Terra Goodnight · July 31, 2018

Ohio 12 On The Issues: Balderson Voting Record

As a state legislator since 2009, Republican Troy Balderson has cast a number of significant votes. Here is a look at some of the most important positions he has taken throughout his 10 year legislative career: Clean Energy

• Balderson was the primary sponsor of legislation (SB310) that imposed a two-year freeze of Ohio’s renewable energy and energy efficiency standards, resulting in billions in lost investment and cost savings for consumers. [ASES. Ohio GOP Unveils Proposal To Freeze Renewable Energy Benchmarks. 4/3/14.] [Cleveland.com. Ohio legislature approves two-year freeze on renewable energy, energy efficiency standards. 5/28/14.][Center for American Progress. The Economic Fallout of the Freeze on Ohio’s Clean Energy Sector. 3/10/15.]

Guns

• Balderson voted for Senate Bill 17, which made Ohio one of the handful of states that allow concealed firearms to be carried into places where liquor is served, including bars, sports arenas and nightclubs. [Ohio House of Representatives. Journal. p. 812. 6.15.11.] [Cleveland Plain Dealer. Guns in bars bill passes Ohio House, Senate concurs, Gov. John Kasich to sign it. 6.16.11.]
• Balderson also voted for Senate Bill 199, which opened the door to the carry of concealed firearms in locations including daycare facilities and college campuses [Ohio Senate. Journal. p.2000. 12/8/16.][Cleveland.com. Gov. John Kasich signs bill to allow concealed carry at colleges, daycares, plus 16 other bills

Healthcare

• Balderson voted for the Medicaid expansion freeze contained in Ohio’s two-year budget, blocking enrollment in Ohio’s highly-successful Medicaid expansion, which covers over 700,000 low-income Ohioans. The measure would effectively block re-enrollment as currently eligible individuals cycle off due to income and employment fluctuations and was estimated to result in a loss of coverage for 500,000 Ohioans. The measure was vetoed by Governor Kasich. [Ohio Senate. Journal. p. 1027. 6/28/17.][Cleveland Plain Dealer. [NBC4i. Kasich signs Ohio state budget, vetoes Medicaid freeze. 7/1/17.]

Labor

• Balderson voted for Senate Bill 5, legislation that would have eliminated collective bargaining rights for public employees. The legislation would have exposed police, firefighters, teachers and nurses to unsafe working conditions by restricting the right of these employees’ to negotiate the type of equipment used and work assignments. The legislation also subjected public employees to an unfair, predetermined process for setting wages, made older workers vulnerable to layoffs without remedy and created punitive measures against public employees, including imprisonment and fines. The legislation was overturned by a citizen referendum in a major victory for organized labor. [Ohio House of Representatives. Journal. p. 405. 3/30/11.][CBS News. Ohio governor signs Senate Bill 5 into law. 3/31/11.][Cleveland Plain Dealer. Ohio voters overwhelmingly reject Issue 2, dealing a blow to Gov. John Kasich. 11/8/11.]

Local Communities

• Balderson voted for a two-year state budget (House Bill 59) that cut funding for local first responders and other county and municipal services by $720 million compared to the prior two-year period. [Ohio Senate. Journal. 6/27/13. p. 1062.][Policy Matters Ohio. Ohio’s 2014-15 Budget. 10/3/13.]

Tax Fairness

• With his vote for HB59 (above), Balderson supported the creation of a measure to exempt business income from the state income tax for owners of pass-through entities, a half-billion dollar annual giveaway with no evidence it would create jobs [Policy Matters Ohio. Ohio’s 2014-15 Budget. 10/3/13.] Since its creation, the tax break has been expanded and is now estimated to cost taxpayers $1.1 billion annually, with no evidence of job creation.

Voting Rights

• Balderson voted for gerrymandered congressional maps (House Bill 319) that created 16 districts, 12 of which are drawn to favor Republicans in a state where the 2010 gubernatorial election was decided by a 2-point margin. These rigged maps produced the current 7-county 12th Congressional district Balderson is now seeking to represent. Prior to their inclusion in HB 319, the redrawn Congressional maps were drafted in a hotel room by legislative staffers in close coordination with Congressional Republicans. In one instance, lines were re-drawn to ensure a large corporate donor remained within the district of an incumbent Republican. [Ohio Senate. Journal. p1616. 9/21/11.][Cincinnati Enquirer. Ohio Dems sue over GOP congressional maps. 9/29/11.][Canton Repository. Boehner’s team had role in creating Timken ‘peninsula. 12/12/11.]

Women’s Health

• Balderson cosponsored and voted for legislation (House Bill 214) to criminalize abortion after a fetal Down Syndrome diagnosis. The legislation was quickly blocked by a federal judge as unconstitutional. [Ohio Senate. Journal. p. 1536. 12/13/17.][Cleveland.com. John Kasich signs Down syndrome abortion ban. 12/22/17.] [Cleveland.com. Federal judge blocks Ohio Down syndrome abortion ban. 3/14/18.]
• Balderson voted for legislation (Senate Bill 28) that requires the burial or cremation of fetal material resulting from an abortion (but not miscarriages). Ohio would be the fifth state to pass this intrusive requirement; legislation in the other four states is tied up in court. [Ohio Senate. Journal. p. 1582. 1/17/18.][Columbus Dispatch. Ohio Senate passes bill requiring burial, cremation of aborted fetuses. 1/17/18.][ThinkProgress. Ohio Senate passed a bill that requires fetal tissue to be buried or cremated. 1/18/18.]
• Balderson voted for legislation (SB145) that would outlaw the most common form of 2^nd trimester abortion. [Ohio Senate. Journal. p. 1030. 6/28/17.][cleveland.com. Ohio bill would ban most abortions after 13 weeks. 5/4/17.]
• Balderson voted to ban abortions after a detectable heartbeat (House Bill 493), which can occur as early as six weeks of gestation, before most women know they are pregnant. [Ohio Senate. Journal. p.1816. 12/6/16.][Washington Post. Ohio governor vetoes ‘heartbeat bill’ but signs another abortion restriction into law. 12/13/16.]