House Speaker William Batchelder (R-Medina) announced that the chamber will be creating a special task force to "facilitate discussion and interaction between Ohio’s manufacturing community, public policy makers and interested parties regarding the state of manufacturing in Ohio and what can be done to improve Ohio’s manufacturing competitiveness in the 21st century."
The Ohio House's 21st Century Manufacturing Task Force will be chaired by Rep. Kirk Schuring (R-Canton) and comprise nine House members, including five Republicans and four Democrats.
According to Batchelder's office, the task force will hold five public hearings throughout the state on:
- Identifying resources to assist manufacturing;
- Identifying impediments that curtail manufacturing;
- Identifying future challenges to manufacturing;
- Identifying the unique characteristics of each section of the state that could facilitate new manufacturing opportunities;
- Identifying ways for manufacturing to partner with higher education research and development;
- Identifying trends in manufacturing and specific ways to address those trends;
- Any general manufacturing issues that are brought before the task force.
“Following Rep. Lynn Slaby’s departure from the House, we needed a chairman for the Criminal Justice Committee who had a long track record of service to the state of Ohio and who would continue the committee’s good work,” Batchelder said in a statement. “Naturally, we turned to Rep. Schuring, who has done an exceptional job as chairman of the committee and guiding the passage of vital legislation, including HB524, the collateral sanctions bill. His work and dedication put us in the position to pass the Senate version, SB337, this week.”
He added, “As we move into the summer months and the committee’s work concludes, I have asked Rep. Schuring to step down from this role and instead take on a new role that is of the utmost importance to continuing Ohio’s economic recovery. His leadership role with the 21st Century Manufacturing Task Force will be vital to getting Ohioans back to work and promoting one of our top industries."
The announcement drew praise from stakeholders.
"We're looking forward to working with the task force to identify threats and opportunities to improve Ohio's manufacturing competitiveness. Ohio continues to rank among the Top 5 manufacturing states and challenges are ever present," said Ryan Augsburger, managing director of public policy services at the Ohio Manufacturer's Association
[Story originally published in The Hannah Report on June 18, 2012. Copyright 2012 Hannah News Service, Inc.]