Geiger: House Bill 207 brings a much-needed common sense reform to Ohio’s workers’ compensation system.
An Update from Your NFIB/Ohio Executive State Director and Vice President
The Ohio General Assembly has been active in
May. There were three bills that were NFIB/Ohio key votes:
House Bill 207 brings a much-needed common sense
reform to Ohio’s workers’ compensation system. It allows an employer whose
employee is injured in a motor vehicle accident in the course of employment by
a third-party that has been cited as at fault to apply to the Ohio BWC to have
that claim charged against the BWC Surplus Fund and not their experience.
In the past, that claim would have applied to the employer’s experience,
likely jeopardizing eligibility for discount programs and potentially resulting
in dramatic premium spikes.
Last year, Ohio enjoyed its first sales tax
holiday in August on a select group of back to school items. Retailers
saw a bump in sales and consumers were able to stretch their hard-earned
dollars further. Senate Bill 264 has passed both chambers of the Ohio
Legislature to reinstitute the sales tax holiday once again for 2016.
While NFIB/Ohio would prefer a permanent sales tax holiday instead of one
year pilots, but we appreciate the opportunity to evaluate the sales tax
holiday for another year.
House Bill 180 prohibits a public authority from
putting residency restrictions on public works projects has been approved by
the Ohio Senate and is headed to Gover Kasich for his signature. Small
businesses in particular struggle with fulfilling arbitrary residency
requirements, leading to less qualified bids and thus driving up taxpayer costs
through limiting competition. Further, because of the Privileges and
Immunities Clause of the U.S. Constitution, public authorities cannot place
residency restrictions on out-of-state contractors giving non-residents
preferential treatment. This bill allows small business owners a
better chance to compete on these labor projects going forward.
Roger Geiger
Executive State Director
Vice President
NFIB/Ohio
