Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans – Ohio Legislative Gains 2007–2008
Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans – Ohio
Legislative Gains 2007–20
A
Record of Advocacy Delivered
Ohio
retirees and senior adults changed the
political direction and outlook of the General
Assembly and Statewide Executives in
2006. Retiree leaders created an advocacy
opportunity around aging and retirement
issues in Ohio by keeping the public focused
on those issues in 2006. The result was
an executive branch and legislature that
listened to that Senior and Retiree Voice and
acted in the interest of retirement security.
Some of our accomplishments are listed
here.
HB 119 (Ohio State Biennial
Budget):
Expanded the Homestead
Exemption (Property Tax Rollback) to all
homeowners over 65. This amounts to
average $400 per home. Expanding the homestead
exemption opens the logjam on
funding primary and secondary education.
Approximately 25% of all homeowners in
Ohio are over 65.
Established the
concept that it is cheaper and healthier for
retirees and seniors to remain in and move to
the least restrictive environment. The
budget expanded the PASSPORT Medicaid waiver
program, diverting dollars from
empty nursing home beds to in-home-care
services and established the Home First
concept with increased support for Residential
Support Service (RSS).
Made
Ohio’s Best Rx (an initiative of Ohio’s labor
retirees) the state alternative Rx drug
program and rolled the “Golden Buckeye” drug
program into it. This program is
available to all who fall into the Medicare D
donut hole gap in coverage. It allows
purchase of drugs at a
discount.
Grandparents raising children
were
supported in the elimination of the special
needs provisions and addition of funding for
the Kinship Permanency Incentive Program (aka
Kinship Care)
Established a
Unified Long Term Care working group and
budget mandate for the next biennium to
better coordinate and prioritize Medicaid
dollars
Re-established budget line
item with slightly increased funding for Adult
Protective Services for administration by
the counties – this brings attention back to
protecting older adults from abuse and
neglect.
SB116 provided Unemployment
Compensation for Social Security
recipients who are laid off by eliminating the
offset of claimed Unemployment
Compensation against Social Security. Ohio was
last state in the nation to penalize
those who must work after retirement in this
way.
Sub SB 221 The Ohio
Energy Bill re-established a measure of
regulation on the electrical utility industry.
The
rate caps were due to come off Feb 2009. Rate
increases as high as 70% were
anticipated. Key for the OARA was the
reliability standard to stop that frequent
electrical power outages that threaten
retirees and seniors and force the electric
utilities to maintain their generation and
distribution infrastructure. OARA waits to see
if
the PUCO has enough power to hold rate spikes
in check and make power delivery
reliable in Ohio.
HB 545 Limits on
PayDay Lending Industry - adopted the
same standards imposed by the United States
Congress on the pay day industry in its
dealing with military personnel and their
families and limits loan rates to 28% APR.
Retirees and seniors were being convinced to
direct deposit their Social Security
checks with payday lenders to cover emergency
needs for money. Retirees were
then at the mercy of the lender to obtain the
remainder of their own earned Social
Security. Check cashing companies are still
legal and doing business all over Ohio