From the Desk of Rep.

Dovilla

From the Desk of Rep. Dovilla At the Statehouse Around the 7th Upcoming Events

Dear 7th District Resident: As March 2014 begins, we celebrate Ohios 211th birthday and make the turn toward spring after a particularly cold winter. My travels back and forth to Columbus on I-71 each week have been marked by many snowier days than the last couple of years, and I am eager for the first pitch of Indians regular season baseball, warmer days, and the opportunity to enjoy another beautiful northeast Ohio spring and summer in the Metroparks and on Lake Erie. Were continuing to move Ohio in the right direction with our legislative action in the Peoples House. February saw House passage of my third piece of legislation this session in the form of House Bill 49, the Ohio Elder Justice Act, the first major revisions to Adult Protective Services statutes in a quarter century. Our At the Statehouse section of this newsletter includes more information on this important measure to protect Ohios senior citizens. Here in the 7th District, our popular Representative for a Day reading program for elementary school students is underway, a new round of district office hours began over the weekend, and I have been keeping a busy schedule of meetings with constituents. And as you may have seen, last week northeast Ohio had this opportunity to host Governor John Kasich for his annual State of the State address to the General Assembly. Details on these programs, meetings, and events appear below in our Around the 7th segment. It is a privilege to serve you and your family in the Ohio House of Representatives, and I enjoy hearing from you. If you wish to share your views on an issue or if I may be of assistance on a matter related to state government, please feel free to contact our office at 614-466-4895 or Rep07@ohiohouse.gov. We hope to hear from you soon. Sincerely, State Representative Mike Dovilla At the Statehouse

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63 Proud New Homeowners 220 Responses to Constituents

Sean Caldwell Troop 175 Eagle Scout Michael Rebar Kyle Park Anthony Wulk, Jr. Grant Brighter Andrew Szabo, II Brian DePauw Robert Painter Jeffrey Miles Troop 226 Eagle Scouts Mitchel Coyle Ryan Giermann Troop 293 Eagle Scouts

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One of the things that makes working for a legislative body interesting is that no day is the same, and there is always another public policy issue about which one must quickly become knowledgeable before casting a vote. During my years of service as a staffer on a government oversight committee for then-U.S. Senator George Voinovich in the early 2000s, I worked on such diverse issues as federal food safety standards, Americas shortage of nurses, and the U.S. governments security clearance case backlog. But I also learned that while a competent legislator must know enough about each issue that comes before him to cast a vote, a truly effective legislator focuses on a few key public policy issues that are important to those he represents and about which he can be a passionate advocate. For me, one of those issues is protecting our states senior citizens. Not only is it an important policy issue, but it is a matter of personal interest. I am blessed to have three grandparents planning to celebrate their 90th birthdays over the next 12 months. My mothers parents live locally, so I have day-to-day interaction with them, as well as many other senior citizens around our district. Our office frequently has the opportunity to support seniors seeking assistance from a state agency, interacting with a public utility, or handling other matters that may be challenging to resolve without support from ones legislator. And at a time when older Americans are increasingly becoming the victims of financial exploitation and other crimes, I believe it is incumbent upon those who serve the public to strengthen the law to protect societys more vulnerable members. I began working on seniors issues during my first term in the legislature with Kathi Lowery, director of the Jenkins Senior Center in Olmsted Falls. With the support of Director Lowery and other seniors advocates, we enacted House Bill 215, which designated May 15th of each year as Elder Abuse Awareness Day. Later in the session, we introduced House Bill 572, bipartisan legislation we developed over the course of a year with Attorney General Mike DeWine to revise Adult Protective Services law in Ohio. Unfortunately, we did not have time before the expiration of the 129th General Assembly to move our bill out of committee, so we reintroduced it as House Bill 49 in the 130th General Assembly. The Ohio Elder Justice Act received several hearings before the House Judiciary Committee, where numerous organizations from across Ohio testified on the positive impact the measure would have when enacted. On February 12th the full House of Representatives passed the bill by a broad bipartisan vote of 88-6. H.B. 49 represents the first major reforms to Ohios Adult Protective Services statutes in a quarter century. When enacted, it will strengthen the laws protecting our states senior citizens from abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation. Some of the key provisions of the Ohio Elder Justice Act include:

The requirement of the Department of Job and Family Services to report on the creation of a registry to help identify patterns of abuse; The obligation for employees in several financial fields to report suspected elder abuse to help prevent the elderly from falling victim to financial crimes; and The establishment of a statewide Elder Abuse Commission, which will increase awareness and research of elder abuse, improve policy, funding and programming related to elder abuse, and improve the judicial response to elder abuse victims.

This reform legislation was referred to during House debate by the distinguished House Finance and Appropriations Committee chairman as one of the most important bills were going to be working on this session. I am hopeful it will continue to advance toward passage in the Ohio Senate and receive consideration for appropriate funding in the Mid-Biennial Review budget bills that will be introduced in the near future. For more information on House Bill 49, please take a few moments to watch my floor remarks at the following link: http://www.ohiochannel.org/MediaLibrary/Media.aspx? fileId=142364&startTime=3478&autoStart=True Around the 7th One of our most popular initiatives over the past few years has been our Representative for a Day reading contest for elementary school students (grades 1-6). In mid-February we launched our fourth annual contest, which is underway until March 8th. Students at each of our districts public elementary schools have received bookmark registration forms and information letters in their classrooms, and these materials are also available at any of the four branches of the Cuyahoga County Public Library in the 7th District (Berea, North Royalton, Olmsted Falls, and Strongsville). One winner from each school and library branch will be selected from completed forms that are returned to the library or school by close of business on March 8th. These children along with their families will be invited to Columbus on Monday, March 24th (spring break week in our school districts) for a mock legislative session, personal tour of the Statehouse, and lunch. Good luck to all of our young readers! This past weekend, we began our spring round of district office hours at the Olmsted Falls branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library. These one-on-one, no appointment necessary meetings with constituents provide opportunities for 7th District residents to interact directly with me as their representative in the Ohio legislature. I encourage you to drop by during one of our upcoming sessions on the following dates: March 8th: Berea

March 29th: North Royalton April 26th: Strongsville

On February 4, I attended the inaugural monthly coffee/meetand-greet with the Berea Chamber of Commerce. It was a pleasure to see many old friends and to meet several new business owners who have opened companies in Berea. On February 5, I participated in a summit, Fueling the Buckeye Economy: Canada-U.S. Energy Summit and Supplier Matchmaking Forum with Canadian Consul General Roy Norton and representatives of Greater Cleveland manufacturing companies. On February 7, I visited with U.S. Representative Jim Renacci in Strongsville. I schedule periodic meetings with the Congressman, whose 16th Congressional District overlaps most of the 7th Ohio House District, in order to keep one another apprised on what is happening in our respective legislative bodies. On February 7, I met with representatives of the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo to discuss a capital budget funding request for the zoos Savanna Ridge area. On February 10, I met with the superintendents and treasurers of the 7th Districts four school districts for a periodic meeting on policy and financial matters. On February 13, I met with Olmsted Falls Mayor Anne Marie Donegan for a tour of city hall, visits with various department directors, and a discussion of the mayors plans for her new administration. On February 14, I met with Olmsted Falls City Council members Linda Garrity and Terri Duncan at Arabica Caf for a discussion of city initiatives and state resources on matters ranging from Turnpike noise mitigation to grants for community projects. On February 14, I met with a representative of the Greater Cleveland Partnership to discuss GCPs slate of capital budget requests for Greater Cleveland, many of which are related to lakefront development, an important set of projects that will continue to advance our regions economic development and job creation efforts. On February 14, I visited Guidestone Ohios Berea campus to help present a contribution to this important nonprofit institution in our community. On February 16, I attended Eagle Scout courts of honor at BSA Troops 293 and 226 in Cleveland and Strongsville, respectively, to present House commendations to nine new Eagle Scouts who reside in the 7th District. Congratulations to each of these young men on

attaining this highest distinction in Scouting! On February 17, I met with a representative of the Manufacturing and Growth Network (MAGNET) to discuss our ongoing efforts to support Ohio manufacturers and improve the states climate for job creation in this critically important industry. On February 22, I attended the inaugural event for the Believe in Ohio! STEM ecosystem, a project I was pleased to support in the current biennial budget. This initiative will provide a bridge between the science disciplines and entrepreneurism for high school students in our public schools, helping to fill a key area of job growth for the Buckeye State. More information is available at: http://www.believeinohio.org/biohome.html On February 23, I attended an Eagle Scout court of honor at BSA Troop 175 in Brecksville to present a House commendation to Shawn Caldwell, who earned 40 merit badges (21 are required) as he advanced to Eagle. Congratulations, Shawn, on going above and beyond to achieve this rank! On February 24, I attended the State of the State address in Medina. I was honored to be a member of the legislative committee to wait upon the governor, helping to lead Gov. John Kasich into the Medina Performing Arts Center for his remarks. I was pleased to hear the governor once again focus his comments in this years address on our continuing efforts to improve Ohios climate for job creation by cutting taxes and regulations, expand opportunities for educational attainment regardless of where one lives in our great state, and lift those in our society who require assistance to get on their feet and on the path to success. Together, we are moving Ohio in the right direction. On February 28, I met with representatives of the Cleveland Institute of Art to discuss the schools capital budget request. CIA provides top-notch educational opportunities for students seeking diverse careers in art and design. Upcoming Events Upcoming dates of note on my official calendar and in our community include the following: March 8: District Office Hours, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Berea Branch March 9: Cub Scout Pack 526 Blue and Gold Banquet, St. Albert the Great Church, North Royalton March 20: Berea State of the City Address, Perk Up Caf, Berea March 29: District Office Hours, Cuyahoga County Public Library, North Royalton Branch

March 30: Olmsted Falls Open House, City Hall, Olmsted Falls

For more information on any event or to submit an event for inclusion in a future issue of the 7th District Newsletter, please email our office at Rep07@ohiohouse.gov. Thank you!