Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder was sentenced this week to 20 years in federal prison. Negotiations continued on the state budget, and the US Supreme Court handed down two important decisions as it closed its calendar.
We break down what it all means on this week’s episode of Ohio Politics Explained. A podcast from the USA TODAY Network’s Ohio Bureau that gets you up to speed on the state’s political news in 15 minutes or less.
This week, host Anna Staver joined state bureau chief Anthony Shoemaker.
Maximum sentence for Larry Householder
Nearly three years after his arrest, Householder was sentenced Thursday to 20 years for orchestrating a bribery scheme that launched his return to political power in exchange for bailing out two nuclear power plants owned by First Energy.
“Beyond financial greed, I think you were into power,” U.S. District Judge Timothy Black said before sentencing Householder. “You weren’t serving the people. You were serving yourself.”
The family’s lawyers had asked for 12 to 18 months, saying the former speaker was a broken man and that his humiliation was punishment enough.
“Today we witnessed justice for Ohio,” said US Attorney Kenneth Parker. “We showed that if you stand up and say you’re a public servant in this state, you have to be a real public servant, not an impostor.”
US Supreme Court rules on redistricting, affirmative action
The US Supreme Court handed down two important decisions this week.
The first was about how state legislatures draw congressional districts. The court disagreed with North Carolina Republicans who argued that courts could not tell state lawmakers how to draw their district maps. Ohio is supposed to redraw its maps after the Ohio Supreme Court struck them down as gerrymandered, but Republicans had been waiting to see what the federal court did.
The second case ended affirmative action (using race as a factor) in college admissions. The decision likely won’t affect many of Ohio’s college and university admissions policies, as most said they don’t take race or ethnicity into account.
Status Issue 1: Your questions have been answered
On August 8th, Ohioans will decide whether to make it more difficult to amend the state constitution by raising the threshold for voter-approved changes from 50% plus one vote to 60%.
We asked readers to submit their questions about No. 1, and USA TODAY’s Ohio Bureau reporter Haley BeMiller answered those questions this week. Early voting for the August election begins July 11.
Month:You asked and we answered: What Ohioans need to know about August’s No. 1 election
The talks on the State budget are closer to agreement
State lawmakers continued to debate which version of the state budget should be used as the June 30 deadline approached.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, the House and Senate wrote a plan on how to spend about $88 billion annually over the next two fiscal years. And talking points have centered around funding for public schools, vouchers, a controversial plan to eliminate perceived bias on college campuses and affordable housing tax credits.
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USA TODAY Network’s Ohio Bureau serves The Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations throughout Ohio
