Hearcel F. Craig News

Today, Assistant Minority Leader Hearcel F. Craig (D-Columbus), Senate Minority Leader Nickie J. Antonio (D-Lakewood), and state Senator Vernon Sykes (D-Akron) held a press conference to discuss a new package of legislation to prevent gun deaths and violence in Ohio.

Today, members of the Ohio Senate Democratic Caucus responded to the results of the November 7 general election.

Today, state Senator Hearcel F. Craig (D-Columbus), in recognition of September as National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, introduced the Suicide Self-Defense Act. This legislation would give Ohioans another way to protect themselves with a commonsense gun measure.

Today, state Senator Hearcel F. Craig (D-Columbus) provided sponsor testimony on Senate Bill 136, which would cap annual property tax increases at 5% per year for homeowners with income at or below the county median income.

Today, state Senator Hearcel F. Craig (D-Columbus) issued the following statement after the Ohio Senate voted to accept conference committee changes to House Bill 33, the state operating budget.

Today, state Senator Hearcel F. Craig (D-Columbus) issued the following statement after the Ohio Senate voted to pass their version of House Bill 33, the state operating budget.

Today, state Senator Hearcel F. Craig (D-Columbus) issued the following statement after the Ohio Senate voted to pass Senate Bill 83, the highly controversial Ohio Higher Education Enhancement Act.

Today, state Senator Hearcel F. Craig (D-Columbus) issued a statement after the Ohio Senate voted along party lines to concur with the changes made by the House of Representatives to Senate Joint Resolution 2, which would raise the threshold for Ohioans to pass citizen-initiated constitutional amendments from a simple majority to 60%.

Today, state Senator Hearcel F. Craig (D-Columbus) issued a statement after the Ohio Senate voted along party lines to pass Senate Joint Resolution 2 and Senate Bill 92. S.J.R. 2 would raise the threshold for Ohioans to pass constitutional amendments from a simple majority to 60%, while S.B. 92 would allow for August special elections when a proposed constitutional amendment is on the ballot.

Today, Senate Minority Leader Nickie J. Antonio (D-Lakewood) and Senators Steve Huffman (R-Tipp City), Hearcel F. Craig (D-Columbus) and Michele Reynolds (R-Canal Winchester) held a press conference to discuss the introduction of their legislation to end Ohio's death penalty and instead pursue life without parole for capital crimes.

Today, state Senator Hearcel F. Craig (D-Columbus) commended the Ohio Senate's passage of House Bill 23, the state's two-year transportation budget.

Today, state Senator and Assistant Minority Leader Hearcel F. Craig (D-Columbus) spoke at the groundbreaking ceremony for the remodeling of The Ohio State University's Department of African American and African Studies Community Extension Center.

Today, state Senator Hearcel Craig (D-COLUMBUS) issued a statement after the Ohio Senate voted along party lines to pass Senate Bill 1, which drastically limits the duties and function of the State Board of Education and Department of Education.

Today, state Senator Hearcel F. Craig (D-Columbus) issued the following statement in response to Governor Mike DeWine's State of the State address:

Today, state Senator Hearcel F. Craig (D-Columbus) took the oath of office to serve in the Ohio Senate as Assistant Minority Leader during the 135th General Assembly.

Today, the Ohio Senate Democratic Caucus voted on and announced caucus leadership for the 135th General Assembly, beginning in January 2023. The Caucus voted to elect state Senator Nickie J. Antonio (D-Lakewood) as Minority Leader.

Today, state Senator Hearcel F. Craig issued a statement celebrating the release of a new report by the Ohio Commission for the U.S. Semiquincentennial, a state commission established last year and charged to plan, encourage, develop, and coordinate the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States and the impact of Ohioans on the nation's past, present, and future.

Today, state Senator Hearcel F. Craig (D-Columbus) issued the following statement:

Today, state Senator Hearcel F. Craig (D-Columbus) issued the following statement after members of the Columbus Education Association went on strike after an impasse over negotiations with the Columbus City Schools for safer working and learning conditions:

Today, state Senator Hearcel F. Craig (D-Columbus) issued the following statement to praise the Ohio Senate's passage of Senate Bill 323, which designates a portion of State Route 315, extending from King Avenue to Broad Street in Columbus, as the "Jesse Owens Memorial Highway."

Today, state Senator Hearcel F. Craig (D-Columbus) praised the Ohio Senate's passage of House Bill 687, the state Capital Budget that appropriates $10.7 million for 20 economic development projects in Ohio's 15th Senate District, which includes part of Franklin County.

Today, state Senator Hearcel F. Craig (D-Columbus) issued the following statement in response to a mass shooting this week at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, that killed 19 children and two teachers.

Today, state Senator Hearcel F. Craig (D-Columbus) congratulated the 2022 class of the City of Columbus Hall of Fame: Maude Hill, Mary Teresa Funk, Rev. Dr. James Poindexter and Ned Pettus Jr., whom Senator Craig spoke about during the ceremony.

Today, state Senator Hearcel F. Craig (D-Columbus) issued the following statement after the cosmetic company Orveon announced that it will open an extension of its corporate offices in the Arena District in Columbus, which will create 150 new jobs.

Today, state Senator Hearcel F. Craig (D-Columbus) issued the following statement after Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, making her the first Black woman to ever serve as a U.S. Supreme Court Justice.