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Hello, 

I hope you and your family are enjoying Ohio’s warmer weather. During the last few months, the General Assembly has spent a lot of time working to responsibly allocate federal relief dollars to Ohio’s hardest-hit industries and citizens during the pandemic. Below, you can read more about the Senate bills that distribute crucial one-time investments to assist with COVID-19 relief.

The upcoming months mark Ohio’s budget season. We will be spending the majority of our time developing the various budgets that keep the state effectively functioning, such as the transportation budget, the Industrial Commission budget, the Bureau of Workers' Compensation budget and the State of Ohio operating budget. As Senate Finance Chairman, I look forward to collaborating with my colleagues and citizens on these biennium budgets.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact my office by phone at (614) 466-8056 or by e-mail at Dolan@OhioSenate.gov.

Sincerely,

State Senator Matt Dolan

24th Senate District 

www.ohiosenate.gov/Dolan

Last week, the Ohio Senate unanimously passed three bills to provide strategic, targeted and necessary assistance to Ohio’s hardest-hit industries and citizens due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The majority of the funds are for the rest of this current fiscal year and are from the federal government’s coronavirus relief efforts.

Senate Bill 108 provides an additional $125 million of federal pandemic relief to bars, restaurants and lodging businesses across Ohio. The grants are essential to these industries as they rebuild and re-open.

Senate Bill 109 invests $300 million of state and federal funding to businesses and public organizations across Ohio for COVID-19 relief, including:

• $150 million for small businesses who have already been approved for aid but have yet to receive funding due to lack of program funding
• $20 million for indoor entertainment businesses that lost revenue due to canceled events and closures
• $10 million for new businesses that opened their doors after January 1, 2020
• $120 million for Ohio's fairs, veteran’s homes and child care services, including:
  • $4.7 million for Ohio’s county and independent fairs
  • $3 million for Ohio’s two veteran’s homes
  • $112.2 million to reimburse child care providers for pandemic-related expenses

Senate Bill 110 makes $465 million available to Ohioans who are struggling to pay for rent and utilities. This bill provides targeted assistance, stability and hope for many across the state.

I will provide updates for when these programs are available and how to apply for the COVID-19 relief through the State of Ohio.

Who can get a vaccine?

On March 29th, Phase 2D expanded the COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to anyone over the age of 16. This is a massive step forward to ensure that any Ohioan who wants the vaccine can do so.

For more information on Phase 2D, please click here.

How do I book an appointment?

Ohio created a new centralized scheduling website that can be used to determine vaccine eligibility, find providers, schedule appointments and receive updates. To check your eligibility and book an appointment, please go to gettheshot.coronavirus.ohio.gov.

The Ohio Department of Health also has a vaccine provider location tool searchable by ZIP code or county. Please be aware each provider manages its own schedules and appointments. Refer to a provider’s website to make appropriate arrangements.

Where is Cuyahoga County's Mass Vaccination Site?

Wolstein Center at Cleveland State University - 2000 Prospect Ave. E., Cleveland, OH 44115

On March 17th, the Cleveland Mass Vaccination site at the Wolstein Center opened for appointments for Ohioans eligible to receive a vaccine.

Appointments are available 7 days a week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Vaccine-eligible Ohioans can book their appointment at gettheshot.coronavirus.ohio.gov and search for ZIP code 44115.

There is no cost to get a COVID-19 vaccine and many forms of ID are accepted. If you need transportation, you can call 211 to get a free Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) bus pass or ride-share assistance.

For more information on the Cleveland Mass Vaccination site at the Wolstein Center, please click here.

Need help or have questions?

You can follow updates about the vaccine’s availability for subsequent groups on the Ohio Department of Health’s website coronavirus vaccine page or by calling 833-427-5634, toll-free. You can also chat now through the Vaccine Support Virtual Assistant at vaxchat.ohio.gov.

My bill to modernize the land banking process in Ohio recently received its first hearing in the Senate Local Government and Elections Committee. Senate Bill 112 updates current law making the land bank acquisition process more efficient, protects the constitutional rights of landowners and lien holders and helps land banks keep pace with technology and industry.

What is a Land Bank?

The overall goal of a land bank is to acquire blighted or abandoned properties and repurpose them for productive use, making them once again, taxable properties.

Land bank projects might include rehabbing houses for disabled veterans and sober living facilities, developing properties for residential living and renting or converting vacant lots into community gardens, small parks and parking for businesses.

Land Bank History

Legislation in 2008 first authorized the creation of a land bank in Cuyahoga County. Two years later, the law was amended to allow counties with populations of at least 60,000 to form a land bank. Today, there is no population requirement and 59 counties have since established land banks across Ohio. For over 10 years, land banks have addressed the harmful effects of abandoned properties and have shown a positive economic impact on their communities.

Senate Bill 112 awaits further hearings in the Senate Local Government Committee.

Women's History Month is a time to highlight women’s contributions to our nation's historical and contemporary accomplishments. In Ohio, the Ohio Department of Veterans Services honored women of service all month, including a sponsored virtual Women’s Veterans Forum that featured six outstanding women serving at the two Ohio Veterans Homes – three who are staff members at OVH-Sandusky (Erie County) and three who work at OVH-Georgetown (Brown County). The panelists shared stories about their upbringing, their military connection and why they work at Ohio’s Veterans Homes.

I hope you were able to take advantage of this amazing resource, if not, you can watch the forum on the Ohio Department of Veterans Services YouTube page.

Next month marks the National Donate Life Month sponsored by Donate Life organizations across the country. Ohio has four organ procurement organizations that work together to facilitate the organ donation process, provide support to family members and educate about the importance of organ, eye and tissue donation. In Northeast Ohio, Lifebanc works with our community to achieve these goals. To date, Lifebanc served over four million people and works with 80 hospitals in a 20-county area of Northeast Ohio.

In 2020, Lifebanc reported that they saved over 460 lives, including 531 organ transplants, which is a record high for the organization.

To honor the National Donate Life Month, please click here to learn more.

Due to the number of unemployment claims filed during the COVID-19 pandemic, some Ohioans have unfortunately had their identities used to obtain fraudulent unemployment claims in both traditional state unemployment and federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance programs. One way victims have discovered identity theft is by receiving an IRS 1099-G form for unemployment benefits that were never received. In response, the Ohio Department of Jobs and Families Services (ODJFS) established a way to report identity theft. If you believe your identity was stolen and used to file a fraudulent unemployment claim, please refer to the resources below. 

For individuals:

For identity theft resources for individuals, please click here.To report individual identity theft to ODJFS, please complete this secure online form.Additionally, you can call the newly established unemployment identity theft hotline at (833) 658-0394. Staff is available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m, Monday through Friday.

Please note, according to the Ohio Department of Taxation, once ODJFS verifies the ID theft claim, a corrected 1099-G form should be sent to you, and you should keep the corrected form for your records. For tax filing purposes, the Ohio Department of Taxation has issued the following guidance:

"Generally, you should not include unemployment benefits you did not apply for as income on your federal and state income tax returns. You do not need to have a determination from ODJFS on your ID theft claim or a corrected 1099-G to file your federal and state income tax returns. However, you should continue to pursue a corrected 1099-G from ODJFS after your returns are filed to avoid a future audit by the IRS or Ohio Department of Taxation."

For employers:

For identity theft resources for employers, please click here.To report identity theft to ODJFS for an employer on behalf of employees, please complete this secure online form.

To protect your identity from future fraud, I encourage you to review the available resources from the Ohio Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission

 Senator Matt Dolan represents Ohio’s 24th Senate District, which contains a portion of Cuyahoga county. Learn more at www.OhioSenate.gov/Dolan.