Ohio Liberty Council

This coming Wednesday, February 10th at 9:30 AM in Room 018 of the Ohio State House there will be a 4th hearing for HR 414, the implementing legislation of the Livestock Care Standards Board.  The topic of this hearing is “Issue 2 Implementation Language”.

This past Wednesday the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee heard statements from proponents and opponents.  We were present at the hearing along with dozens and dozens of other concerned individuals.  There were several concerned farmers present that testified in opposition to various aspects of the proposed legislation and yet not a single farmer was there to support this bill.  Gongwer News Service summarized the hearing with the following article.

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Sheriff Richard Mack

We are cordially inviting you to attend one of the five events being sponsored by several Ohio Liberty Council member groups which feature Sheriff Richard Mack in the “No Sheriff Left Behind Ohio Tour”.

Sheriff Mack will speak on the powerful role of the county sheriff in the preservation of our constitutional rights and freedoms.  We especially encourage those that are military veterans, firefighters, law enforcement officers, paramedic, and politicians to attend one of these important events.  If you still hold your oath close to your heart, if you still love America, its freedom and values—we need you to stand with those who plan to protect our nation at all cost!

Sheriff Richard Mack has traveled the country giving his message.  He has appeared on Good Morning America, Crossfire, Nightline, and CNBC.  He has been heard on over 500 radio talk shows nationwide, and been a guest of G. Gordon Liddy and Pat Buchannan.  He is a past NRA Law Officer of the Year, was inducted into the NRA Hall of Fame, and is a member of Oath Keepers. Read more about Sheriff Richard Mack online at http://www.sheriffmack.com.

Sheriff Mack will speak on:

• What rights does the Constitution actually guarantee?
• Why is it important that we not allow our means of self-defense to be taken away?
• What are the dangers of giving government too much power?
• What can we do to remain strong as individuals, families, and as a nation?
• What can the sheriff do to protect us from all enemies, both foreign and domestic?

No Sheriff Left Behind Ohio Tour Details

(Click on a city for details to RSVP where applicable)

1. Tuesday, March 9 – Findlay, OH – sponsored by The Findlay 912 Project
2. Wednesday, March 10 – Columbus, OH – sponsored by Buckeye Firearms Foundation (RSVP and venue information coming soon on Buckeye Firearms website)
3. Thursday, March 11 – Cincinnati, OH – sponsored by the Cincinnati 912 Project (RSVP and venue information coming soon on the Cincinnati 912 Project website)
4. Friday, March 12 – Marietta, OH – sponsored by The Marietta OH 9-12 Project
5. Saturday, March 13 – Akron, OH – sponsored by The Ohio Second Amendment Group

Other Resources

Sheriff Mack on YouTube

There will be a third hearing on Wednesday, February 3rd at 9:30AM in Room 313 of the Ohio Statehouse for Ohio House Bill 414, the implementing legislation for the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board.  This time, the hearing is for opponent testimony.  Please see our previous posting about some of the biggest items of concern in this bill. A quick summary:

• The draft version includes definitions (130.03) which details that all horses, regardless of the purpose for which the equine are raised, are considered livestock. In other words, every horse in our state will be under the board’s authority — along with all hogs, cattle, sheep, goats, poultry, alpacas, and llamas that are raised for human food products or for fiber.
• This board will be funded by tax money, no surprise there.  What is a surprise is the once estimated cost to run the board of $170,000 has now grown to a minimum of $500,000 annually (923.46).

If you or any farmers you know would like to testify in opposition to this bill, please contact us.  You will need to have your testimony written in advance and provided to office of Margaret Ann Ruhl (Representative for District 90, and on the committee hearing the testimony), or any of the other Agriculture and Natural Resources committee members (below).  If you cannot testify in person, and you oppose the content of this bill, it’s imperative that you at least call the offices of the committee members and let them know that you oppose further taxes to pay for this board.

From Chris Littleton, one of the event organizers:

Just received a call (6:22pm, 2/5/10) that Miami University is closing for the weekend, therefore -the Energy Conference is cancelled.

I feel horrible, especially for the speakers who have now flown to Ohio for no reason.

While a refund for tickets will be offered, please know some of the costs for this event can’t be re-cooped (airfare for speakers, hotel stays, etc) so your generosity is appreciated and will gladly fund future educational events. Hopefully even a rescheduling of this one.

If you do wish to receive a refund for your ticket, please e-mail events@americanjunto.org

My sincerest apologies to everyone who planned for this.

Chris Littleton

The Ohio Liberty Council cordially invites the public to hear national speakers address climate change and America’s energy needs at the Ohio Energy and Climate Conference, Saturday, February 6, at Miami University’s Middletown campus, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.  Guests from the Heritage Foundation, the Cato Institute, and the Institute for Energy Research will discuss current and future policy, the science of climate change and energy sources, and practical applications of energy sources with a focus on nuclear energy.

After each speaker, audience questions will be entertained for 10 to 15 minutes.

The Ohio Energy and Climate Conference is sponsored by the Ohio Liberty Council, including member organizations Cincinnati Tea Party, Cincinnati 9/12 Project, and Dayton Tea Party.

For complete details, see our prior posting.

Tickets
Only 750 tickets will be sold.  Tickets are $12 and can be purchased at http://americanjunto.org/.  The full ticket price is tax deductible (American Junto is a 501(c)(3) organization).

Location
Miami University Middletown
Dave Finkelman Auditorium
4200 North University Blvd.
Middletown, OH  45042

Local:            (513) 727-3200
Toll free:       (800) 662-2262

Ohio Liberty Council Sponsoring Members

The Cincinnati Tea Party http://www.cincinnatiteaparty.org
The Cincinnati 9/12 Project http://www.cincinnati912project.com/
The Dayton Tea Party http://www.daytonohioteaparty.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ohio Liberty Council Contact
Juanita Hockingberry
Jason Mihalick
mediateam@ohiolibertycouncil.org

Columbus, OH, January 25. The office of Representative for the 18th US Congressional District of Ohio, currently held by Zack Space, will be on the ballot in November.  “We want to bring out all of the candidates — including incumbent Zack Space — so that the people can make an informed decision,” says Jason Mihalick, Ohio Liberty Council Board Member.  “We are finding more and more every day that folks want to be involved in the political process and they want to know more about who they’re voting for and why. These meetings will give everyone a prime opportunity to learn about the candidates they’ll be seeing on the ballot in early May, what their values are, and what those candidates plan to do if they’re elected.”

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Dave Grabaskas, the state coordinator for Young Americans for Liberty and president of the Young Americans for Liberty Ohio State chapter, is proud to announce that they are hosting a Youth Leadership School at Ohio State University on Saturday, March 6th and Sunday, March 7th.

This is a 2-day political training seminar provided by the Leadership Institute. It is open to any young conservative in Ohio.

For $30, you receive the training, materials, food, and lodging at a hotel (if you need it).

“Please feel free to invite anyone that you think might be interested in the training.  We would love to make this a BIG event and the training the Leadership Institute provides is excellent.”, says Dave Grabaskas.

Registration for the event is available on the Leadership Institute website at:

http://leadershipinstitute.org/training/School.cfm?SchoolID=16073

If you have any questions, feel free to email Dave at dave.grabaskas@yaliberty.org or by phone at 330-717-4372.

A flier for the event is available here.

by Clint Ziegler, Ohio Freedom Alliance

OLC Editor’s Note: As a follow up to our last article on the new taxes being proposed to fund the new Livestock Care Standards board, Clint Ziegler has found some additional details being proposed in the implementing legislation that are likewise troubling.  We must hold this board and our legislators accountable on this issue and we must learn from our own mistakes in granting so much power to a new level of bureaucracy.  As George Washington said: “Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force.  Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.”

As Issue 2 was being discussed prior to the November election, many questions were raised as to how this board would function, how it would be funded, and who would fall under its authority.  We are now beginning to get the answers to those questions through the draft version of legislation to implement the constitutional amendment (Revised Code Chapter 130.01 Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board).

The draft version includes definitions (130.03) which details that all horses, regardless of the purpose for which the equine are raised, are considered livestock.  In other words, every horse in our state will be under the board’s authority — along with all hogs, cattle, sheep, goats, poultry, alpacas, and llamas that are raised for human food products or for fiber.  The list of animals may expand by the decision of the director.  Only animals that are confined in research and medical facilities are excluded from the standards established by this board (130.04 (1)).

This board will be funded by tax money, no surprise there.  What is a surprise is the once estimated cost to run the board of $170,000 has now grown to a minimum of $500,000 annually (923.46).  Why the high cost?  The board’s director has the authority to hire employees (130.05; 130.08) who will receive salaries and benefits.  According to the current draft, the funds will be gathered through a commercial feed tax (923.44) called an “inspection fee”.   Thirty cents per ton for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2010; thirty five cents per ton for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011; and forty cents per ton for all fiscal years ending after June 30, 2012, with a fifty dollar minimum payment.  This means more paperwork for feed distributors and added cost to those who purchase feed.  And let’s not forget the increased costs to consumers since farmers will have to pass their costs on to the consumer.

What has not been decided yet is how livestock operations (including all horses’ owners) would be regulated and inspected.  Will livestock owners be required to submit records to the board annually?  Will there be unannounced farm inspections to insure that the standards set by the board are being obeyed?  What will be the fines or prison terms for failure to comply with the laws established by the board?  We may soon know all the answers to these questions, but I’m afraid we will not like the answers.  Ohioans are now on the road of state controlled livestock production; farming in our state will never again be the same.

With the passage of National Health Care, full of “Cornhusker Kickbacks” and unfunded mandates looming large on the horizon, many states’ Attorneys General have begun to challenge the constitutionality of “Obamacare”.  But on what grounds?  Unfortunately not on the grounds that they should be.  They merely claim that the “kickbacks” to ensure passage are unconstitutional, but their focus should lie on the constitutionality of the bill itself.  Is Health Care a good or a right?  That is where the question lies, and when you answer that, then it becomes clear why State Legislatures must act… and many have begun to do just that.

And now we can add Ohio to that list with the introduction of the Ohio Health Care Freedom Acts in both the Ohio State Senate (SJR-7) and the Ohio House of Representatives (HJR-3). Nullification, state-level resistance to unconstitutional federal laws, has a long-standing tradition in the United States.  When a state ‘nullifies’ a federal law, it is proclaiming that the law in question is void and inoperative, or ‘non-effective’, within the boundaries of that state; or, in other words, not a law as far as that state is concerned.

Please take a moment to contact your State Representatives and State Senators to encourage their support of the Ohio Health Care Freedom Acts.