PoliticsOhio

The Ohio house passed its version of the state budget last week, stripping Governor Kasich's proposal to expand medicaid and proposing an across-the-board income tax cut. Now the Senate makes its changes. Bill Cohen and Jo Ingles join Emily McCord to talk about their plans.

The Dayton City Commission is considering a contract with a company that provides aerial surveillance for the city to monitor crime. It’s created controversy with civil rights groups and local citizens who say this is potential violation of privacy. Emily McCord speaks to Dayton Police Chief Richard Biehl about the technology and its implications.

This week, Connecticut lawmakers passed one of the toughest gun laws in the nation, four months after the shootings in Newtown. It includes an assault weapons ban, universal background checks and limits to the size of magazines. Things are moving much slower at the federal level. Jo Ingles with the Ohio Public Radio Statehouse news bureau joins Emily McCord to discuss what Ohio is and isn't doing on gun laws in the state.

There is one week left to avoid sequestration, or the automatic spending cuts that will take effect March 1 if President Obama and Congress cannot reach a deal. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, area business and those in the defense industry are bracing for furloughs that could impact the 13,000  civilian employees, which could have a ripple effect on the local economy. Jessica Wehrman joins Emily McCord for this week's PoliticsOhio. She's a reporter for the Columbus Dispatch based in Washington, D.C., and her stories appear in the Dayton Dailys News.

Governor Kasich will give his State of the State speech Tuesday night in Lima. Kasich has said there won't be much new in his speech, but it will be his chance to defend his newly proposed budget and set the gears in motion for reelection. Ohio Public Radio's Karen Kasler joins Emily McCord for this week's PoliticsOhio for a preview.