Dear Constituents,

One of the most important challenges we faced this past year was to lay the
foundation to rebuild and strengthen Ohio’s economic future. That means we need
a strong education system and sufficient support for high-tech jobs. Creating a
better climate for job creation is our top priority.

That’s why I have joined with business leaders across the state to support
renewing and expanding the Ohio Third Frontier Program.

The Third Frontier Program has created thousands of Ohio jobs and jump started
high-growth industries such as the biomedical, advanced materials and alternative
energy sectors. We cannot risk slowing the positive economic growth that this
successful program has generated.

Jobs have been created right here in southeastern Ohio in such innovative and
rapidly growing companies as DHI and Third Sun Solar & Wind. These companies
have been able to access Third Frontier funding to cross the proverbial “Valley of
Death” that growing companies face; they are among the success stories
recognized by the state and nation.

The Ohio Third Frontier Program began in 2002 with bipartisan support and voter
approval. It is a 10 year, $1.6 billion bond program that allows for targeted
support of technology companies that diversify and accelerate Ohio’s
knowledge-based economy. The Third Frontier accelerates our economic transition
and also creates good-paying jobs for Ohioans.

According to an independent evaluation conducted by Stanford Research Institute

(SRI) International, the Ohio Third Frontier program has already created 41,300
jobs over the past seven years with over $2.4 billion in employee wages and
benefits. The report also showed that taxpayers were seeing more than a 10 to
one return on investment and from 2003 to 2008 an investment of $681 million of
state expenditures resulted in over $6.6 billion of statewide economic impact.

I hope we can continue this important program and strengthen Ohio’s efforts to
move forward during these difficult economic times.

Sincerely,
CONTACT
Columbus Office
92nd District
77 South High Street
11th Floor
Columbus, Ohio 43215
Debbie Phillips
Phone: (614) 466-2158 State Representative
Toll-free: (800) 282-0253
Fax: (614) 719-6992

Or E-mail At:
district92@ohr.state.oh.us
February 2010 State Rep. Debbie Phillips Page 2

More Money for HEAP This Winter

New Guidelines Mean More Homes Will Be Heated
More Ohioans
will be able to
get help
paying their
heating bills
this winter.
The Ohio
Department of Development has increased the
income level guidelines so that more people will
be eligible for the Home Energy Assistance
Program (HEAP).
Households are eligible for HEAP assistance if
their income is at or below 200 percent of the
federal poverty guidelines, an increase from the
previous level of 175 percent. This means the
program will help heat more homes this winter.
The state is expecting to have approximately
$220 million in Home Energy Assistance Program
funds this winter to help eligible low-income
Ohioans meet the cost of home energy bills. The
Program, administered by the Department’s
Office of Community Services, pays a one-time
payment for the current winter heating season.
Households with elderly or disabled members
may qualify for a larger amount of assistance.
A special component of HEAP, the Winter Crisis
Program, is administered by Community Action
agencies throughout Ohio. The Winter Crisis
Program provides assistance once per heating
season to eligible households that are
disconnected, threatened with disconnection, or
have less than a 10 day supply of bulk fuel.
For more information about HEAP or to apply for
assistance, call the toll free HEAP hotline at 1-800
-282-0880, Monday through Friday or visit
energyhelp.ohio.gov.

Ohio Extends Unemployment Compensation

Those Enrolled Full-Time In Education or Training Programs Now Eligible
The Ohio House has taken great strides this past “To build a robust economy from the ground up,
year to enhance Ohio’s education system in order to Ohio’s working people must have every opportunity
secure prosperity for our state both today and to get the education and training they need to land
tomorrow. the new kinds of jobs our economy is creating,”
Governor Strickland said. “This policy change
In a further show of support of education, will help those Ohioans hardest hit by the
Governor Strickland has announced a state recession to obtain job training skills without
program that extends unemployment sacrificing their ability to continue providing for
compensation benefits to all students their families.”
enrolled in full-time education or training
programs. Previously, only those students The Obama Administration is also looking to
enrolled in certain education or training ease the financial burden of those looking to
programs were exempt from the program’s go back to school. Under a current
work-search requirement. This provisions, those getting unemployment
requirement states that those applying for compensation can receive special consideration for
unemployment compensation declare they are “able, financial aid to pay for education or job training
available and actively seeking work.” programs.

The benefits expansion makes going back to school To find out more about applying for unemployment
an option for those who were not previously compensation, visit the Ohio Department of Jobs and
considering it because it was out of their reach Family Services at www.jfs.ohio.gov or call 1-877-
financially. 644-6562.
February 2010 State Rep. Debbie Phillips
Ohio’s Credit Freeze Law Offers Peace of Mind
State Programs Help Protect Identity Theft Victims From Credit Problems
If someone steals your car, you can replace it. It’s
more challenging to restore your good name and
credit if someone steals your identity.
It is quickly becoming one of the most common
types of fraud. The U.S. Justice Department recently
found 3% of American households (3.6 million
families) were the victims of identity theft in one
year.
Ohio law lets you place a security “freeze” on your
credit report files. It helps you stop thieves from
getting new credit in your name by locking, or
freezing, access to your credit report and credit
score. Without this valuable information, a thief, with
stolen personal information, cannot obtain new
credit.
To place a freeze on your credit report, contact the
three major credit reporting services (Equifax 800-
685-1111; Experian 888-397-3742; TransUnion 800-
916-8800).
The Passport Program
from Ohio’s Attorney General
Under the Identity Theft Verification PASSPORT
program, victims reporting identity theft to the
police will be given step-by-step information about
how to alert creditors to fraudulent
activity in their names, and simple, fill-in-the-blank
affidavits to send to credit bureaus and creditors.
The cornerstone of PASSPORT is the card victims
can show to creditors and law enforcement
personnel establishing that they have been
victimized.
Page 3
TIPS FOR PROTECTING YOUR
IDENTITY
Do not carry your Social Security card in your
wallet. Keep it at home in a safe place.
Order a copy of your credit report once a year
from each of the three national credit-reporting
agencies (Trans Union, Experian, and Equifax) to
monitor your accounts.
Do not throw out credit card statements, bills,
insurance papers, or bank statements where a
criminal could retrieve them. If you must throw
them out, shred or destroy them first.
Always take credit card and ATM receipts with
you. Never toss them in a public trash
container.
Reduce the number of credit cards you actively
use. Carry only one or two credit cards in your
wallet.
Cancel all unused credit card accounts. Even
unused account numbers are recorded in your
credit report which is full of data that can be
used by identity thieves.
Keep a list or photocopy of all your credit cards,
account numbers, expiration dates, and
telephone numbers of the customer service and
fraud departments in a secure place (not in your
wallet or purse) so you can quickly contact your
creditors in case your cards are lost or stolen.
Do the same with your bank accounts.
February 2010 State Rep. Debbie Phillips Page 4

House Approves Common-Sense Regulatory Reform

Improving Regulatory Environment Part of Ohio House Job Creation Effort
The Ohio House recently approved the Common-
Sense Regulatory Reform Act (HB 230), a key part
of a series of important job creation and economic
development initiatives in the House.
Improving Ohio’s regulatory environment is
critical to fostering job creation and
strengthening Ohio’s economy. The bill
promotes smart regulation that reduces
over-burdensome rules and helps small
businesses grow and prosper.
Several key highlights of the bill include
creating a proactive and transparent rule-
making process, holding public meetings to
gather input on troublesome regulatory
processes, and creating an Ohio Small Business
Panel to cultivate an ongoing and open dialog with
small businesses. The bill also expands the Ohio
Environmental Protection Agency’s compliance
assistance program for small businesses.
The impact of the national recession makes the
effort to strengthen our economy even more
critical.
Several job creation measures were passed in the
Legislature and signed into law by Governor Ted
Strickland earlier this year, such as the new
markets tax credit to bring businesses and
development into new areas across the
state; a film tax credit designed to lure
new industry into Ohio; and a sporting
event incentive to bolster local
economies, encouraging
municipalities and counties to
compete to attract major sporting
events.
The Common Sense Regulatory
Reform Act was born out of an
executive order signed in 2008 by Gov.
Strickland. At that time, he brought
together Ohio’s major business organizations for a
series of meetings to ask them how Ohio could
improve its regulatory environment. The result of
those meetings was the Common-Sense Business
Executive Order and HB 230 codifies many of these
provisions into law.
The goal is to give Ohio a competitive advantage as
the national recession lifts.

Highlights of the
Common-Sense Regulatory Reform Act

Criteria for Rule Review. H.B. 230 requires Small Business Advocate. Designates a Small
agencies to evaluate and review all new rules to Business Advocate to act as a liaison for small
make sure they are needed, outcome-based, can business owners experiencing difficulty interacting
be applied consistently, and easy to comprehend. with state government agencies.

E-Notification. The bill encourages transparency Panel for Small Business Input. Creates the Ohio
and stakeholder participation in the rulemaking Small Business Panel that will be chaired by the
process, including the requirement that the Small Business Advocate and will meet on a semi-
Department of Administrative Services create a annual basis. The Panel will periodically make
web site where interested parties can register to recommendations to the Governor and the General
receive early e-notification of agency work on Assembly on ways to improve the small business
proposed rules. climate in Ohio.

Assistance for Regulated Community. Creates an Semi-Annual Meeting for Further Input. The bill
ombudsman for each agency to help with problem also requires the Department of Administrative
solving, and requires each cabinet agency to Services to hold semi-annual meetings to receive
conduct customer service training for employees feedback on agency processes which are causing
and conduct customer satisfaction surveys. the greatest delays to businesses.
 Legislative Survey
REPRESENTATIVE DEBBIE PHILLIPS
FEBRUARY 2010
Your views on issues facing state government are important to me. Please take the time
to share your opinion on the following topics. I look forward to hearing from you!

1. Do you support a statewide ban on texting 6. Would you like to see an increase in the use of
while driving? solar panels, wind turbines and other renewable
energy system at schools and other government
□ Yes buildings?
□ No
□ Undecided □ Yes
□ No
2. Would you support raising the speed limit for □ Undecided
passenger vehicles on interstate freeways from
65 mph to 70 mph? 7. Which alternative energy choices do you believe
hold the most promise for job creation in
□ Yes southeastern Ohio?
□ No
□ Undecided □ energy conservation
□ wind
3. Do you support statewide efforts to update □ solar
the passenger rail transportation system □ co-generation
throughout Ohio? □ cleaner coal

□ Yes 8. Please list what you believe to be the three

□ No biggest issues facing Ohio:
□ Undecided
1. ________________________________________
4. Do you support limits on marketing by credit __________________________________________
card companies on university and college
campuses? 2. ________________________________________
__________________________________________
□ Yes
□ No 3. ________________________________________
□ Undecided __________________________________________

5. Would you support treatment over

incarceration for juvenile offenders? Additional Comments:

□ Yes ________________________________________
□ No ________________________________________
□ Undecided
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________

Please fold and return this form to me at the address listed on the other side. If you would like to
receive information and legislative updates in the future, please provide the following information:

Name ___________________________________________________________________
Address __________________________________________________________________
Phone number _______________________ E-mail: _______________________________
 TAPE HERE

with any issues or opinions you may have!

Please don’t hesitate to contact my office
Thank you for completing this legislative survey.

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DELIVER
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(PLEASE FILL IN YOUR ADDRESS) POSTAGE

Hon. Debbie Phillips

State Representative, 92nd District
Ohio House of Representatives
77 South High Street
Columbus, OH 43215

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