2009-2010: Commitment, Fulfillment, and Moving Forward

As we approach the 2010 campaign season, I would like to take a moment to share with you some of the issues I have been working on over the last thirteen months as your State Representative.

Commitment

You may recall during my campaign that I committed to working on legislation to:

· Encourage the growth of existing businesses and promote jobs

· Put an end to wasteful government spending

· Improve our schools

· Limit the role of government in our daily lives

· Defend our rights, proud traditions and strong conservative values, including the rights of the unborn and the rights of our law-abiding gun owners

Fulfillment

Below is an abbreviated description of legislation that I have sponsored in an effort to uphold my commitments to you:

· HCR 11: To claim sovereignty over certain powers pursuant to the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America

· HCR 14: To request that the members of the United States Congress refrain from enacting the Fairness Doctrine into law.

· HCR 15: To memorialize the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency to refrain from adopting any new regulations governing greenhouse gas emissions from livestock

· HB 203: To allow a concealed carry licensee who is not consuming liquor and is not under the influence to carry a concealed handgun in a retail food establishment or food service operation with any class liquor permit

· HB 302: To prohibit the wasteful spending of nearly $1 million of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 funds on signs

· HB 315: To introduce the Ohio Firearms Freedom Act that will allow for firearms made and sold within the State of Ohio to be exempt from federal firearm regulations and to challenge the abuse by Congress of the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution

· HB 320: A part of the "Future of Ohio" package to afford to private sector employers the option to offer and to employees the option to accrue and use compensatory time off.

Moving Forward

I am currently working on numerous other pieces of legislation that are in various stages of the drafting process. I would like to share two of those that are very exciting.

The first is an unfunded mandate reduction for our schools. We have been working with the Ohio School Boards Association, the Buckeye Association of School Administrators, Ohio Association of School Business Officials and others to craft this legislation. An effort such as this has not taken place since 1994 when nearly $75 million of unfunded mandates were removed.

The second initiative is a pro-growth, pro-business initiative to place wind mills on Lake Erie. I have been working with the Lake Erie Task Force and other officials from the area on this. If passed, we believe this initiative would sky rocket Ohio to the forefront of wind energy development surpassing the states of New York, Pennsylvania, and Illinois who are competing with Ohio to both develop wind energy on Lake Erie and become the industry leader in wind turbine manufacturing. Ultimately, it's about retaining manufacturing jobs in Ohio.

In Closing

I am now serving on five standing House Committees which are: Public Utilities, Alternative Energy, Economic Development, Education, and Elections & Ethics Committees.

I have also been placed in a leadership position as the Ranking Member of the Alternative Energy Committee. In addition to those standing committees I serve on the Ohio Aerospace and Defense Commission and the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunities for Military Children.

I will be attending the Greene County Central Committee meeting on Thursday and invite any comments or questions you may have regarding the legislation I have introduced or the initiatives that I am currently working on with my colleagues. Please also visit my website at: wwww.electjarrod.com for more information.

It is a pleasure to serve as your State Representative. I am honored and humbled by your continued support and I look forward to seeing you soon.