Legislative Affairs & Advocacy
Benesch has been a fixture in the halls of the Ohio statehouse, governor’s office, other executive offices, and throughout the rest of state government for decades. We advocate with authority on legislation, executive agency rule making, executive actions and everything that touches public policy. We know the players and we know the substance. That is why we have achieved great results for our clients in state government year after year.
Experience
- Successfully lobbied for legislation that permitted inter-county transfer of nursing home beds.
- Successfully lobbied for the enactment of a telemedicine licensure law.
- Successfully lobbied for a change on behalf of the Ohio Water Development Authority (OWDA), in the Ohio Revised Code, that increased the OWDA’s Competitive Bidding threshold from $25,000 to $50,000.
- Worked to win $700,000 Ohio capital budget appropriation to re-purpose closed juvenile detention center as diversion facility.
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Saved County $500,000 by the transfer of unused dollars from one fiscal year to the next.
- Created the Women’s Business Enterprise Program in Ohio to improve government contracting opportunities for women-owned business.
- Advocated for the successful appointment of client representation on several state Boards and Commissions appointed by multiple Governors.
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Successfully lobbied for camp staff to have epinephrine on-site without a specific child’s prescription in order to treat a possible unknown allergic reaction on behalf of the American Camp Association.
- Managed the passage of legislation to modernize the auctioneer licensing law and another to allow multi-parcel auctions in Ohio.
- Advocated for passage of regulatory reforms on behalf of medical and adult-use marijuana clients, including reduced operator licensing fees, lower patient costs, and streamlined processes for the launch of adult-use sales in Ohio.
- Authored, led, and advocated for the successful passage of HB 531, known as Braden’s Law, establishing the crime of sextortion.
- Exempted client’s operations from new regulatory oversight of the Ohio Attorney General.
- Led a comprehensive five-year rule review process for a public agency, including proposing amendments to modernize and enhance the administrative code.
- Represented and advised sports gaming supplier in informal investigation by the Ohio Casino Control Commission, which paved the way for smooth sale of the business to industry leading public company.
- Secured $1 million in Ohio one-time strategic community investment funds for a client’s development project.
- Secured gubernatorial veto that resulted in saving a nonprofit organization from forced dissolution and asset diversion to an overzealous grantee organization.
- Successfully defeated a last-minute lame-duck amendment aimed at eliminating minimum continuing education requirements for a client.
- Successfully passed amendment on behalf of a nonprofit client to align state to federal law by eliminating a prohibition on compensation from certain private businesses, paving the way for a grant award of $750,000.
- Drafted legislation for Ohio municipality to revise compensation structure for mayor, city council and department directors.
- Represented Joseph’s and Mary’s Home, a ministry of the Sisters of Charity Health system in Cleveland, in the Cuyahoga County Council budgeting process. Joseph’s and Mary’s Home provides housing for those with serious medical conditions who would otherwise not have a place to live after hospital discharge. Cuyahoga County approved a significant appropriation for the 2024-2025 budget period to support Joseph’s and Mary’s Home, thus helping to protect a most vulnerable population.
- Represented Resilience Healthcare in obtaining safety net status for their Weiss Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
- Added $10 million to the Ohio Women-Owned Business Loan Fund and $5 milliion to the Ohio Minority Microloan Fund for MBEs and WBEs, both of which Benesch previously helped to establish.
- Upheld radiation safety standards by defeating language inserted into the budget bill proposing to reduce supervision requirements of General X-Ray Machine Operators. Benesch successfully lobbied for removal of the troublesome language in Conference Committee.
- Fought back two amendments that sought to erode the new Ohio Auctioneer Licensing Law by successfully coordinating a line-item veto through Governor Mike DeWine.
- Provided Pro-bono counsel to Chicago City Council Latino Caucus regarding re-districting process.
- Successfully drafted and advocated for a new law permitting Sonographers in Ohio to provide intravenous administration of ultrasound enhancing agents, most commonly used by patients undergoing an echocardiogram. Benesch’s strategic lobbying efforts resulted in the language being included in the House version and reinserted in a Senate omnibus amendment after removal in the Senate substitute bill, and ultimately retained in the Conference Committee.
- Championed two amendments to the law governing Ohio boards of alcohol, drug addiction, and mental health services to promote increased collaboration with and improved access to opioid treatment program providers.
- Secured $500,000 in funding to conduct a statewide disparity study to assess the capacity of women, minority, and veteran-owned businesses in Ohio.
- Successfully drafted and advocated for a new law permitting sonographers in Ohio to provide intravenous administration of ultrasound enhancing agents, most commonly used by patients undergoing an echocardiogram.
- Fought back two amendments that sought to erode the new licensing law by helping to coordinate a gubernatorial budget veto request.
- Championed two amendments to the law governing Ohio boards of alcohol, drug addiction, and mental health services to promote increased collaboration with and improved access to opioid treatment program providers
- Upheld statutory safety standards by defeating troublesome language inserted into state budget bill proposing to reduce medical supervision requirements.
- Successfully lobbied to maintain moderate continuing education for the insurance industry and separately for the auctioneer's industry.
- Successfully lobbied to allow Insurance education to be delivered online.
- Secured a $250,000 capital budget request for a major amateur sport facility.
- Managed application process for sports gaming client that resulted in the award of Type A and Type B licenses; provide ongoing counsel on statutory and regulatory compliance.
- Advocated for the successful passage of legislation to enable unit of county government to appropriately collect and expend funds levied under local Alcohol, Drug, Addiction, and Mental Health Board ballot initiative.
- Secured two congressional earmarks in fiscal year 2023 totaling nearly half a million dollars for a nonprofit client working to advance computer science education for underserved students.
- Obtained lame duck floor amendment to protect training standards and prevent dismantling of continuing education requirements for state regulated industry.
- Secured $250,000 in State Capital Budget funding for client development project.
- Advocated to amend an administrative rule to facilitate business expansion of Opioid Use Disorder treatment to underserved areas.
- Drafted and introduced legislation to enact tax credit to spur increased investment in community development.
- Member of lobbying team for nation’s largest LGBTQ advocacy organization.
- National outside government relations counsel for Fortune 500 company.
- Secured gubernatiorial veto of last minute proposed legislative language which threatened quality standards for childcare industry.
- Secured pilot workforce development program with the state of Ohio for start-up company client.
- Initiated and managed the passage of legislation to allow Radiation Techs to enter orders of contrast into the electronic health record without the need for a second prescription.
- Lobbied successfully to preserve the Fair Labor Standards Act exceptions in the Ohio minimum wage implementation legislation.
- Initiated and managed the passage of legislation to provide regulatory flexibility to the Ohio Department of Health when promulgating certain rules.
- 20 years lobbying for the Ohio Association of YMCA’s.
- Successfully lobbied for the statutory retention of an important client advisory board housed in the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) through the Sunset Review Committee process against the position of ODH who advocated for its dissolution.
- Successfully lobbied for the statutory retention of a historical client that was up for possible sunset by the Sunset Review Committee during multiple General Assemblies.
- Orchestrated a law change on behalf of a local government client, Cuyahoga County, and local land banks regarding how taxes are handled during land bank possession of property.
- Successfully won exemption for circus from state law banning wild animal ownership.
- Successfully lobbied for passage of numerous amendments to Ohio’s Horse Racing Act, i.e., tax abatements for capital improvement, simulcasting off-track satellite facilities.
- Successfully lobbied for the enactment of state funding for PACE programs (cost effective managed care programs for the elderly).
- Obtained state and local tax incentives to promote construction of manufacturing facility.
- Successfully lobbied for reduction in proposed fee increase for disposal of construction demolition and debris.
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