Rep. Hall HB 188 Sponsor Testimony — Ohio Israel Trade and Innovation Partnership

Summary

Sponsor testimony of Representative Thomas Hall, 46th House District, dated April 9th, 2025, to the House Development Committee on HB 188, legislation to create the Ohio Israel Trade and Innovation Partnership. The testimony describes a trip to Israel in August of 2023 as part of a delegation of the Ohio House. It states that the partnership would be housed under the Ohio Department of Development and that the bill adds an appropriation of five million dollars from the GRF.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Full text

46th House District                                                                         Committees
     Butler County                                                                     Government Oversight Chair

                                                                                                Finance
  Columbus Office
    Vern Riffe Center                                                                            Energy
    77 S. High Street
        12th Floor                                                                            Public Safety
Columbus, Ohio 43215-6111
     (614) 644-5094
 Rep46@ohiohouse.gov



                                               Thomas Hall
                                           State Representative
            April 9th, 2025

            Rep. Hall HB 188 Sponsor Testimony

            Chair Hoops, Vice Chair Lorenz, Ranking Member Abdullahi, and members of the
            House Development Committee, thank you for the opportunity to provide sponsor
            testimony on HB 188, legislation to create the Ohio Israel Trade and Innovation
            Partnership—our attempt to create a partnership to advance trade and investment
            between Ohio and Israel.

            In August of 2023, I was very fortunate to take a trip to Israel as a part of a
            delegation of the Ohio House. During the trip, we were able to meet with various
            industries and startups located in Israel and learn more about their business
            climate. Some may even argue Tel Aviv and Haifa in Israel are two hubs for
            business startups in the entire world. When talking with various business startups, I
            would ask, when these businesses would reach certain metrics or look to grow their
            business, where is the next location they would seek? Their answer included states
            likes like New York, Florida, or even Europe. But never once was Ohio mentioned.
            The piece of legislation aims to change that by seeking to create an alliance
            between Ohio and Israel to foster growth and innovation.

            To reiterate some of the important details of the bill, the make-up of the
            partnership is similar to other commissions or partnerships that have been passed
            before the General Assembly before, (SB 195, Ohio/Ireland Trade Commission)
            and is clearly outlined in the bill. Lines 27-74 discuss membership and lines 75-
            102 go into further detail about seats and terms. This partnership will be housed
            under the Ohio Department of Development and required to submit a report no
            later then 15 months after the effective date of its activities and recommendations.
            We also have decided to add an appropriation of five million dollars from the GRF.


            Thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today, we would be happy to
            take any questions you may have.


File and source

File

2025-04-09_development_testimony_testimony-5395.pdf

Size

167,336 bytes

SHA-256

d3444a535f0a7729b48a2db9a8bf3373a5cfe8379c731b97583aa4a5f5b8c269

Our copy

2025-04-09_development_testimony_testimony-5395.pdf

Original

No public link identified.