State Government Roundup: Medical Pot; Ohio National Guard; PUCO; Business Filings
DOC Extends
Processor Clarification Deadline
Medical marijuana processor applicants
planning to submit clarifying information to the Ohio Department of Commerce
(DOC) now have until Wednesday, Oct. 24 to do so.
The previous due date was Wednesday, Oct. 17.
(See The Hannah Report, 10/4/18.)
In a news release, the department said it has
received “numerous questions” about details that should be included in the
facility plot plan.
“Based on those questions, the department
wanted to provide additional guidance that the applicants should show both the
interior and exterior of the facility in order to demonstrate all of the security-related
rule requirements,” DOC said. “Recognizing that there was confusion about this
question, the department has extended the response deadline to 12 p.m. on Oct.
24. If you have already submitted your clarification response, we will allow
you to resubmit based on this guidance if you need to provide additional
information.”
Ohio
National Guard to Rename Camp Ravenna for President Garfield
The
Ohio National Guard announced Tuesday that Camp Ravenna Joint Military Training
Center will formally be renamed after President James Garfield, who also served
as a major general in the Ohio National Guard.
The
name change will occur during a ceremony at 10 a.m. Thursday, and will honor
the service of Garfield and his family, which includes three generations of
descendants who served in the Ohio National Guard. His great-grandson fought in
Europe during World War II, a guard press release notes.
“The
renaming represents a historic point in the history of this location,” said
Maj. Gen. John C. Harris Jr., Ohio assistant adjutant general for Army. “Camp
James Garfield is a state-of-the-art training facility that allows the Ohio
National Guard to train in live, virtual and gaming scenarios and achieve the
highest levels of readiness in the most efficient way possible.”
The
facility, which was originally an ammunition manufacturing plant, is undergoing
$37 million in upgrades to better serve as a training facility for the
military, civilian law enforcement and first responders. This includes a $7.4
million expansion of the firing range to allow usage of machine guns, which U.S.
Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) had pushed for along with other measures to improve
Ohio defense facilities. (See The Hannah
Report, 8/3/18.)
Camp
Ravenna is also a contender as a site for the East Coast missile defense
system, which was a topic of discussion at the Ohio Defense Forum Tuesday. (See
separate story, this issue.)
PUCO Assisting Massachusetts Gas Restoration
with Eye to Ohio
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) is sending gas pipeline safety
experts to Massachusetts to help its department of public utilities restore
natural gas service in areas of Merrimack Valley hit by last month’s Columbia
Gas explosions. The commission said Monday its staff will be watching for any
conditions relevant to Ohio, where Columbia Gas serves 1.3 million customers.
Two of PUCO’s natural gas pipeline safety inspectors will work under the
Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) over a five-week period
beginning Sunday, Oct. 14. The department is overseeing the safe restoration of
natural gas service in Merrimack Valley, where Columbia Gas has committed to
repairing or replacing nearly 55 miles of infrastructure over the next six
weeks.
“Ohio is
pleased to lend a helping hand by providing qualified safety experts in a time
of need,” PUCO Chairman Asim Haque said in a statement. “Ohio’s safety program
routinely scores perfect ratings from the U.S. Department of Transportation.”
On Sept. 13, a series of outages, explosions and fires occurred after an
apparent over-pressurization of the valley’s local natural gas distribution
system, affecting thousands.
The Ohio Consumers’ Counsel (OCC) has since called on PUCO to order Columbia
Gas to refile its latest pipeline safety report with an update of conditions in
Ohio. (See The Hannah Report,
10/4/18.)
“The PUCO is committed to ensuring the safe, reliable and environmentally sound
operation of Ohio's natural gas pipeline system,” its release stated, noting it
oversees more than 56,000 miles of distribution lines providing natural gas to
individual users, more than 10,000 miles of transmission lines and more than 1,100
miles of gathering lines.
Separately Monday, PUCO said findings in Massachusetts will inform its
response, if any, to OCC’s request.
“That will certainly be an outcome of their being out there,” commission
spokesman Matt Schilling told Hannah News.
“If there are lessons to be learned for the state of Ohio, we will do that.”
September
Business Filings Announced
Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted announced
Monday that 9,375 new entities filed to do business in Ohio in September, an
increase of 617 when compared to September 2017.
Ohio is currently on track for 2018 to be
another record-breaking year for new business filings. Since January, the
Buckeye State has seen 96,499 new businesses file, up 5,760 from the same
nine-month period last year, Husted said.