Ahead of the amendment: Gov. Mike DeWine called on the legislature to clarify the state’s existing abortion laws now that a proposed abortion rights constitutional amendment is targeted for the November ballot box. DeWine wants voters to see a contrast between the amendment proposal, which he thinks goes too far, and the state’s existing abortion laws, which he said aim to protect human life but are often struck down by courts for being too vague, overly broad and confusing, Laura Hancock reports.
Delay tactic: Two former FirstEnergy executives say they face “looming potential indictments” after a federal jury convicted the former Ohio House speaker and a lobbyist in a bribery scheme that delivered the company a bailout worth more than $1.3 billion. Jake Zuckerman reports that ex-CEO Chuck Jones and former top lobbyist Mike Dowling cited their potential arrests as reason to delay scheduled depositions in a lawsuit filed by shareholders in the Akron-based utility.
Drills down? Environmental advocates filed a lawsuit Thursday seeking to block a state law from taking effect that requires state agencies to lease their lands to certain oil and gas companies, Zuckerman reports. They say lawmakers ignored constitutional requirements when they passed the bill, which also redefined climate-warming natural gas as “green energy.”
Come for vacation, stay for life: In Gov. Mike DeWine’s two-year budget recommendations, TourismOhio is to become the State Marketing...
Federal authorities say a California vascular practice and its physician agree to pay more than $6.73 million to resolve allegations that unnecessary interventional procedures were billed to Medic...