Five things to know for Wednesday, Oct. 29

Judge extends pause of DeWine’s ‘intoxicating hemp’ EO to Dec. 2

A Franklin County judge ruled that “intoxicating hemp” can continue to be sold until at least Dec. 2 amid a legal challenge to Republican Gov. Mike DeWine’s executive order, The Columbus Dispatch reported.

Three businesses sued over DeWine’s 90-day pause, arguing that the governor lacked the legal authority to issue it. Earlier this month, the Ohio House advanced legislation that would add intoxicating hemp products to the state’s laws that regulate marijuana.

Think tank: House Bill 392 would help position Ohio as AI leader

Ohio House Bill 392 would “help position Ohio as a national leader in artificial intelligence (AI) and data processing technology,” Greg R. Lawson, a research fellow at The Buckeye Institute, said in prepared testimony to the Ohio House Technology and Innovation Committee.

The measure establishes “clear regulatory guardrails to properly balance innovation and responsible oversight of emerging technology,” and “provides regulatory certainty for the AI sector by preventing local governments from imposing a patchwork of contradictory rules that are expensive and difficult to follow.” Lawson said that the measure should “help attract AI and technology firms, rejuvenate Ohio’s advanced manufacturing sector,” “help retain talented graduates from” Ohio universities, and “help employ the skilled technical workforce that Ohio is actively building through its comprehensive training and development programs.”

Dems: Declare emergency amid federal shutdown

House Democrats are again calling on Republican Gov. Mike DeWine to declare an emergency amid the ongoing government shutdown. They want the governor to “provide state funds to foodbanks to meet the needs of hungry Ohioans, and mobilize the national guard to distribute food on an as needed basis in coordination with the foodbanks.”

“Ohio families will go hungry without SNAP benefits, including over a half million children, over 250,000 seniors, and an estimated 45,000 veterans. Time is of the essence, and we need to act before Saturday’s deadline,” they said in a Tuesday letter to the governor. “It does not matter where we stand on the respective sides of the battle over healthcare premiums in D.C., the reality is that the most vulnerable people across our state are going to go hungry if we do not act. We are urging leadership in the face of this crisis.”

Husted: Dems’ playing political games at the expense of hardworking Ohio families’

During an Americans for Prosperity–Ohio tele-town hall this week, Republican U.S. Sen. Jon Husted discussed the ongoing federal government shutdown.

“Democrats in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are playing political games at the expense of hardworking Ohio families,” Husted said in a release. “It’s time to reopen the government and put in place real reforms that keep it open. Fiscal responsibility and accountability should not be partisan. It’s common sense, and Ohioans deserve nothing less.”

Chamber of Commerce supports Senate Bill 219

The Ohio Chamber of Commerce has voiced its support for Senate Bill 219, which would update Ohio’s oil and gas laws and regulations to account for the new oil and gas production coming from the Utica shale Formation.

“As the new methods of oil and gas exploration and extraction were developed it revolutionized the industry and allowed for more mineral recovery than with traditional methods,” Tony Long, the Ohio Chamber’s general counsel and director of energy and environmental policy, told the Ohio Senate Energy Committee. “…Some of that basin is under state owned land. And even after that land was opened to exploration, it took 10 years for regulators to develop a lease.”