League of Women Voters of Ohio Education Fund
	Hamilton County, OH November 4, 2008 Election
	Candidates Answer Questions on the Issues State Senator; District 8

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area and asked of all candidates for this office.     See below for questions on Pressing Issues, Implementation, Infrastucture, Health Care Click on a name for candidate information.   See also more information about this contest. 1. What are the two most pressing issues you will face if you are elected? (50 word limit) Answer from Bill Seitz: 1. Managing the next State biennial budget, which is strained due to economic conditions. 2. Addressing the sharp spike in energy costs. 2. How will you address each of those issues? (100 word limit) Answer from Bill Seitz: 1. Several ideas on budget management: increased use of joint purchasing; incentivizing consolidation of local government functions; four day work week; implementing regulatory reform; reducing prison costs by allowing low level offenders to serve in halfway houses with technological monitoring. 2. Our recent legislation on electric restructuring, emphasizing renewable power and price controls, is a start. We should allow natural gas drilling on public lands and use the royalties to retrofit fuel stations so more clean burning natural gas cars can be used at half the price of gasoline. 3. What role should the state play in updating Ohio's aging infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, and transit services and equipment, in order to promote economic revitalization? (100 word limit) Answer from Bill Seitz: The state plays a major role. We already increased state support for local infrastructure by several hundred million dollars through our bi-partisan $1.57 billion economic stimulas package. We should do more by redirecting the CAT tax on gasoline to the transportation budget, which is constitutionally required. 4. What role do state legislators have in reforming health care in the U.S.? (100 word limit) Answer from Bill Seitz: State legislators' role is limited because federal ERISA law limits what states can do. My recent legislation (H.B. 125) making the healthcare system more efficient won me the State Medical Association's first-ever Voice of Medicine Award. We should also incentivize the widespread purchase of long term care insurance, to control spiralling Medicaid costs. Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. The answer must not exceed 100 words. Direct references to opponents are not permitted. The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.