Ohio House Rep. Mark Johnson Speaks About Business Concerns Over Lack Of Employees

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Litter Media visited with State Representative Mark Johnson at the Ohio Statehouse, Tuesday, where we spoke about the 92nd District he represents and the legislation his constituents are talking to him about.

The 92nd District covers all of Fayette County, there western half of Pickaway County and the northern two-thirds of Ross County.

Rep. Johnson is in his first term in the Ohio House and he says he has quickly gotten up to speed on matters that have kept the legislature busy during the COVID-19 pandemic, which have ranged from unemployment benefits to trying to protect business from over-regulation.

One of these bills makes all Ohio businesses “essential” if a future health crisis occurs, as long as those businesses follow standard health practices. Johnson says he has been hearing from many small business owners who say they have had to alter their hours due to a lack of employees.

The Chillicothe Republican alluded to how the federal Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC), the supplemental unemployment benefit created by the CARES Act in March 2020 at $600 per week and continued by the American Rescue Plan Act at $300 per week, was incentivizing many people not going back to work.   

Ohio will end FPUC payments after the benefit week ending June 26, 2021. 

Johnson believes people who are working should be rewarded by having the federal income tax suspended for a period of time in an effort to get people back to work.