No Summer Break for Rep. Antonio; Instead, She's Been Appointed to Two New Committees

I am excited to report that I have recently been assigned to two newly formed committees: the Legislative Committee on Public Health Futures and the 21st Century Manufacturing Task Force.  I currently serve on the House committees of: Commerce, Labor and Technology, Health and Aging, and Education along with the Joint Legislative Committee on Unified Long-Term Care Services and Supports.  
The committee on Public Health Futures was created out of the Mid-Biennium Review and charges the committee to review the June 2012 report of the Futures Committee of the Association of Ohio Health Commissioners (AOHC) and develop recommendations for legislative and fiscal policies that can be considered for inclusion in the state fiscal year 2014-2015 operating budget bill.  The committee must prepare a report for the Governor, Senate and House of Representatives by October 31, 2012.  The committee is made up of members of the state legislature and various public health and government associations.
The 21st Century Manufacturing Task Force was formed to facilitate an open dialogue between the state’s manufacturing community, interested parties, and state policy makers regarding ways to address issues impacting Ohio’s manufacturing community.  The Task Force will tour five manufacturing businesses across the state and has been asked to find ways and resources to assist manufacturing endeavors, address challenges and impediments that curtail the industry, and identify unique characteristics that could facilitate new manufacturing opportunities.  The Task Force will also look at ways to partner with higher education research and development to enhance Ohio’s manufacturing capabilities.  
I was selected as one of four Democrats serving on the Task Force’s nine-member panel.  We all know that manufacturing is in our DNA in Northeast Ohio because we know how to make things.  I am looking  forward to sharing the stories of Ohio’s manufacturing with this committee.
Ohio’s manufacturers are responsible for producing more than $73 billion in goods a year.  The first meeting is scheduled for August 9th.  Each excursion will include a factory tour and testimony.