Ohio House

Backers of a bill that would exempt feminine hygiene supplies from the state sales tax say it’s simply not fair that women in Ohio are paying taxes on medical supplies they need. Statehouse correspondent Jo Ingles reports.

The chief of staff for online retailer BOXED told an Ohio House Ways and Means Committee his company has lowered prices on tampons and sanitary pads to make them more affordable. Max Dworin says Ohio taxes the products because they are considered luxury items but he says women, including his girlfriend, don’t see it that way.

Republican leaders in the Legislature are still looking at the possibility of freezing Medicaid expansion, a move the governor’s office says could result in a loss of health coverage for half a million people. 

Republican lawmakers have argued that freezing enrollment for the Medicaid expansion population is one way to prepare for the possible repeal of the federal health care law. They put it in the state budget, a provision Gov. John Kasich vetoed.

Now Republican House Speaker Pro Tempore Kirk Schuring says members are once again weighing a veto override vote.

The Senate has unveiled its version of the two-year state budget. It dedicates even more money for the state to fight the opioid epidemic and includes more money for most schools. But it also comes with spending cuts for state agencies and outright elimination of some programs.