The Cincinnati Regional Chamber's Policy Updates and Legislative Strategies E-Newsletter
KEY NEWS & INSIGHTS
Big News: The State Capital Budget and OTSCIF has been passed by both Ohio House and Senate and signed into law by Governor DeWine.
Big Wins for the Cincinnati Region:Hamilton County Convention Center ($46M), Cincinnati Open Tennis Tournament ($27.5M), University of Cincinnati – Main Campus ($42.9M), UC Health ($16.75M), Riverbend 2.0 ($8M), XU College of Osteopathic Medicine ($9.75M), Cincinnati State Technical and Community College ($6.05M), 605 Plum Convention Center Garage Renovation ($945,771), Urban League Renovation & Addition ($145,000), Blue Line Foundation HQ and Regional Training Center ($1M), Mercantile Library Improvements ($125,000), Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Cincinnati ($1.4M), Cincinnati Art Museum Improvements ($1.65M), CROWN Ohio River Trail Safety Improvements ($140,000), Hamilton YWCA Domestic Violence Project ($400,000), Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Youth Mental Health Facility ($250,000), Cincinnati Music Hall Upgrades ($1M)
Notable: The combined $26.75M for UC Health, XU College of Osteopathic Medicine, and Cincinnati Children’s Youth Mental Health continues to establish Cincinnati as a key destination for healthcare. This investment will attract more medical experts, researchers, and patients, while also enhancing our growing Life Science and Bio Tech innovation ecosystem.
How We Got Here: The Chamber and our partners at CBC/CRBC led a local task force to evaluate and prioritize capital budget applications for transformational regional projects. The task force, chaired by John Barrett and George Vincent, included business and elected leaders from the region. The process has been recognized by many of the state legislators as the best in Ohio. The majority of recommended projects were funded in the final capital bills.
What’s Next: The Ohio State Legislature is on a break and not expected to return until after the election in November. The outcome of certain key races could change the balance in the House and decide whether incumbent Speaker Rep. Jason Stephens or Senate President Matt Huffman is Speaker in the next General Assembly.
Before They Left: The Ohio House added HB 183 – a transgender bathroom and locker room ban – as a late night amendment to SB 104, the College Credit Plus Program. This ban affects K-12 public schools and colleges in Ohio. The amendment needs to be approved by the Senate before it can be sent to the Governor for signature or veto.
The Concern: The Chamber is supportive of a pro-growth economic environment in Ohio. We encourage lawmakers to stay focused on legislation that will boost our economy, bring jobs and people to our state, increase housing opportunities, and allow our residents to prosper.
CITY OF CINCINNATI
Big News: The FY25 budget was passed by City Council two weeks ahead of schedule.
Economic Development Wins: The Port, REDI, Compass, Cintrifuse, CincyTech, Arena Feasibility Study, Neighborhood Business District Improvement, Duke Energy Convention Center
Notable: Cincinnati Sports Commission will be resurrected following funding by Cincinnati City Council and investment from Visit Cincy. This is a major step forward as the Cincinnati region competes for big events to drive revenue and economic impact.
How We Got Here: The Chamber led and advocated alongside civic leaders from funded organizations for strong investment in economic development.
HAMILTON COUNTY
Big News: The Hamilton County Tax Levy Review Committee recommended two tax levies for the November ballot.
The Rates: Notably, there is no recommended increase to either levy amidst backlash on new property values and skyrocketing property tax rates throughout the county, impacting housing affordability and growth. The recommended levies will keep the current rate and fund the organizations through 2029.
What’s Next: Commissioners Reece and Driehaus voted to adopt both renewals onto the November ballot. Commissioner Dumas was absent from the July 18 meeting and did not vote. Now, voters will decide whether to approve the two levies on Election Day, November 5th.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Big News: The State Department is giving Cincinnati its own Passport Office, the first in Ohio.
What it Does: Currently, the closest passport office is in Detroit. State Department passport centers are designed to handle urgent travel needs. Whether you need a passport issued quickly or require a foreign visa within a month, this new office will be a vital resource, according to Senator Vance’s team who broke the news to us last month.
Why this Matters: This is a big win as CVG continues to grow and helps the region attract global companies to open offices here.
Timeline: There is no timeline established yet, but we’ll keep a close watch and be sure to update Chamber membership as it progresses.
DATA DROP FROM THE CENTER FOR RESEARCH & DATA Foreign-Born Populations in the Cincinnati Region
Big News: Below is a map of select large foreign-born communities and their countries of origin spread throughout the Cincinnati region. While the Mason zip code of 45040 is home to many foreign-born and immigrant populations, the largest is from India, numbering almost 5,000. The largest Mexican-born population in our region is in the 45011 zip code, and the largest Guatemalan-born population is in the 45205 zip code of Price Hill.
Why this Matters: With several wins geared toward connecting the Cincinnati region globally over the past few years, including a new passport office and a direct flight to London, it is important that our region continue to welcome New Americans into the fold as New Cincinnatians. Understanding settlement patterns is a first step toward creating community within and among these groups.
ON THE HORIZON
State Ballot Initiatives:
Citizens Not Politicians submitted 731,306 signatures to the Ohio Secretary of State’s office. This nearly doubles the required amount, making it likely the group will meet the threshold of valid signatures to get on the November ballot. The proponents seek to change the way districts are drawn in Ohio. The Chamber has a close eye on this and GAEC will determine whether to take a stance once the signatures are verified and it is officially on the ballot.
Raise the Wage Ohio missed the deadline to submit signatures for November’s ballot. After mixed messages from the organization, it now looks like the group will continue to collect signatures through summer and submit for the November 2025 ballot. The Chamber is paying close attention to this initiative as it will significantly impact our restaurant industry.
August 7: Cincinnati City Council’s summer session and the deadline to place any earnings tax increase on the ballot.
August 17: The deadline for Fair Share for Cincy to submit signatures to get its City of Cincinnati Charter Amendment on the November ballot. The group says Cincinnati does not have a fair say in transportation spend in the region. OKI disagrees. City Manager Sheryl Long says, “the passage of the proposed Charter amendment could result in the City no longer receiving the benefits it has received by being part of OKI. These benefits include federal funds for City and regional projects, as well as services that are currently offered at no cost to the City.” Download the official report here.
Presidential Election: For the first time since William Howard Taft in 1912, there’s a Cincinnatian on the national ticket. Senator J.D. Vance was selected to be the Vice Presidential candidate with former President Trump. Vance’s presence on the ticket will add more attention to our state and region this campaign season – Ohio is a battleground state with the balance of the Senate at play in the race between Sen. Sherrod Brown and Bernie Moreno. Additionally, with President Biden leaving the race, KY Governor Andy Beshear has been speculated as a potential running mate for Vice President Kamala Harris. As we have learned the last three weeks, anything can happen, and the Chamber team will keep you updated on major implications for our business community and region.
The $50M project would bring 168 low-income housing units to Bond Hill, but homeowners are pushing back despite a housing crisis. The project was slated to be revisited by the City’s Planning Commission on Friday, but was pulled from the agenda last minute. Housing continues to be a top priority for the Chamber.
While the proposal has industry pushback, many in housing development research hope that this latest debate will lead to bipartisan conversations in Congress next year about ways to encourage, subsidize or directly finance more housing. The Chamber is keeping a pulse on housing policies at all levels of government.
A new research study shows that the number of people working in the child care industry still has not risen to pre-pandemic levels. Child care is a policy priority for the Chamber.