This is the FCB Podcast Network. This is the Jeff Glory and Nick Show. Good morning, and welcome to the Jeff Louri and Nick Show. And this morning, this guest this morning is gonna share with us what's happening in a certain eastern part of Ohio. We have our guest, Nick Santucci, who represents House District sixty four in the Ohio House of Representatives. Good morning, Nick, how are you. Good morning, Jeff. Good to be with you. Thanks for having me today. And we have our co host today, Darby Omorrow, who was standing in for Nick and Lourie this morning. Darby Omorrow, he's our great producer this morning. Nick, We're going to get right into our show and we're not going to waste time. We want you to tell us a little bit about the district that you represent. It's the location. Tell us what size is your district and what's happening in your district. Sure, so, thanks again for having me, Jeff. I appreciate you taking the time to chat with me. It's good to be with you. As always, my district is Warren City. Oftentimes everybody says, oh, you're from Youngstown, and I say, I'm not from Youngstown. Youngstown's in Mahoning County. I'm from Trumbull County and so my district is sixty four. And with the maps changing and the district's changing, I have a newer district now. So as before I represented the southern portion of Trumbull County right along the border of Mahoning. Now I represent the southwestern portion of Trumbull County, which is which includes Warren and Champion up into West Farmington. Now I have Lordstown and Newton Falls. I currently reside in Holland and grew up in Holland, graduated from Holland High School in two thousand and nine, moved away to John Carroll University up in Cleveland and University Heights. Graduated from John Carroll in twenty thirteen. I moved back home and began working for the Young sam Wore Regional Chamber. So I was did education and workforce development for them. I then moved into economic development so I understood what it took to attract and retain and expand businesses in our area. And then from there I moved into government affairs, still under the Chamber, and I was in Columbus once a month. I was in Washington, d C. Once a quarter and from there after I left the Chamber. I moved into the Educational Service Center of Eastern Ohio, where I worked as a government affairs person advocating for student improvement and better education and better quality education for our area. And then became a consultant with VASA Consulting, and then ran for state representative and luckily got elected. I've been blessed to serve. I was sworn in in January of twenty twenty or twenty twenty two. Rather, I was elected twenty twenty three. I was sworn in, and it's been an honor of a lifetime to serve the area that I grew up in. So it's good to be with you. And like I said, thanks for having me. It's good. Nick. So you're in your second term. I'll be coming up into my second term, so I'll be elected. I prayed. If the constituents think I'm doing a good enough job and they re elect me, I'll be sworn in in January of twenty twenty five, So I'll be back on the ballot this November, this upcoming November. This is awesome. We're hearing great things from your area. I know that you've said that workforce development is one of the things that you've championed. Let's talk a little bit about there, what's going on in that area of workforce development? Sure, so we it's not you know, just a district's sixty four problem. We across the country are seeing businesses struggling find qualified, capable employees. You know, in workforce development, companies would tell me that forty to sixty percent of applicants fail their drug tests going through an interview process. That is crushing our smaller companies. Those bigger box store companies, those corporate businesses could afford that turnover rate. When you've got a small mom and pop company that is struggling to find that that workforce, it could mean that their company closes or thrives. And so we have to try to solve some of that problem. And of course, the drug issue is a is an epidemic that's affecting everybody. Go ahead, Jeff, I see you. Well, no, I was going to ask you, is there a particular bill that you sponsor to help with this workforce development. Well, one thing that I've been pretty passionate about championing is youth employment. So oftentimes we talk about the human capital that may be on benefit packages or on unemployment, and how do we get them off of that system. And I agree that those are conversations that need to take place. We have to encourage able bodied folks to get to work, there's no doubt about that. But we also need to talk about our young people and their qualifications and how we can encourage them to fill a lot of the entry level roles that exist. And for example, you know, I have friends that I graduated high school in college with. They went all through high school, they never worked, they went all to college, never worked, and then they showed up at their first job opportunity and they said, hey, I think I deserve to make one hundred thousand dollars a year. And the reality of that is they have no real experience. Unfortunately, they don't have a resume that's built, they don't have qualifications and experience from previous jobs. And so my argument and the talking point I've been trying to push is we've got to start working with our younger people and encouraging them to enter the workforce. U there is a there is a dignity of work that that comes with confidence and capabilities if we could get young people working, I think we'll see a lot of a lot of more confident, capable, younger people in our environment that will be contributing to society and better ways. So, uh, youth employment is something that I've really been been trying to beat the drum on. Oh that's awesome, Darviel. Yeah. On that note, what do you foresee of any way to kind of remove some of the barriers of access to that, particularly when you're talking about, you know, teenagers who may be in low income environments and have issues with transportation to get to those jobs and things like that. What do you foresee that could be done to kind of address some of those barriers to getting those jobs. That's a great question, Darbo, thank you for that. We number one, we have to work with our local governments to try to solve some of those problems. So the state, it's my opinion that the state creates the environment that will allow businesses and local governments to grow and thrive and do what they need to do. Transportation at a local level is something that needs addressed with your county commissioners or with your local governmental entities. I at the state level, I'm happy to work on legislation or try to find funding that can help support that. But those efforts need to be, you know, worked on at the local level. And I agree with you. Transportation is a huge barrier. When I worked at the Youngstown Warren Chamber, we heard that all the time that inner city folks in particular are willing to work. We just have to allow them to have access to get to those jobs. And so I think solving those problems are key. It just needs to be a cooperative effort between the business community, local governments, and even state or federal governments in those instances. If there's funding there or grant support, that could be done. And I'm willing to help support that space. But there's other barriers, not only transportation, but soft skills of professional skills too. When we talk with business community, they tell me that they are willing to hire anybody as long as they could show up on time, dress appropriately for interviews, answer the phones professionally. Those basic soft skills or professional skills, or I think they're being called power skills now that we may be blessed with growing up, some of our folks are not learning those skills or they don't possess those skills, and I think we have to support them in getting those skills in order for them to get into the workforce, to get a paycheck, to contribute to society and be productive members of our community. That's something that we can all help with as a matter of fact. But also, isn't that part of the bill that you've sponsored, and can you give us that bill tell us a little bit about that of legislation that's bending. Yeah, thanks, Jeff, that's a great plug. I appreciate that. House Bill seventy one is a bill that I've worked on years ago. It was it's called a Community Connector's Workforce Program. The vision behind that is exactly what we just discussed in this interview. Trying to encourage our young people to possess those soft skills, of those professional skills, and then working with local educational service centers in hiring a person that will go into the schools work with those students on those soft skills as well as pushing them into a job opportunity. So I always say, I don't care if our young people are working at Wendy's or McDonald's or Burger King or some of those entry level jobs. We want them working. I think there's value in work, and I think it's really important to get our young people those workforce skills that they need in order to push them to their next job. And so my bill will work with our eess to help prepare our young people for soft skills and prepare them for the workforce. What's the status of House Bill seventy one? So House Bill seventy one has I'm lucky that it's past committee, was introduced and we're now waiting for the Speaker of the House to put it on the floor so we can vote it through and send it over to the Ohio Senate so they can approve it and then get it to the governor for signature. You know, the legislative process by design is very slow and tedious. That's on purpose. Our founders, of course, wanted that process to be slow so that we could vet bills and legislation. So I'm just fine with the bill going through the process. And if it doesn't get through the General Assembly this go around, once I get sworn in and re elected, I plan to reintroduce it again next General Assembly because I think it's really important for us to work on this type of legislation. I agree that's important for all of us, especially our young people, but not just our young people, but our communities. We need people working and young people with good skills ready to work. It's one thing to sit around and complain about young folks not having the skills that they need. But this is an opportunity for every one of us to support this bill and make this change as that's so positive for our community. Thing we do as individual citizens to help move this forward. Another great question, Jeff, Thank you. I think some of the best things that any citizen can do is reach out to their elected official be in touch with us. You know, I have a mentor of mine that has said to me, you know, now that you're a state Rep, you're a generalist. Everybody in the community is now the expert. And what he meant by that is, you know, we as a state rep. We get inundated with phone calls and emails and people reaching out, but we need that we can only touch the surface level of issues. A lot of times we need the experts to call us and give us advice and give us guidance and advocate for good policy, like like I'm describing in House Bill seventy one and also reach out to the leadership. Speaker of the House's office also should field emails and phone calls if they're there's a bill that you're really super supportive of. He needs to hear that, he needs to know that House Bill seventy one is something that you believe the state should have in hearing from you matters and hearing from the public matters. So my office is always welcome and open to anybody reaching out, and we do our best to get back to everybody in a timely manner for certain So the simple plug or for the lay person as it relates to House Bill seventy one is what what would you say? What would you tell that person who is not very political, what would you tell them to say to the Speaker of the House or in that particular email or message that great, great, I appreciate that. Number One, there's lots of jobs in our state that exists that need filled. Number two, there's lots of qualified, capable young people that could fill some of those entry level jobs. And number three, this bill will help prepare those young people for those jobs that exist and put those young people on a great path for their future. And that's what this show is all about empowering people. And Nick Santucci of the sixty fourth District in Ohio, we thank you for all that you're doing on this for youth employment under House Bill seventy one. As we talk about workforce development, tell us a little bit about what's going on in your district as it relates to business. Oh my gosh, we're gonna have to take a break, but we can start on that. Nick, Just tell us a little bit about business in your Oh my gosh, our producer just told us we've got to take a break. So Nick, we're gonna take a break right here. We're gonna ask our audience just to stay with us and we'll be right back. These days, it seems like everybody's talking, but no one is actually listening to the things they're saying. Critical thinking isn't dead, but it's definitely low on oxygen. Join me Kira Davis on Just Listen to Yourself every week as we reason through issues big and small, critique our own ideas, and learn to draw our talking points all the way out to their logical conclusions. Subscribe to Just Listen to Yourself with Kira Davis and FCB Radio podcast on Apple on Spotify, iHeart, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, thank you to our audience for staying with us. Nick, We're going to ask you that question about what's happening in terms of business. What does it look like in your district. Well, we've covered a little bit of this Jeff earlier in our segment. Business is growing and thriving here in the Mahoning Valley. For the first time, we've seen population moving back into our area. For years and years, we have lost population. Folks have been moving away, and I think that's a good thing. We want people moving into the state of Ohio. I wish they all moved to the district sixty four. I'd rather than be here in my district. But moving into the state of Ohio is a good thing as well. And our community actually has been landing a lot of really huge economic development projects which have been great. That's thanks to our economic development experts and our economic development partners here in the region, the Youngstown Ward Regional Chamber, Eastgate Regional Council of Governments, the Western Reserve Poor Authority all doing really great stuff to create an environment like we talked about for attracting businesses back here and I'm grateful for their work, and myself at the state level, I'm working closely with them to try to help create that environment so that we can put our best foot forward. And as you know, Jump, you know, the more jobs that we have, the more opportunity there is for our people to get to work. The more people that are working, more people are paying taxes, The more people that are paying taxes are helping stimulate the economy, and so there's a whole ripple effect to people working. And so the more that the Mahoning Valley can put their foot forward attract some of these larger corporations and some of these job opportunities, the better it is for everybody. That's a question, yep on that note, What are some of the things that you see on the horizon economically for the state that you're the most excited about. I know up here, I've been involved with the film Commission, and I've been hearing a lot of really exciting things about what's coming here, especially since the tax credit has been increased and the influx of projects that's going to be coming up here to the state. What do you see that's on the horizon economically that you're excited about in Ohio. Yeah, so we have a lot of really great opportunity ahead of us. I think we have some roadblocks and some challenges that we need to address that if we can address some of those things, you know, it'll be easier for us to attract some of those major investments like you're describing. I think one thing we really need to do is work on tax reform in the state. I know that property taxes are hurting a lot of people, and so we've been having conversations in the Ohio House about how can we alleviate some of that tax burden on folks. I think if we could do that and readjust some of our taxes, that will attract more investment into the state from either families or businesses or you know, from the film commission like you're describing. I think too that just creating beautification for the state. One thing I've been pretty passionate about is community reinvestment and community revitalization as well as beautification. We have a lot of really nice neighborhoods in this state of Ohio, particularly in District sixty four, that they just need a little bit of love and so, you know, one of the things I'm pretty passionate about is cleaning up our freeways, cleaning up our roads and our neighborhoods, revitalizing abandoned properties, and how do we reinvest in some of those areas that typically people have left. There's a lot of really nice neighborhoods that exist. I know housing is a huge problem for the state, but I think there's a lot of really nice neighborhoods that if we can reinvest and you know, flip those neighborhoods, that can help solve some of that housing problem and it just beautifies our area. So, you know, a lot of challenges, but a lot of great opportunity. One thing that we really need to address is human trafficking. Believe it or not, that is a that is a detriment to us. Ohio is ranked fourth or fifth in worst human trafficking in the country. And I know that may seem like, well, why are we talking about human trafficking, But that's an economic detriment. We want people moving to Ohio, we want people coming to Ohio. We want businesses coming to Ohio. If they don't feel safe, they're not moving here and they're not coming here. And human traffing. Human trafficking has to be addressed, and we have to work on things like that. So I went a little long winded, but ultimately lots of great opportunity for Ohio. We just have to get out of our own way. That's good. Nick, you said something about lightning up the burden on individual families and individuals in Ohio. As far as taxes, you've done something to cut taxes. Can you talk about that? And I'm sure it's a piece of legislation you talked about House Bill seventy one. What House bill have you introduced that might save families money? Thank you, Jeff. House Bill on eighteen was a sales and use tax exemption for baby care items, and the whole idea behind that was we have working families in Ohio that really could use that support and that alleviation. The governor was gracious enough to include part of it into his budget that he proposed to the House and the Senate. We as a house you know, accepted it and included it in our budget proposal, sent it to the Senate. They kept it in and so I was happy to see that some BabyCare items in the state of Ohio did have a sales and use tax exemption, and so I was pretty proud of that. In my bill, which I worked with joint sponsor Representative Melanie Miller on, we tried to be as comprehensive as possible to have as many baby care items as possible, so diapers and baby creams and things like that, cribs, et cetera. In our bill that would have a sales tax cut. The gouvernor did not include all of those items. So Representative Miller and I are still actively trying to get our bill across the finish line so that it's super comprehensive and we include all of those baby care items for sales tax and use tax. And I'm very hopeful that that will pass and we'll move that forward and help more working families in the state of Ohio take care of their of their little ones. Yes, and I think that that's a very notable bill because there's always babies being born every second here in Ohile, so that's something that we really need to get behind. And again, how can we help with that particular bill because there's so many families that are struggling with just meeting there every day needs, and then young families with baby that are buying baby products every day, single women, moms that are buying baby products. This is so important to just provide some type of relief for them, Nick, What can we do to help in that particular move this piece of legislation forward to make which is so comprehensive, Like you said, yeah, you're welcome to reach out to my office, sending an email to me or a formal letter, mailing it into my office. We take all of those, all that feedback and we were happy to send it along to the Speaker of the House and some of our leadership as well. And my email is Rep. Sixty four at Ohio House dot gov. And if you google my name Nick Santucci on the Ohio House of Representatives website, my picture pops up and all of my contact can be can be found there as well. And we're always open and willing to the feedback, whether it's good or bad. And we would love to hear from some of your listens that would be supportive of this, and I'm happy, I'm more than happy to push it along to leadership in the Speaker of the House to say, hey, I've got constituents in northeast Ohio that are telling me this is a good thing and we want to see it get across the finish line. And again, this is more comprehensive than what the governor accepted out of your bill. But this would cover basically all baby products, correct, right, yes, okay, so we need that relief. And again, your email address is Rep. Sixty four at Ohio House dot gov. R E. P. Sixty four at Ohio dot gov. Tell us a little bit more about what you're doing and the area of recreation. I know that you know, we have a lot of folks that hunt and fish, and here in Ohio we've got the Great Lake and other lakes in Ohio. Talk about that a little bit. What are you doing? I understand it. There's a legislation that you pushed move forward to address that. Yeah, thanks, Jeff. So how Joint Resolution five is a is an amendment that we are pushing to our Ohio Constitution. Representative Ron Ferguson and I are the joint sponsors of this bill. And you know, Ohio has a unique history with hunting and fishing. Historically, since our founding, hunting and fishing has existed in our state. We have an abundance of turkey and bird duck, white tailed deer, we have walleye perch. There's lots of bird and fish and deer population in our state, and we see it as a huge asset to attracting people to Ohio and keeping people in Ohio. And so this, this amendment to the constant will will go on the November ballot for citizens of Ohio to vote for if they think that it's as important as I do. And it's essentially saying that if if you hunt and fish, you're welcome here in Ohio. We would love to have you, and that you have a right to hunt and fish in the state of Ohio. And we're pretty proud of that. You know, in my district, at a little north of my district, I have Mosquito Lake that has lots of fish in it, lots of hunting and recreation around it. An hour north of me, in my Ohio Senate district, we have Lake Erie, and so there are lots of opportunity regionally from within an hour radius of my district that folks hunt and fish. We have a lot of citizens in my district that hunt and fish, and so I see it as vitally important for the state of Ohio to plant its flag and say, hey, if you're outside of the state, you're welcome here in Ohio. And if you are a resident in Ohio, you absolutely have a right to hunt and fish in our beautiful state. Well, Nick, some folks would be hearing this right now and they say, well, you know, we can go fishing right now. What is the importance of this House Joint Resolution five passing. Yeah, they absolutely have the right to hunt and fish right now, and they have the ability to do so, but it's not enshrined in our constitution that says that your rights are in this are in this beautiful state. And I wanted to be emphatic that there are rights established in this state that you have the right to hunt and fish as much as you'd like. And like I said, that's based on our unique population of wildlife that exists here and our unique history that we have in Ohio with hunting and fishing. I think this is great because it preserves that right and this we're living in a day and time when so many rights and privileges are being just taken away from us. So, Nick, it's good to see that you're championing this cause. And it's also good for tourism, isn't it? Absolutely? Absolutely, And that's why I said, let's attract as many hunters and fishermen here in the state of Ohio as we can. We want them here. And by the way, if you if you're willing to move here, you'll have rights in this beautiful state. You can that you can continue to hunt and fish as much as you'd like. Right with this particular bill help reduce costs expenses as it relates to licensing. Can you talk to about that a little bit. That was something we looked at, and that was something that we would be willing to support in the future. But this bill is you know, we didn't want to get too contentious with anything. We wanted this bill to be more of an emphatic, you know, planning our flag that Ohio is is open and welcome to our hunters and our fishermen. But in the future, we'd be willing to look at something like that that talks about licensing fees and incentivizing people to come here and hunt and fish. That might be the next phase of the bill or another bill in itself. This has been very helpful. All of these different bills and this Nick You've just highlighted so many things are important to all of us as a state, and I think that Ohio is somewhat of a microcosm of the US. There's so many different things to do in Ohio, and Nick, I'll tell you, just keep up the good work. And we're about to close now. We thank you, Nick. Anything else that you'd like to say to our audience. No, but Jeff, thank you, darbya thank you for having me today. It's an honor to be with you. I appreciate the opportunity to come and talk about the important things that are happening in our state. Reach out to me anytime. I'm happy to come back on and continue to work with you and talk about other bills that are impacting our state. So I think we're the greatest state in the country and I plan to continue to work to keep it that way. Well, we certainly want you to continue to do that. Nick Santucci of Ohio's sixty fourth District, thank you again, Thank you, Darvio, thank you to our audience for staying with us. And let's all remember to keep fighting a good fight. We can all do better, and let's make our nation a better nation. As we make our communities better communities. Thank you, God, bless you on. This has been a presentation of the FCB podcast Network, where real Talk lives. Visitors online at fcbpodcasts dot com.
