Latest / Chuck Douglas / State Senator Steve Huffman

Transcript

State Senator Steve Huffman · Chuck Douglas

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Greeting Salitation's welcome, my friends to another edition to the Power.
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  Speaker 1: Now we're on six ten wtv IN on'm Chuck Douglas.
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  Speaker 1: You know who you are. We get one hour together,
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  Speaker 1: which means I talk really fast and you must listen
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  Speaker 1: even faster. I number eight two one nine eight eight
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  Speaker 1: six eight two one WTVN or one eight hundred and
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  Speaker 1: six to ten WTVN. Just look at over the crime
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  Speaker 1: reports here looks like over on my beloved to westside
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  Speaker 1: police at ems responding to a report of a dog
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  Speaker 1: or it says an animal an animal bite at a
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  Speaker 1: fast food restaurant. Tragic story from the south side of
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  Speaker 1: Columbus today. And I just I was so infuriated in
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  Speaker 1: reading the WSYX six website as they covered the story,
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  Speaker 1: and there was one comment, well, you know, because people
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  Speaker 1: can comment on the stories, one comment, and this idiot
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  Speaker 1: had to make it about race.
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  Speaker 2: I actually saw that. Well, I just man, I there
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  Speaker 2: is no you have to set there if you read
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  Speaker 2: that story ago, all right, how do I make this
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  Speaker 2: about race?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah?
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  Speaker 2: I know there's no other way that. There's no context
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  Speaker 2: of race at all in that story.
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  Speaker 1: Nothing, nothing, A tragic story, A seven month old child
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  Speaker 1: dead because of a dog attack. I'm a little confused
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  Speaker 1: on this though, because I was reading the remarks Sergeant
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  Speaker 1: Fuga was out there and speaking on behalf of the
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  Speaker 1: police department said they I guess he at this point
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  Speaker 1: was not anticipating any charges. Now, just two days ago
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  Speaker 1: out of Marion County, we've got another couple, mother and father,
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  Speaker 1: Their six month old child was killed by one of
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  Speaker 1: their dogs, and they're under arrest and facing charges. So
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  Speaker 1: I'm not sure what the decision making process will be
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  Speaker 1: in Columbus versus Marion, but I'd be interested to see,
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  Speaker 1: especially since we just had a big story about, you know,
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  Speaker 1: seventy three year old woman attack by dogs with a
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  Speaker 1: history of being nuisances and danger in the neighborhood. But
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  Speaker 1: these there's seventeen thousand on average dog attacks in the
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  Speaker 1: state of Ohio each year.
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  Speaker 2: Did you know that I did not, I could kind
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  Speaker 2: of guess which dogs are the perpetrator.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: Well, and you'll notice that wasn't mentioned in any of
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  Speaker 1: the coverage today, what type of dog it was. However,
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  Speaker 1: I have I didn't bring it up. I have verified
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  Speaker 1: with a couple of people that that indeed was the case. Yes, yes,
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  Speaker 1: very it's kind of a weird scenario, and again, is
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  Speaker 1: a geographic thing is I don't know. I have no
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  Speaker 1: idea why the couple from Marion County are arrested in Columbus.
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  Speaker 1: They don't anticipate charges. It's not like I'm looking for
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  Speaker 1: retribution right now. I'm just looking for something to make sense,
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  Speaker 1: because when a child is gone, something something in there
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  Speaker 1: has to make sense. Otherwise I just go just off
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  Speaker 1: the wall. Yesterday, Blazer and I were talking a bit
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  Speaker 1: about the May primary coming up here in state Issue too.
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  Speaker 1: You know me well enough to know I think at
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  Speaker 1: this point that anytime the government attempts to sell me
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  Speaker 1: on something by saying this is not a tax, the
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  Speaker 1: first thing I'm doing is looking for how it's coming
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  Speaker 1: out of my pocket. Anything that's not a tax that's
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  Speaker 1: on the ballot you are paying for some way, somehow,
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  Speaker 1: through some fee somewhere. And the same applies to issue too.
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  Speaker 1: A bond issue, A bond is a loan. A loan,
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  Speaker 1: so Ohio will borrow money to do this infrastructure work.
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  Speaker 1: That issue too is supposed to take care of Although
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  Speaker 1: we just passed what four or five years ago a
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  Speaker 1: ten cent a gallon increase on gasoline that was supposed
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  Speaker 1: to take care of our roads, and our roads have
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  Speaker 1: become more crappy since then. But now we're going to
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  Speaker 1: have a bond issue for infrastructure. I'm a little hesitant
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  Speaker 1: to be happy about this. I want to know how
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  Speaker 1: we're going to pay it back. And so what do
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  Speaker 1: you do? Well, you go to one of the sources,
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  Speaker 1: that is a member of the state legislature, Senator Steve Huffman,
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  Speaker 1: who is I call it the Tip City Madman, volunteered
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  Speaker 1: to join in tonight and hopefully answer some questions and
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  Speaker 1: clarify this. Steve, how are you.
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  Speaker 3: I'm doing well in yourself. I'm just horribofied by the
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  Speaker 3: way you started out with this. You know, there's nothing
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  Speaker 3: more valuable than a child's life and that I'm so sorry.
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  Speaker 1: That is that we we and you know I'll be
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  Speaker 1: I'll be frank with you. This is completely off the radar,
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  Speaker 1: but I will be frank. You and I may end
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  Speaker 1: up talking before this year is out. If this, if
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  Speaker 1: this trend continues, it may be time to limit you know,
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  Speaker 1: what is available and what is acceptable and legal to
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  Speaker 1: have as a pet in the state of Ohio, because
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  Speaker 1: these stories are just to two frequent and too payment.
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  Speaker 3: Absolutely, you know, the owner needs to be responsible for
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  Speaker 3: their pet in every way. And you know, we'll see
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  Speaker 3: how this one worked out. You know in Marion County
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  Speaker 3: it's worked out one way which they seem to be
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  Speaker 3: being held responsible.
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  Speaker 1: Talk to me about issue too, Steve. Where are license
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  Speaker 1: plates going up? Are we looking at another state sales tax?
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  Speaker 1: There's got to be a game plan somewhere in there
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  Speaker 1: that we don't know about to pay back this bond.
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  Speaker 3: Well, first I'll tell you that when the gas tax
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  Speaker 3: went up a few years ago, I voted against that.
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  Speaker 3: I was for about seven or eight cents increase because
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  Speaker 3: our roads needed it. But we went way too far,
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  Speaker 3: especially on the diesel side. But issue too, and I'll
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  Speaker 3: explain it is not a tax increase. But what we
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  Speaker 3: do this is I think the fifth time that the
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  Speaker 3: voters have voted on it. So the state of all
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  Speaker 3: high it can't go out and just borrow money. We
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  Speaker 3: have to have the voters tell us it's okay. And
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  Speaker 3: so this is twenty five billion over ten years, or
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  Speaker 3: twenty five million two point five billion over ten years,
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  Speaker 3: so about a quarter of a million, two hundred and
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  Speaker 3: fifty million a year, and it's mostly for water sewage,
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  Speaker 3: and it's we need predictability because it goes out to
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  Speaker 3: city Columbus, Hilliard, Toledo. Most of the time there's some
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  Speaker 3: local money that helps pay for it. But as they plan,
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  Speaker 3: you know, they don't have you know, it might be
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  Speaker 3: one hundred million dollar project and the state's going to
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  Speaker 3: give them twenty you know, they need some predictability that
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  Speaker 3: it's going to be there, and so we bond it
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  Speaker 3: and then we pay it back over over the the
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  Speaker 3: ten years of the project. And uh, it gives some predictability,
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  Speaker 3: but we're we're you know, the taxpayers will pay it back.
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  Speaker 3: But it's we do this for schools. You know, you
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  Speaker 3: can't build an eighty million dollars, uh school, you don't
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  Speaker 3: have the money. So you bond it out and pay
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  Speaker 3: it back over the thirty years as the money comes in.
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  Speaker 1: Is it Is it ever or has it ever been
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  Speaker 1: the process to build in the repayment mechanism as part
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  Speaker 1: of the bond issue so that people know what they're
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  Speaker 1: what they're getting into. Are we going to are we
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  Speaker 1: going to charge you more for these state services or
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  Speaker 1: are we going to cut from the budget on other
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  Speaker 1: state services. Like you know, any if I go into
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  Speaker 1: a bank I want to start a business, I got
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  Speaker 1: to give them a business plan. I'm looking as a taxpayer,
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  Speaker 1: what's the business plan for this bond before I can
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  Speaker 1: approve it?
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  Speaker 3: Uh, the business plan is to you know, today the
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  Speaker 3: House passed to offer budgets in there is a provision
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  Speaker 3: to pay back and pay with interest those bonds that
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  Speaker 3: have come due that you know, this program has produced
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  Speaker 3: over the last you know, ten years. You know, there's
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  Speaker 3: debt to be paid, and that it comes out of
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  Speaker 3: the operating budget budget that is planned for, you know,
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  Speaker 3: every time we do a budget.
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  Speaker 1: Now, at the same time, the governor, I don't know
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  Speaker 1: if it's his personal ambition here or if this is
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  Speaker 1: kind of an overall administration thing, but I've heard that,
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  Speaker 1: you know, we're looking at elimination of state sales tax
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  Speaker 1: like five six years from now as a potential goal
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  Speaker 1: in the state of Ohio. Something they're trying to work toward.
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  Speaker 1: Is what.
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  Speaker 3: You said, sales pas.
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  Speaker 1: I'm sorry, income I've introduced for.
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  Speaker 3: The third time to get rid of the personal income.
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  Speaker 1: Right, I'm sorry, Okay, So, so I mean, is that
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  Speaker 1: kind of thing nullified by something like this. You pass
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  Speaker 1: this bond issue, Okay, you got no chance of getting
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  Speaker 1: rid of the income tax now, because hey, we got
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  Speaker 1: to pay back a bond.
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  Speaker 3: We so to service. Three hundred million every year is
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  Speaker 3: not that much compared to the you know, one hundred
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  Speaker 3: billion dollar budgets that we're going through. So it's like
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  Speaker 3: taking out a home mortgage. You don't have enough money
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  Speaker 3: to pay cash for your house, but you have to
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  Speaker 3: live and you have to produce these things. So it's
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  Speaker 3: really I don't think so in my personal opinion, we
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  Speaker 3: have enough back in the state government that we that
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  Speaker 3: we can cut out the personal income tax over probably
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  Speaker 3: the next six to eight years. But I don't think
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  Speaker 3: we're going to miss out on anything because these are
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  Speaker 3: projects that we need to do.
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  Speaker 1: All right, Well, I'm going to keep for you. There's
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  Speaker 1: a whole lot of stuff here. I will tell you
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  Speaker 1: that this began, This originated in the House, and it
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  Speaker 1: was a bipartisan bill. So if that tells you anything,
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  Speaker 1: just as a voter, at least go in with that
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  Speaker 1: open mind and try to get it figured out.
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  Speaker 2: Here.
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  Speaker 1: You got to vote May six. Don't don't mess up,
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  Speaker 1: and don't vote We've had a good election in the
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  Speaker 1: last big one, and I want to see that kind
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  Speaker 1: of momentum going before I say goodbye to you, Senator
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  Speaker 1: Steve Huffman. Anything anything going on in the Ohio Senate
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  Speaker 1: we don't know about, should know about, or would be
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  Speaker 1: excited to hear about.
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  Speaker 3: Oh yeah, you know, you know, normal course of business,
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  Speaker 3: things are going well. You know, the House voted out
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  Speaker 3: the budget today. We will get it and mix it
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  Speaker 3: all up and by June thirtieth, I am confidence that
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  Speaker 3: we will have something that with little government, little governments
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  Speaker 3: and you know a lot of the tax increases that
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  Speaker 3: the governor wanted on gaming, marijuana, cigarette tax came out
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  Speaker 3: in the in the House. I think it's a real start.
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  Speaker 3: I think the Senate will be able to do something
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  Speaker 3: and with the governor sign in it. But as far
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  Speaker 3: as issue too, you know, we've been doing this for
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  Speaker 3: forty years, people have been voting for it. I think
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  Speaker 3: the last several times had passed by the voters. It
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  Speaker 3: is sixty three to sixty five percent. So it's like
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  Speaker 3: taking out of mortgage. We need to pay for these
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  Speaker 3: things and it's the best week that we can do
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  Speaker 3: it and make it. Statement as with bonding it.
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  Speaker 1: So I have to say I was glad to see
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: a little pushback on some of those Mike DeWine wish
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  Speaker 1: list items in the budget coming from the legislature. I
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  Speaker 1: think that's the last time you and I talked, actually
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: was I was a bit apprehensive about some of that stuff,
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: especially when it came to the increase in the taxes
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  Speaker 1: on the sports gaming and the marijuana changes and so forth.
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  Speaker 3: It just give us to swallow. But you know, he
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  Speaker 3: put them in the budgets. But at the same time,
• 12:02
  Speaker 3: we had to back down a number of the programs
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  Speaker 3: that he was looking at and have been there for
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  Speaker 3: a while because he was using them to pay for
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  Speaker 3: the child tax credit and other things like that.
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  Speaker 1: There was a guy who ran, actually tried to run
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  Speaker 1: for mayor of Columbus years ago, and his entire platform
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  Speaker 1: seemed to center on free water. And I'll tell you what.
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  Speaker 1: As I was reading through this this list of things,
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  Speaker 1: this infrastructure list for issue too, and I see all
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  Speaker 1: the water oriented stuff on their water, drainage, sewage, and
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  Speaker 1: so forth. That's something, as crazy as it sounds. I'm
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  Speaker 1: a capitalistic right winger to the end man, but one
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  Speaker 1: of the most communistic, socialistic things will ever come out
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  Speaker 1: of my mouth is I don't get why a you
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  Speaker 1: pay for something that falls from the sky and be
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: the government is in charge of that. I've never liked
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  Speaker 1: utilities being something that generates profit. You need it to live.
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  Speaker 1: I have to have water to drink, to sustain life,
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  Speaker 1: to flush, to bathe, and and it's you know, it's
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: controlled by a municipal government and they will cut you
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  Speaker 1: off in a heartbeat if you don't have those dollars
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  Speaker 1: when they want them. I've that always has bugged me philosophically.
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  Speaker 3: You know what bugs me more so in the city
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  Speaker 3: that I live in. I they also build a trash
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  Speaker 3: with the water. So if I don't want to pay
• 13:20
  Speaker 3: my pay my trash bill, or I'm mad at the
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  Speaker 3: trash man, they turned my water off.
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  Speaker 1: Oh man, what.
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  Speaker 3: Kind of sense does that made?
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  Speaker 1: All Right? See, you and I have to get together
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  Speaker 1: and just do a joint gripe night where we just
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: go door to door and gripe at the people in
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  Speaker 1: charge of this stuff.
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  Speaker 3: I agree, I agree.
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: Steve up and be careful on the drive home. We
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: got some rain moving in and uh and uh, you
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: know it's gonna be spring soon enough, so enjoy that.
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  Speaker 3: When it gets here, you take care of call me
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  Speaker 3: anytime you take care.
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  Speaker 1: I appreciate you, buddy, thank you very much for the call. Uh,
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  Speaker 1: I just I'm I'm still apprehensive. I I like and
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  Speaker 1: to this point, I've got no reason to not try.
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  Speaker 1: Senator Huffman, he seems to think this is this is
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: all in all, it's it's the norm, it's okay, it's
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: accounted for, it's nothing to but you who know how
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: I am. I'm a bit skeptical.