Public Policy

Columbus Partnership members have actively provided their expertise, feedback and perspective on the many issues that have caused significant disruption across our community.

The pandemic has been shaping public policy throughout the country in 2020. As millions of Americans lost jobs and companies adapted to alternative working practices, the Partnership led efforts in Columbus and beyond to ensure that challenges were met with government assistance.

The Partnership and its members are also working to identify policy to help dismantle racism in our community.

Issue 21 In the postponed primary election, Franklin County voters passed Columbus State Community College’s ballot proposal by a margin of nearly 30,000 votes. The passage of the ballot will allow Columbus State to modernize 200 classrooms and labs, upgrade technology, and provide the training and education students need in up-to-date, workplace-like environments.

Government Relations Meetings In April and May, the Partnership facilitated several virtual meetings with our member companies’ government relations staff to discuss federal, state and local updates on the COVID-19 pandemic.

A virtual meeting was also held with state senators and representatives in April to discuss COVID-19 updates.

In June, the government relations group meetings focused on the pandemic, racial injustice, and various legislative and election priorities of member companies looking ahead to the fall.

GOVERNMENT RELATIONS AND ADVOCACY

Local Government Twenty-five Partnership member companies signed in support of a set of recommendations to combat systemic racism in Columbus. The recommendations were put forth by a coalition of Black leaders including Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, Commissioner Kevin Boyce, Council President Shannon G. Hardin, former Mayor Michael B. Coleman, Christie Angel of the YWCA Columbus, Stephanie Hightower of the Columbus Urban League, Nana Watson of the NAACP Columbus chapter, Bishop Timothy Clarke of the First Church of God, and Pastor Victor Davis of Trinity Baptist Church.

The Partnership assisted the City of Columbus and Franklin County in addressing immediate and long-term needs resulting from the pandemic, specifically, recovery efforts focused on economic development and economic inequities.

Federal Government The deployment of small business loans through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) has helped local organizations stay operational.

The Partnership advocated to ensure CARES Act resources were deployed in a meaningful way and engaged with leaders to increase access to PPP for Columbus Region business owners.

The Partnership also led the effort with the Columbus Region Coalition (CRC) in submitting a letter of support to the Speaker of the House for Rep. Joyce Beatty’s resolution (H.Res.990) declaring racism a national public health crisis. State of Ohio Responsible Restart Ohio The Columbus Partnership supported Governor DeWine’s plan to safely reopen Ohio and advocated for policies that allow businesses to operate with new health and safety protocols in place.

Legislative Priorities Senate Bill 308 and House Bill 606: The State of Ohio’s civil liability bills provide guidance to employers about their legal obligations during the pandemic, giving them the confidence to reopen safely without the fear of litigation arising from employees or customers being exposed to COVID-19. Our advocacy illustrated that passage of these bills will serve as the foundation of Ohio’s economic rebound, enabling employers to bring back more of their workforce and restore their revenues. The final version awaits House concurrence and the Governor’s signature.

House Bill 13: The Partnership supported efforts by Representative Rick Carfagna to expand broadband access across the state in response to widespread working and schooling from home.

House Bill 481: The Partnership advocated for the passage of this bill to ensure that counties, municipalities and townships across the state were allocated federal pandemic relief funds found in the CARES Act. This bill distributed a total of $350 million in federal funding statewide. The Partnership team also fought to restore nearly $100 million for dozens of community projects around our region and state.