COLUMBUS, Ohio—Gov. Mike DeWine has signed more than three dozen bills from last month’s lame-duck session into law, including measures to combat unemployment benefit fraud, prevent bans on gun sales during a riot, and provide millions for Progressive Field renovations.
The bills signed by DeWine over the past eight days, will mostly take effect in early April, 90 days after the governor approved them.
Senate Bill 302, signed by DeWine on Jan. 2, takes a number of steps aimed at stopping scammers from dishonestly obtaining Ohio unemployment benefits, including tightening verification measures and allowing state unemployment officials to access photos from the state’s driver’s license database.
During the coronavirus pandemic, Ohio – like other states – was deluged with bogus unemployment claims from scammers, often from overseas. Between the start of the coronavirus pandemic and last August, the state has found that it’s paid more than $1 billion in fraudulent claims, mostly for federal COVID-19 unemployment benefits, which had few verification rules.
SB302 came from recommendations made by the state’s Unemployment Compensation Modernization and Improvement Council and an audit conducted by State Auditor Keith Faber’s office.
Critics of the bill agree it would help keep fraudulent claims from clogging the system, but they argue it would do nothing else to help make sure Ohioans get their unemployment benefits more quickly.
Senate Bill 16, which DeWine signed last Tuesday,...
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