Gov. John Kasich's plan to move this year's State of the State address away from the Ohio Capitol received the Legislature's blessing on Tuesday, after some lawmakers in his own party balked at the idea.
Kasich, a first-term Republican, wants to deliver his major policy address at an eastern Ohio elementary school, and not in Columbus. It will mark the first time the speech is delivered outside the Statehouse.
The Ohio House narrowly agreed to the move, 52-42, with several of Kasich's fellow Republicans opposed to the plan. Hours later, the GOP-led Senate voted 24-7 for the change.
Kasich plans to deliver the address Feb. 7 at Wells Academy in Steubenville, a school acclaimed for its high test scores. He has defended the move as providing a boost to a neglected area. He argues that any additional public expense associated with changing the speech venue is worth it.
The setting will also allow him to highlight education initiatives and the region's burgeoning shale drilling activity.
Republican state Rep. Lynn Wachtmann urged his fellow representatives in the Republican-controlled House to vote against the move.
"This probably isn't the battle to pick," Wachtmann said. But, he added, "There are some traditions that are somewhat close to being sacred, and I think one of those is giving the State of the State in the Statehouse."
State Rep. Ron Gerberry, an Austintown Township Democrat, agreed.
"The State of the State should be held in this chamber," he said, pointing to the floor of the House. "To take the State of the State out of this chamber is wrong."
State Rep. Matt Huffman, a Lima Republican, stood up for the idea and said he wondered why the speech hadn't been given in a separate city before this year. He said he hears from constituents who are worried about their representatives becoming too "Columbus-centric."
"I think it's a great symbolism, therefore, that this happen," he told his colleagues.
Others have called the location change inconvenient and potentially costly. Statewide officeholders, Supreme Court justices, Cabinet members and 132 lawmakers typically attend.
Kasich spokesman Rob Nichols said an unwillingness to change has held the state back on multiple fronts.
"This is a governor who is not afraid to shake things up, and we are excited to shine a light on a part of the state that has been ignored by Columbus for decades," Nichols said in an email Tuesday.
House Speaker William Batchelder told reporters Tuesday any additional costs to move the speech would be "next to none."
House members would get the same mileage reimbursement for traveling to Steubenville, as they would based on the distance to Columbus from their home districts to attend a legislative session, Batchelder said. But, he noted there could be added security costs for increased state trooper protection for the governor and Legislature.
Many, he said, were planning to use their own vehicles. Some from southwest Ohio were considering driving to the speech the prior night in case of bad weather.
"One of them asked me whether there were hotels in Steubenville, and I had to confess my ignorance," he said.
Batchelder contended the school should be recognized for its achievements, and it was proper for Kasich to hold the speech there.
"I'm not distressed by it at all," said Batchelder, a longtime Ohio legislator known for favoring tradition.
Wells, founded in 1989, shares a building with Steubenville High School. It's been recognized as the best school in Ohio, with 100 percent of its students testing proficient in reading and math during the 2010-2011 school year. The results were helped by creative uses of technology and distance learning, and came despite socio-economic hurdles faced by its 319 pupils, Kasich said in announcing his plans for the speech.
Democratic Minority Leader Armond Budish also voted to support the move.
The state's constitution requires the governor to report to the General Assembly annually on the state of the state. During the 19th century, this report was delivered to the General Assembly in print form. Beginning about 1900 and following the example of the president in Washington, Ohio governors started delivering the report as a live address to lawmakers.
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Associated Press writer Julie Carr Smyth contributed to this report.
