Yesterday, Ohio Governor DeWine delivered his 2022 State of the State address. Our team at the Ohio Environmental Council (OEC) Action Fund closely watched the speech.
Here’s what we heard:
Governor DeWine is committed to continue growing Ohio’s great State Parks system, and he emphasized how important parks and greenspace are to our communities and our health.
Governor DeWine highlighted some plans to partner with Ohio’s Appalachian communities to define an investment strategy that makes sense for the region, including growing eco-tourism opportunities in the region.
Governor DeWine mentioned continued investments through the H2Ohio program that will go a long way to restore Ohio’s waterways and wetlands, minimize algal blooms, and fix aging drinking water systems.
Here’s what we didn’t hear:
Governor DeWine mentioned the need to attract employers to Ohio, citing a “good regulatory environment,” but he did not mention the fastest-growing job sector in the country—wind and solar energy. Unfortunately, in Ohio, the environment for renewable energy businesses has been slowed down by regulatory uncertainty and unnecessary red-tape during Governor DeWine’s tenure.
During his address, Gov. DeWine failed to mention the redistricting crisis happening under his watch. By voting in favor of partisan-gerrymandered district maps and signing the legislation establishing unconstitutional congressional district maps, he has failed to follow the clear directive of Ohio voters—we need and deserve fair districts for all people.
But that’s not the full picture when it comes to Ohio’s environment. We recently interviewed OEC Action Fund staff to learn more about the policies and actions Gov. DeWine and Ohio lawmakers have taken to support clean air, land, and water or to damage our environment and democracy.
Hear from our policy experts on the State of Ohio’s Environment:
You can also learn more by exploring the OEC Action Fund’s 2021 Scorecard Update detailing how lawmakers voted on key environmental and democracy legislation and what actions Gov. DeWine took during the first half of the 134th General Assembly. You can access the update here: https://bit.ly/2021scorecardupdate.
The fight to protect our environment has never been easy—but Ohio’s future is worth it. Thank you for being by our side as we stand up and speak out for clean air, safe water, vibrant public lands, bold climate action and a strong democracy.