36	AI tool called Ray explorer.
00:18:40	Or we go through
00:18:41	the entire administrative code
00:18:41	to identify areas
00:18:44	that need to be just
00:18:44	they're outdated.
00:18:47	They have outdated
00:18:47	modes of communication.
00:18:49	You have to do in-person
00:18:49	things all of that.
00:18:52	And we just said,
00:18:52	let's, let's, let's fix it.
00:18:54	And so we've so far,
00:18:54	using this AA tool eliminated
00:18:58	2.2 million words
00:18:58	out of the administrative code
00:19:01	900 different, regulations.
00:19:05	We'll remove
00:19:06	some of them
00:19:06	applying to agencies
00:19:08	that don't even exist
00:19:08	in law anymore.
00:19:11	Some of them,
00:19:11	like the building code,
00:19:12	which are much more expansive,
00:19:14	and others
00:19:15	just helping to make sure
00:19:15	that we do things in person
00:19:18	or we don't have to do things
00:19:18	in person.
00:19:20	We don't have to do things
00:19:20	with paper.
00:19:21	We can do them digitally.
00:19:23	All of those things
00:19:23	have added up to just some,
00:19:26	real progress
00:19:26	in the state of Ohio.
00:19:28	When did I become part
00:19:28	of the conversation with CSI?
00:19:31	I mean,
00:19:32	how did you guys come
00:19:33	to the conclusion that, hey,
00:19:33	maybe I could do this job?
00:19:36	So I'm a tech guy.
00:19:38	So at Innovate Ohio,
00:19:38	we focus on
00:19:40	how we can use technology
00:19:40	to improve customer service.
00:19:43	That's what
00:19:43	what we did at the BMV
00:19:43	basically said,
00:19:45	hey, you don't have to come
00:19:45	to a BMV anymore.
00:19:48	You can do
00:19:48	most of that online.
00:19:49	Or if you do come to the BMV,
00:19:49	you can check in early.
00:19:52	Using these digital tools will
00:19:52	even before ChatGPT came out
00:19:57	and we all got obsessed
00:19:57	with this.
00:19:59	These AI tools,
00:19:59	we were talking about
00:20:01	how we could use
00:20:01	some of those technologies
00:20:03	to streamline regulations
00:20:03	because think about it.
00:20:06	The the regulatory code,
00:20:06	I think is something
00:20:10	like 15 million words.
00:20:11	No one person can read through
00:20:11	that.
00:20:13	Nobody can possibly digest
00:20:13	all of this,
00:20:16	but an AI tool
00:20:16	can do it in minutes.
00:20:19	And then we take those,
00:20:20	the take the findings
00:20:20	that we get from the explorer,
00:20:24	and then we send them
00:20:24	back to the agencies
00:20:26	and we say,
00:20:26	does this make sense
00:20:28	that we eliminate
00:20:28	these things?
00:20:29	If they give us the thumbs up,
00:20:30	then we go through
00:20:30	that process.
00:20:32	We're on the path to
00:20:32	eliminating 5 million words.
00:20:36	We we need the legislators
00:20:37	approval
00:20:37	with some of this stuff.
00:20:39	But think about that.
00:20:40	We could eliminate one third
00:20:42	of the entire regulatory code
00:20:42	using this AI tool.
00:20:45	What sort of timeline is that
00:20:46	on that
00:20:46	you could get to that number
00:20:48	that you want to be at.
00:20:48	We want to be there
00:20:50	by the time we do
00:20:50	the next budget.
00:20:52	Could you see it
00:20:52	being a repetitive process
00:20:55	moving forward?
00:20:56	Like every so often
00:20:56	you go back?
00:20:58	I think
00:20:58	it's a continuous process.
00:21:00	I think we we will always
00:21:00	be using tools like this,
00:21:04	you know, all
00:21:06	while I have the opportunity
00:21:06	to do this
00:21:07	as lieutenant governor
00:21:08	and being in charge
00:21:08	of the CSC project,
00:21:11	we hope
00:21:11	by the time we're done with it
00:21:12	that we're caught up,
00:21:12	that we've have this
00:21:15	200 years of rules
00:21:15	and regulations that we've
00:21:17	eliminated and eliminated
00:21:17	as many as we can.
00:21:21	And then,
00:21:21	we'll hand it over to whoever.
00:21:24	Whoever's
00:21:24	going to be doing this in
00:21:25	the future is look,
00:21:25	because we'll get better,
00:21:27	because AI technologies
00:21:27	will get better.
00:21:29	They we will learn
00:21:29	how to use them better as,
00:21:33	public officials.
00:21:34	So it's it's exciting
00:21:35	about how we can do this
00:21:35	across the whole landscape
00:21:39	of government
00:21:40	to try to eliminate things
00:21:40	that just are not necessary
00:21:43	to make it easier for people
00:21:43	to understand you.
00:21:45	Shouldn't governments
00:21:45	become so big?
00:21:49	Regulations have become so
00:21:49	expansive.
00:21:51	Laws approach so many things
00:21:51	and they're so complicated.
00:21:54	Let's simplify it
00:21:55	so that you don't need
00:21:56	to hire an attorney to do
00:21:56	the simplest things in life,
00:21:59	that it's that it's clear
00:21:59	and understandable
00:22:01	so that the average person
00:22:01	could either understand it,
00:22:04	or they can use their
00:22:05	AI tool to better understand
00:22:05	how to comply with the laws.
00:22:09	It's entirely too large
00:22:09	and to complicated.
00:22:11	We're trying to take a crack
00:22:11	at making it more manageable.
00:22:15	You know,
00:22:15	you kind of characterized
00:22:15	yourself as a tech guy.
00:22:18	And, Ohio has really been
00:22:18	prioritizing technology
00:22:21	in a lot of different ways,
00:22:21	whether it's tech
00:22:23	infrastructure,
00:22:23	emerging tech, like using AI.
00:22:26	I think Intel
00:22:26	is central to that.
00:22:28	So shifting gears
00:22:28	a little bit, I mean,
00:22:29	what does it mean for Ohio
00:22:29	to finally
00:22:32	see this chips funding
00:22:32	being disbursed to Intel?
00:22:35	Yeah.
00:22:36	So we've been waiting
00:22:37	for over two years
00:22:37	to get the Chips act funding
00:22:41	to Intel
00:22:41	so that they can pick up
00:22:43	the pace of their project.
00:22:44	They have been cash
00:22:44	starved, essentially,
00:22:47	which means that they couldn't
00:22:47	build
00:22:49	as fast
00:22:49	as they had intended to.
00:22:51	And now with the $7.9
00:22:51	billion, 1.5 billion of it
00:22:56	targeted for Ohio
00:22:58	and will help them
00:22:58	pick up the pace for building
00:23:00	the first fab that they
00:23:01	have under construction out
00:23:01	in the New Albany area.
00:23:04	And, this is great for Ohio
00:23:04	as we continue
00:23:07	to push the strategy
00:23:07	of making Ohio
00:23:10	a high tech
00:23:10	manufacturing state,
00:23:12	to building chips in America
00:23:12	rather than in Asia,
00:23:15	and to make Ohio the Silicon
00:23:15	heartland big step for us.
00:23:19	You said Intel's
00:23:19	kind of been cash starved,
00:23:21	but of course, the state
00:23:21	has disbursed grants as well.
00:23:25	I mean, how does the state
00:23:26	hold Intel accountable over
00:23:26	these next couple of years?
00:23:29	Yeah, they they have
00:23:29	they have deliverables.
00:23:31	They, they can they,
00:23:31	they must create the jobs and,
00:23:35	and do the, the,
00:23:35	build the fabs, create
00:23:40	the jobs that are promised or,
00:23:40	or we can get the money back
00:23:43	Looking at the next
00:23:43	5 to 10 years, I mean,
00:23:45	what sorts of tech projects
00:23:45	like Intel
00:23:48	would you like to see
00:23:48	attracted to Ohio?
00:23:50	You've also seen, of course,
00:23:50	a lot of data centers in Ohio.
00:23:53	But what would the landscape,
00:23:53	what would the ideal
00:23:55	you think about this with I,
00:23:55	I requires data centers.
00:24:00	Ohio is the third largest data
00:24:00	center state in the country.
00:24:03	We're we're probably going
00:24:05	to see over the course
00:24:05	of a decade, $100 billion
00:24:09	of capital investment
00:24:09	in Ohio on data centers,
00:24:13	which is going to require,
00:24:15	tens of billions of dollars
00:24:15	in investment in energy
00:24:18	transmission and generation,
00:24:18	which is also, capital
00:24:22	expenditure that will help
00:24:22	lift up the Ohio economy.
00:24:26	And create jobs.
00:24:27	So that is a huge part
00:24:27	of that tech future for us.
00:24:31	Chips are a big part of it.
00:24:33	And then it's the things that
00:24:33	you can leverage with that.
00:24:36	I think that that you're going
00:24:37	to see defense tech,
00:24:37	be something that you're,
00:24:41	you know, with drones,
00:24:43	as we're seeing
00:24:43	some of that happen
00:24:45	and happening
00:24:45	in the Dayton area,
00:24:47	I think that you're going
00:24:47	to see, some major
00:24:51	wins in manufacturing
00:24:51	in that sector coming soon.
00:24:54	Houston has long
00:24:55	expressed a desire
00:24:55	to run for governor in 2026,
00:24:59	but he's also near
00:24:59	the top of many
00:24:59	political observers
00:25:01	short
00:25:01	list of likely candidates
00:25:03	who governor Mike DeWine will
00:25:03	choose among to replace U.S.
00:25:06	Senator JD Vance when Vance
00:25:06	resigns to become vice
00:25:09	president under Donald
00:25:09	Trump on January 20th.
00:25:13	And that is it for this week
00:25:13	for my colleagues
00:25:14	at the Statehouse News
00:25:14	Bureau of Ohio Public Media.
00:25:17	Thanks for watching.
00:25:18	Please check out our website
00:25:18	at State news.org
00:25:20	or find us online by searching
00:25:20	State of Ohio Show.
00:25:23	You can hear more
00:25:23	from the Bureau
00:25:25	on our podcast,
00:25:25	The Ohio State House scoop.
00:25:28	Look for it
00:25:28	every Monday morning.
00:25:29	Wherever
00:25:29	you get your podcasts.
00:25:31	Happy New Year
00:25:31	and please join us again
00:25:33	next time
00:25:33	for the state of Ohio.
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Note : Transcripts are compiled from uncorrected captions