Gov. Mike DeWine deploys highway patrol to Springfield: Capitol Letter

Rotunda Rumblings

Springfield situation: Gov. Mike DeWine is sending state troopers to Springfield, Ohio, to deal with traffic problems he ascribed to a surge in Haitian migrants who DeWine says don’t understand traffic laws. Andrew Tobias reports that DeWine, a Republican, called a Tuesday press conference about the situation in Springfield to dispel rumors that have circulated about the area’s immigrant population, but he didn’t identify the source of the misinformation. U.S. Sen. JD Vance, the GOP candidate for vice president, has been among those to amplify unsubstantiated rumors about crimes committed by Haitian migrants, including that they are eating pet cats. Springfield’s city manager refuted the rumors on Monday.

Center stage: Former President Donald Trump referenced the situation in Springfield less than five minutes into the presidential debate on Tuesday night. And Sabrina Eaton writes that it didn’t stop there. Trump pivoted to the anti-immigration message Republicans have tried to tie to the unsubstantiated, viral rumors about the migrant population in Springfield in response to a question about the economy. Trump later repeated those rumors, saying migrants were eating pet dogs. As noted above, the Springfield city manager has refuted those claims — something debate moderators pointed out on the broadcast.

Everything is Ohio: Ohio was front-and-center in the presidential debate on Tuesday night, and not just for Trump’s mention of Springfield. As Trump tried to explain his shifting position on abortion, he made mention of the vote in Ohio last year that enshrined abortion rights in the state constitution. “Ohio, the vote was somewhat liberal,” said Trump, who has won Ohio in the last two presidential elections by 8 percentage points. Voters approved the abortion amendment last year with 57% of the vote.

On appeal: The fate of the law creating dual bans on transgender minor health care and sports is expected to be considered by a three-judge panel on the Ohio Tenth District Court of Appeals on Wednesday afternoon. A lower court judge began to allow Ohio to enforce House Bill 68 on Aug. 6. Two 12-year-old transgender Ohio girls and their parents are challenging the law, saying it unconstitutionally interferes with the gender-affirming care they receive or expect to soon receive, Laura Hancock reports.

A fatal fight: The state transferred $275,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by the father of a boxer whose son was hospitalized and died after his professional debut. As Jake Zuckerman reports, the father of Hamzah Al-Jahmi claimed negligence and recklessness from the state-approved referee, who testified that he didn’t know what a concussion is.

NIL notion: Two Republican state lawmakers are looking to put ground rules in Ohio law about how college athletes profit from name, image and likeness deals. As Jeremy Pelzer reports, House Bill 660 would, among other things, allow public universities and private colleges in the state to directly negotiate NIL agreements with players, rather than just through the independent nonprofit collectives that currently offer such deals. However, it remains to be seen how much support there is at the Ohio Statehouse to pass such changes before the current legislative session ends in December.

Targeting China: The U.S. House of Representatives on Monday passed bipartisan legislation introduced by Cincinnati Republican Brad Wenstrup to block the federal government from contracting with companies that use biotech equipment from companies with ties to the Chinese Communist Party, Eaton writes. According to Wenstrup, the Chinese Communist Party’s national intelligence laws require all Chinese firms to share any requested data with the CCP, including biotechnology companies that collect, test, or store American genomic data.

Lobbying Lineup

Five organizations lobbying on Senate Bill 176, a bipartisan bill that would allow child support to continue for someone beyond the age of 18 who has a disability. The bill passed the Ohio Senate on June 12 and is under consideration in a House committee.

1. Autism Speaks

2. Ohio Judicial Conference

3. Ohio State Bar Association

4. Easterseals Ohio Affiliates

5. Gov. Mike DeWine’s office

On The Move

Megan Richwine has been hired as director of government affairs for the Ohio Association of Health Plans. Richwine most recently worked as manager of state government relations for Cardinal Health; before that, she served as director of government affairs and client relations for Byers, Minton & Associates, and was a senior legislative aide for then-Ohio House Speaker Pro Tempore Tim Ginter.

Birthdays

Jacob Hamilton, rules and technology administrator, Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review

Autumn Mitchell, senior policy analyst, Franklin County Board of Commissioners

Straight From The Source

“In short, don’t let the crybabies in the media dissuade you, fellow patriots. Keep the cat memes flowing.”

-U.S. Sen. JD Vance, Donald Trump’s running mate, posting on X on Tuesday. This week, Vance amplified claims without evidence that Haitian immigrants are killing pets for food. On Tuesday, he acknowledged that the rumors could turn out to be false. But he still blamed the immigrants generally for spreading communicable diseases, murder, soaring rents and struggling school systems.

Capitol Letter is a daily briefing providing succinct, timely information for those who care deeply about the decisions made by state government. Subscribe to get Capitol Letter in your email box each weekday for free.