The future was the focus as Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine delivered his final State of the State address on Tuesday.
DeWine, a Republican, claimed some credit for the triple-A-rated state's fiscal health — "We balanced the budget, cut taxes and increased the amount of money in the rainy-day fund," he told the gathered legislators and officials — but he noted "unfinished business."
In a speech centered around Ohio's children, DeWine outlined a plan to protect the Buckeye state's youth.
He congratulated state lawmakers for passing a K-12 cell phone and strict enforcement of the science of reading teaching method, pledging to expand the reading program by creating implementation teams to be deployed into the lowest-performing schools and others that want one.
And he ordered the Department of Education to add 50 Read Ohio coaches and to offer free training to school literacy coaches.
DeWine also proposed a crackdown on social media. "Kids grow up so fast, and this stolen time — these lost opportunities — can never be recaptured," he said of social media's impact.
Calling it a "moral obligation" to shield children from big tech, DeWine urged lawmakers to pass legislation that would make it illegal in Ohio to possess, create or distribute child porn created by AI; hold tech companies accountable for allowing AI to encourage, assist, endorse or instruct anyone to kill themselves or harm or kill others; and require cell phone and tech companies to automatically implement parental control features.
He also urged the legislature to pass a primary seat belt law, noting that 35 other states already have done so.
Speaker of the House Matt Huffman, R-Lima, had a message for those who've voiced criticism of
"The funding for schools has never been higher per student, has never increased more," he told reporters at a press conference Tuesday. "It's not a question about schools not having enough money." He noted the governor's efforts to enact the science of reading program and touted school choice.
Senate president Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, agreed. "The truth of the matter is, we need better standards in those school districts," he said. "There are a lot of school districts across the state … that are delivering great results for less dollars. … More money isn't necessarily the solution."
On social media and AI restrictions, both lawmakers hinted at common ground with the governor.
"It really is sort of in the column of state-slash-federal issues and how do we work together," Huffman said of AI regulation.
"Any proposal that deals with an emerging technology, obviously there are going to be a lot of details that are going to need to be worked out," McColley said. "I think everybody understands that … there is an emerging risk."
