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	Ohio House Moves on Taxes, Clergy Sex Abuse Cuyahoga Gets OK to Seek Tax for Arts; Schools Get Boost Cleveland Plain Dealer March 30, 2006 http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/114371115997520.xml&coll=2 Columbus- The Ohio House saved its busiest day of the year for its last day before a short break, moving a slew of bills on Wednesday that could affect high-profile issues such as taxes, clergy sex abuse and bad mortgage deals. A $2.8 million budget correction bill won final passage and heads to Gov. Bob Taft's desk. Among scores of provisions, the bill allows Cuyahoga County to seek a cigarette tax to benefit the arts and appropriates $665 million for schools construction statewide. The day got off to an emotional and bizarre start as people who said they were sexually abused by priests as children lined the main doorway into the House chamber, shouting and calling lawmakers names like "coward." They were upset that House Speaker Jon Husted had removed a provision in a bill that would have allowed victims a one-year window to file lawsuits seeking monetary damages against clergy for alleged abuse from up to 35 years ago. Most lawmakers ducked through another door behind an area where lobbyists and media were standing. Husted, Republican of Kettering, avoided the area altogether, taking a side door into the chamber. Following passionate and personal speeches from legislators, the bill passed, 77 to 16. Most said that despite the tweaks from a version unanimously passed by the Senate a year ago, the bill was still strong. The statute of limitations for suing clergy for sexual abuse - currently two years after reaching age 18 - would be extended to 12 years. The Senate wanted to extend it to 20 years. And for cases where the statute of limitations has expired, the House version would allow the state attorney general, local prosecutor or victim to sue a priest - but not for monetary damages. If guilty, the priest would be listed by the state as a child-sex offender. With the changes, the Senate later had to decide whether to agree with the House alterations or disagree and set up a conference committee to work out the differences. Sen. Jeff Jacobson, a Dayton-area Republican, suggested the Senate had no choice but to agree because Husted was not going to allow his members to participate in a conference committee - which essentially would kill the bill. "I never said anything of the sort," said Husted, clearly not pleased to be cast as a bully on the Senate floor. His chief of staff, Scott Borgemenke, was more direct. "It's a blatant lie," he said. "That was never said." The Senate concurred with the House on the bill by a vote of 18 to 13. It is now headed to the governor. The House later took on a bill that would crack down on unscrupulous mortgage lending practices, again differing with a version of the bill that had been approved by the Senate. Senate Bill 185 would add mortgage brokers and secondary lenders, but not banks, to the Consumer Sales Practices Act. It would create a "Borrowers Bill of Rights," a defined set of prohibited lending practices and would require 40 hours of mortgage lending education before a loan officer could be licensed to work in Ohio. The Senate Wednesday night did not concur with the House version, sending the bill to a conference committee. State lawmakers will begin at least a one-month break until after the May 2 primary. To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: rfields@plaind.com, 1-800-228-8272
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