Kent Smith News

This week, the Ohio Senate Democratic Caucus voted on and announced caucus leadership for the 136th General Assembly, beginning in January 2025.

Today, members of the Ohio Senate Democratic Caucus responded to the results of the November 5 general election on Issue 1.

"A recent report indicated that Ohio ranked third among states with the most customers affected by power outages per capita. However, it was not due to excessive demand on the system, because Ohio ranked 24th for total electric consumption. If outages are occurring without unusually high demand, then we have a problem in the system.  It is a problem that the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, our state's utility watchdog agency, should have caught. But maybe they were not trying to catch problems before they happened. Because maybe the master they were serving was the utility, not the customer.  So, if you were one of the many Ohioans left without power after the August 6 storms, you might be wondering why it took so long to get your power back. Part of the answer to that question is Gov. Mike DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted..." Read the full column via The Columbus Dispatch.

This week, state Senator Kent Smith (D-Euclid) and state Representative Jamie Callender (R-Concord) announced new legislation to bolster small music venues and the creative arts economy across the state.

Today, state Senator Kent Smith (D-Euclid) publicly criticized the office of Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost for the deal made this week with FirstEnergy, the company embroiled in corruption charges including the infamous House Bill 6 scandal. The deal allows FirstEnergy to avoid further state criminal prosecution in exchange for a $20 million fine.

In Senator Smith's ICYMI: Statehouse Edition this week, he discusses his summer reading recommendation. Find them here.

Today, state Senator Kent Smith (D-Euclid) commended the Ohio Senate's passage of the state's capital budget (House Bill 2), which includes $7.5 million for 22 projects within Ohio's 21st Senate District and over $100.5 million for Cuyahoga County as a whole.

Today, Senate Democratic Leader Nickie J. Antonio (D-Lakewood) and state Senator Kent Smith (D-Euclid) provided sponsor testimony on Senate Resolution 180, which calls on state and federal legislators to support an amendment to the United States Constitution that would eliminate corporate personhood and the idea of money as speech.

Today, state Senator Kent Smith (D-Euclid) sent a letter to leadership at King David Healthcare Center in Beachwood expressing concerns following reports of horrific residential and employee conditions.

Today, state Senator Kent Smith (D-Euclid) issued the following statement in response to Governor Mike DeWine's State of the State address.

"On Monday, Feb. 1, while announcing his two-year budget proposal, Gov. Mike DeWine voiced his support for a $50 million expenditure to attract East and West Coast residents to move to Ohio.  In explaining his reasoning DeWine said, Ohio is a welcoming place. I don't care who you are, we want you to come to Ohio. It's a progressive state. The governor is half right. He is correct that Ohio's population growth is far below the national average. Between 1990 and 2010, the U.S. population grew 24% while the Buckeye State only grew 6%, according to a May 2016 report on progressive governance by the University of Southern California's Program for Environmental and Regional Equity. Where we have disagreement with the governor is how to fix the problem. We do not need an advertising campaign to deceive people. We need a legislative attraction agenda so that people and families want to stay here or move here..." Read more...

Today, state Senator Kent Smith (D-Euclid) announced a series of town halls in Ohio's 21st Senate District to connect with constituents and hear their concerns and opinions. The town halls will be held from Monday, March 25, to Monday, April 8.

Today, state Senators Kent Smith (D-Euclid) and Paula Hicks-Hudson (D-Toledo) held a press conference to announce the introduction of two bills that would help close the gender wage gap. They were joined by The Women's Fund of Central Ohio and the Ohio Federation of Business and Professional Women.

Today, Senate Democratic Whip Kent Smith (D-Euclid) and other leaders of the House and Senate Democratic Caucuses held a press conference in response to the recent indictments of two former FirstEnergy executives and Sam Randazzo, the former chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO).

Today, state Senator Kent Smith (D-Euclid) condemned the Ohio Senate's decision to override the governor's veto of House Bill 68, which bans gender-affirming care for trans minors and bans transgender student athletes from participating in sports that align with their gender identity.

Today, state Senator Kent Smith (D-Euclid) released a statement on his selection as the 2024 interim Ohio State Lead for the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators (NCEL).

Today, state Senator Kent Smith (D-Euclid) issued a statement after the Ohio Senate voted to pass House Bill 68, which will ban critical gender-affirming health care for minors and ban transgender student-athletes from playing on sports teams that align with their gender identity, effectively banning them from school sports entirely.

Today, state Senator Kent Smith (D-Euclid) issued a statement regarding his yes vote on House Bill 86, which made changes to the adult use recreational marijuana laws passed under Issue 2.

Today, state Senator Kent Smith (D-Euclid) released a statement regarding his proposed amendment to House Bill 86, which would allow counties to establish an excise tax on marijuana products.

Today, state Senator Kent Smith (D-Euclid) provided sponsor testimony for Senate Bill 171, which would create the Ohio Sound Recording Investor Tax Credit, also known as OhioSounds.

Today, state Senator Kent Smith (D-Euclid) released a statement regarding the vandalism at Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery that took place over the weekend of November 11. 

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

Today, state Senator Kent Smith (D-Euclid) issued the following statements after the Ohio Senate voted along party lines on resolutions opposing the passage of State Issues 1 and 2.

Today, state Senator Kent Smith (D-Euclid) released a statement regarding the Ohio Redistricting Commission (ORC) scheduling a public hearing on Yom Kippur.

Today, state Senator Kent Smith (D-Euclid) and state Representatives Munira Abdullahi (D-Columbus), Dani Isaacsohn (D-Cincinnati), and Elliot Forhan (D-South Euclid) joined 52 other state legislators from 22 states to submit comments supporting Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) corporate merger guidelines.