Hillsboro Times Gazette, October 4, 2006

During the 126th General Assembly, the Ohio House of Representatives has worked hard to make Ohio a better place to live and work.

We have made transforming and revitalizing our economy a top priority.

By enacting substantial tax reforms, such as the largest personal income tax cut in our state's history and the creation of the low-rate, broad-based Commercial Activities Tax, we have made Ohio a more attractive place to do business.

In the last year alone, more than 32,000 jobs were created as companies moved to Ohio or expanded their current business operations.

In addition to our tax reforms, changes made to Ohio's legal system over the last several years have also played a significant role in our economic turnaround.

Recently, a study by the Pacific Research Institute ranked Ohio fourth in the nation due to our business-friendly climate in terms of tort liability.

The study evaluated the tort systems of all 50 states using areas such as medical malpractice, product liability and monetary caps for comparison. The study also looked at the various tort reforms enacted by each state and their effect on that particular state.

The study noted that without the numerous tort reforms passed in Ohio over the last five years, our state would have instead ranked 41st in the nation.

Here in the Legislature, we are continuing our efforts toward improving Ohio's legal system and therefore making our state even more economically competitive.

During this General Assembly, two of my colleagues introduced legislation to further improve the Buckeye state.

State Rep. Bill Coley, R-West Chester, recently introduced House Bill 475, which would encourage more charitable donations of consumer goods by ensuring that individuals and businesses would be immune from civil lawsuits.

Under the bill, businesses could donate old or slightly damaged goods without fear of lawsuits, except in cases of gross negligence.

These protections are currently extended to food donations.

Additionally, State Rep. Bill Seitz, R-Cincinnati, introduced House Bill 301, legislation that proposes a number of changes to Ohio's corporation laws.

The bill modernizes Ohio's corporation laws in order to make the Buckeye state a more attractive place for businesses to operate in Ohio and eases many of the administrative complexities and burdens on corporations.

Efforts such as these, and those already enacted by the Legislature, help to make Ohio a more attractive state for companies looking to relocate or start anew. Often companies take a state's legal system into account when deciding where to open a store, build a new plant or introduce a new product.

Therefore, it is important to continue our efforts toward reforming our legal system.

Ensuring our court system remains balanced and fair is a critical component in keeping Ohio economically competitive with other states. Staying competitive and remaining business friendly will also help to create more jobs in our state.

For these reasons, the general assembly will continue to look at tort reform as we strive to make Ohio a great place to live, work and do business.

Rep. David Daniels, R-Greenfield, represents Ohio's 86th House District.