CEDARVILLE, Ohio — Gov. Mike DeWine signed a bill Thursday afternoon providing $650 million of federal CARES Act funding to local communities. The bill also revamps the unemployment process and creates workforce development partnerships with colleges around the state.
Governor DeWine signed House Bill 614, a new law that modernizes Ohio’s unemployment system, which has been under strain for years, but showed its true weakness the last several months since the pandemic hit. He discussed the burdens during his bi-weekly news conference Thursday.
“I know it’s been tough on people losing their jobs and if we’re going to have any chance of continuing to grow the economy, then we gotta keep our foot on this devil down there,” says DeWine.
The bill, sponsored by Republican representatives Mark Fraizer of Newark and Tracy Richardson of Marysville, creates the Unemployment Compensation Modernization and Improvement Council which will evaluate the claim filing process and technological infrastructure as well as examine ways to maximize the responsiveness for individual applicants and employers. It also requires the Director of Ohio’s Department of Jobs and Family Services to create a plan for employees who handle unemployment inquiries and claims for benefits, requires the Chancellor of Higher Education to create a template for workforce-education partnership programs, provides 650-million-dollars in federal CARES Act funding for local municipalities among other things.
”There’s some immediate fixes to help constituents understand how to fix the issues that are in the system and legislating that as well as ongoing framework to find the support that we need,” says Fraizer.
According to the ODJFS, 1.3 million Ohioans have filed for unemployment since March.
“Why? Because of this pandemic!” says Richardson.
The coronavirus relief funding will be spread among counties, municipalities, and townships for expenses between March 1 and the end of year. The aid is being distributed on a per-capita basis. The legislation contains an emergency clause which means it goes into effect immediately.
“It’s a step in the right direction. We need transparency. We need improvements and we need it as soon as possible to help Ohioans,” Richardson says.
