Toledo, Ohio Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz has requested the resignation of four City Council members accused of encouraging and accepting bribes in exchange for votes.

Yvonne Harper (District 4), Tyrone Riley (District 1), Gary Johnson (At-large), and Larry Sykes (At-large), are named in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court at the conclusion of a two-year FBI investigation.

The court documents detail how each of the members allegedly accepted payments in the range of $500 to $5,000 for “yes” votes on zoning requests to internet cafes.

In an official statement, Kapszukiewicz explained these members are entitled to their day in court and should be presumed innocent until proven otherwise.

However, he is concerned about the cloud of doubt that would rest over city government if they continue to hold office.

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Federal Judge Michael H. Watson declined to change the election plan Ohio lawmakers unanimously approved last month.

House Bill 197 requires the state’s primary election to be conducted mostly by mail.

Additionally, the bill extends absentee balloting until April 28 for the presidential and state primary elections.

In-person voting originally scheduled for March 17 was postponed by order of the state’s Health Department in response to COVID-19 concerns.

A lawsuit has been filed challenging the new Ohio presidential and state primary election date and procedures.

The lawsuit challenges House Bill 197, which included a provision to extend absentee balloting until April 28 for the presidential and state primary elections.

In response to COVID-19, the state’s Health Department postponed in-person voting originally scheduled for March 17.

The lawsuit seeks to delay the election date further.

Additionally, registered voters who have not cast a ballot in the election will have an absentee ballot mailed to them.

The lawsuit would also allow voters who do not receive a ballot in time to vote at the board of elections.

Finally, it would set the voter registration date 30 days prior to the primary date, as required by federal law.

The Ohio Ethics Commission has extended the financial disclosure statement deadline to July 15 for public officials required to file.

The general filing deadline applying to most filers was previously May 15.

Paul M. Nick, Executive Director of the Commission, stated the extension was to give filers adequate time to compile and file statements following the extended deadline of July 15 for federal and state tax returns in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gov. Mike DeWine signed the coronavirus response bill on March 27 eliminating in-person voting for almost everyone who has not previously voted in the presidential and state primary elections.

All voting will now be replaced with extended mail-in voting.

House Bill 197 voids Directive 2020-06, issued by Secretary of State Frank LaRose, moving the Ohio presidential and state primary election to June 2.

The bill requires the Office of Secretary of State to send a postcard to every registered voter, notifying them of the procedures to obtain an application for an absentee ballot and the procedures and deadline to return it.

Registered voters who have not already cast a ballot in the March 17 primary election, or in any special election held on the day of the primary election, may vote using an absentee ballot.

In person voting is only available for certain disabled voters and voters who are unable to receive mail.

All applications must be received by April 28 or postmarked on or before April 27 and received by mail not later than May 8.

For the purpose of the campaign contribution limits, the date of the 2020 primary election is March 17.

However, the statements of contributions and expenditures required to be filed after the primary election must be filed not later than 4:00 p.m. on June 5.

The bill is effective immediately.

Gov. Mike DeWine is expected to sign a coronavirus response bill passed by legislators.

The bill includes a provision to extend absentee balloting till April 28 for the presidential and state primary elections.

The state’s Health Department postponed in-person voting originally scheduled for March 17 in response to COVID-19 concerns.

House Bill 197 cancels the rescheduled date of June 2 and instructs Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s office to send a postcard to every registered voter in the state to notify them of methods to obtain an application for an absentee voter’s ballot.

The bill does not require an absentee ballot request actually be mailed to every voter.

An extremely limited group of voters will be able to vote in-person on April 28.

This includes disabled voters and those without a home address, but for most people, the option is not available.

Gov. Mike DeWine has delayed Ohio’s in-person voting by order of the state’s Health Department after a day of uncertainty about the status of the presidential primary election.

DeWine indicated earlier in the day at a press conference he did not have authority to unilaterally delay the primary and a lawsuit would be filed to move the election to June 2 over concern about COVID-19.

On Monday evening, Judge Richard A. Frye of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas rejected the request.

After the court ruling allowing the election to proceed and an evening of conflicting information, DeWine ended speculation with a tweet at 10:11 p.m.

The Health Department ordered all polling places not to open for Tuesday’s primary elections to protect voters and poll workers from the coronavirus outbreak.

Less than 24 hours before the scheduled primary election, Gov. Mike DeWine, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted and Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced a lawsuit will be filed in Franklin County today.

This will be requesting Tuesday’s in-person primary election be postponed until June 2.

The proposal will extend the deadline for requesting absentee ballots for voters who are unforeseeably confined or hospitalized.

In turn it will offer curbside voting for anyone concerned about entering their polling place as the state’s primary election rolls on during the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Husted explained the June 2 date would allow anyone who had planned to vote in person to request an absentee ballot and return it in time to vote in the election.

Whether or not the election will be postponed will be decided by court order.

Cincinnati City Council member Tamaya Dennard resigned Monday.

Her resignation comes less than a week after being arrested on federal charges accusing her of trading votes for cash on a development deal.

Dennard, a Democrat, was not required to resign under the city’s charter.

However, if she did not, Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters stated he would take action.

Deters claims he would have filed a petition with the Ohio Supreme Court seeking to remove her from office.

Dennard’s replacement will be selected by Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld, a fellow Democrat.

Dennard, like all council members when they take office, had to name a fellow council member to select her replacement in the event she would be unable to complete her term.

For the first time, the Ohio Lobbying Activity Center (OLAC) will accept electronic payment for registration renewals, meaning lobbyists who pay electronically will not have to print and mail anything to OLAC.

A lobbyist may pay individually, by client, or simply by selecting the “add all pending items to cart” from the agent homepage and pay for renewals at one time.

Lobbyists may begin renewing registrations for executive and retirement engagements in OLAC on December 1. Legislative registrations do not expire until December 31, 2020.

The renewal option closes on January 15, 2020. Registrations submitted after this date will require a signature page signed by both the lobbyist and the employer.

For lobbyists who wish to still pay by check, the Office of the Legislative Inspector General must receive an invoice and filing fee no later than January 31 for each 2020 engagement.

Gov. Mike DeWine signed Senate Bill 26 into law on November 6, repealing a state budget amendment that would have caused many Ohio attorneys to pay higher income taxes beginning in 2020.

Under Senate Bill 26, attorneys who derive their income from entities such as LLCs and LLPs qualify to pay no tax on the first $250,000 of income and will pay a flat 3 percent tax rate on income above that threshold.

Senate Bill 26 also allows educators to claim an income tax deduction for out-of-pocket classroom expenses.

The House passed legislation on October 10 to reverse the state budget bill, restoring a business tax exemption for attorneys and lobbyists.

Senate Bill 26 was originally introduced to allow educators to claim an income tax deduction for out-of-pocket classroom expenses.

The House Finance Committee approved amendments to restore the deduction for attorneys and lobbyists excluded in the two-year state operating bill tax policy of House Bill 166.

Since 2013, the state business income deduction (BID) has allowed those deriving income from any pass-through entity (e.g., LLCs, LLPs) to pay no tax on the first $250,000 of income and a flat 3% on any income above the threshold.

House Bill 166 excluded otherwise eligible income from legal services provided by an attorney or income from legislative, executive agency, or retirement system lobbying activity beginning in 2020.

Senate Bill 26 has been re-referred to the Senate for final approval.

Four more states making changes to lobbying and ethics laws. Find out which jurisdictions in this edition of News You Can Use Video Digest!