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Ohio lawmakers clean up loose ends

Given the news media’s focus on controversy in both state and federal governments, it may be easy for some in the public to overlook the fact that most legislation is bipartisan in nature.

It also may be easy to suppose that many issues already have been covered by laws, that very little falls through the cracks.

A look at bills approved this year by the Ohio General Assembly makes it clear such is not the case. Consider just a few measures enacted this year:

– Use of “seclusion rooms” and physical restraints in public schools had been regulated. But took a separate bill to extend that to charter and STEM schools.

– As amazing as it may seem, Ohio high schools were not required to include at least a half-unit of world history in their social studies curriculums, until a bill requiring that was passed this year.

– It also may seem like common sense to most people that when a woman gives birth as a result of being raped, the father should have no parental rights. A bill approved this year makes it easier for that to happen.

– Has every possible consumer protection already been enacted? Far from it. Lawmakers finally have approved a measure requiring that children aged 16-17 must have parental consent forms signed to used tanning bed facilities. For those younger, parents or guardians must be present.

“Unfinished business” such as the bills listed above and others takes up a substantial amount of legislators’ time. Good for Ohio General Assembly members for sticking with it to, in effect, correct action taken or not taken in the past.

When he warned Americans about what has come to be called the “military-industrial complex” in 1961, President Dwight Eisenhower left out a vital component – politicians. Clearly, they could rein in waste in defense spending, but they refuse to do so.

The $1.1 trillion spending bill approved by Congress in December included as much as $5 billion for military hardware the Pentagon has said it does not need.

At one point, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno told Congress the military does not need or want more Abrams tanks. Lawmakers reacted by earmarking $120 million for new tanks.

What kind of craziness is this? The kind that drives nations into insolvency. Voters should resolve this year to vote against politicians who use billions of dollars in wasteful defense spending to ensure they get re-elected.

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