Louis Blessing

Last updated
Heather Mann
​
(m. 2015)​
Louis W. Blessing III
Member of the Ohio Senate
from the 8th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
October 9, 2019
Children2
Residence Colerain Township, Ohio
Alma mater University of Cincinnati
Profession Electrical engineer
NicknameBill

Louis W. Blessing III (born November 11, 1980) is a Republican member of the Ohio Senate for the 8th district, [1] and a former member of the Ohio House of Representatives for the 29th District. He is the son of Lou Blessing, who previously served in the Ohio Senate and the Ohio House of Representatives, before he was forced to step down due to term limits.

Contents

Early life, education, and pre-political career

Blessing was born in 1980 in Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of Louis William and Linda Ann (née Lameier) Blessing Jr. He graduated from La Salle High School in Cincinnati in 1999, and then from the University of Cincinnati in 2003, earning a B.A. in Mathematics. He later went on to obtain a B.S. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Cincinnati in 2007.

As a practicing engineer, Blessing earned his professional engineer's license in 2011. [2]

Ohio General Assembly

Ohio House of Representatives

Energy

In 2017 Blessing introduced H.B. 114, [3] legislation aimed at reducing energy efficiency mandates and eliminating renewable energy mandates in Ohio. The bill passed the House with bipartisan support. [4]

Banking and Finance

In 2017 Blessing introduced H.B. 199. This legislation created the Ohio Residential Mortgage Lending Act for the purpose of regulating all non-depository lending secured by residential real estate, limited the application of the current Mortgage Loan Law to unsecured loans and loans secured by other than residential real estate, and modified an exemption to the Ohio Consumer Installment Loan Act. [5]

Heroin epidemic

Along with Representative Jonathan Dever, Blessing jointly sponsored H.B. 171 in the 131st General Assembly. The legislation sought to get drug dealers off of the streets by decreasing the minimum amount of heroin to be considered a first-degree felony trafficking violation. [6]

Education

In 2015, Representatives Blessing and Jeff Rezabek jointly sponsored H.B. 299. [7] The legislation allows children who are with a legal, permanent or temporary custodian to apply for one of the state's Autism Scholarships. A constituent in Blessing's district, who is the legal guardian of a young girl with Autism, had lost the Autism scholarship. The legislation was ultimately passed and signed by governor John Kasich. [8]

Alcohol

Blessing, with fellow Cincinnati Representative Denise Driehaus, introduced H.B. 47, which sought to establish "outdoor refreshment areas": areas designated by local governments that allow for open containers. [9] [10]

In the 132nd General Assembly, Blessing sponsored H.B. 444, which allowed free sampling of alcohol beverages in restaurants. [11] [12]

Ohio Senate

Blessing entered the Ohio Senate on October 9, 2019, after the retirement of his predecessor Louis Terhar.

Committee assignments

During the 14th General Assembly, Blessing was assigned to the following Ohio Senate committees: [13]

  • (Chair of) Ways & Means Committee
  • (Vice Chair of) Primary & Secondary Education Committee
  • Finance Committee
  • Transportation Committee

Electoral history

Ohio House 29th District: Results 2012 to 2018 [14]
YearRepublicanVotesPctDemocratVotesPctGreenVotesPct
2012Louis W. Blessing III31,42761.27%Hubert E. Brown19,86938.73%
2014Louis W. Blessing III20,74667.34%Tammy Simendinger8,85228.73%Nathan D. Lane1,2093.92%
2016Louis W. Blessing III37,138100%
2018Louis W. Blessing III28,38664.43%Carrie R. Davis15,66835.57%

Personal life

Blessing and his wife Heather have two children: Louis William Blessing IV and James Warner Blessing.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Kasich</span> American politician and former television host (born 1952)

John Richard Kasich Jr. is an American politician and author who was the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001, and a Republican candidate for the presidential nomination in 2000 and 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rob Portman</span> American lawyer and politician (born 1955)

Robert Jones Portman is an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator from Ohio from 2011 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Portman was the 35th director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) from 2006 to 2007, the 14th United States trade representative from 2005 to 2006, and a U.S. representative from 1993 to 2005, representing Ohio's 2nd district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ted Strickland</span> American politician (born 1941)

Theodore Strickland is an American politician who served as the 68th governor of Ohio from 2007 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the United States House of Representatives, representing Ohio's 6th congressional district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lou Blessing</span> American politician

Louis W. Blessing Jr. of Cincinnati, Ohio, is an American politician of the Republican party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael J. Skindell</span> American politician (born 1962)

Michael J. Skindell is the state representative for the 13th district of the Ohio House of Representatives after previously serving there from 2003 to 2010. He also previously served as the state senator for the 23rd district of the Ohio Senate from 2011 to 2018. He is a Democrat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Seitz</span> American politician (born 1954)

William J. Seitz III is the state representative for the 30th district of the Ohio House of Representatives. He is a Republican. The district consists of Cheviot, Delhi Township, Green as well as portions of Cincinnati, in Hamilton County. Formerly, Seitz represented the same seat from 2001 to 2007. He served in the Ohio Senate from 2007 to 2016. He has also served as Majority Leader since 2017 serving under five different speakers and two interim speakers. After 24 years in the Ohio General Assembly, Seitz has decided to retire at the end of his term in 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Schaffer</span> American politician (born 1963)

Tim Schaffer is a Republican member of the Ohio Senate. He was a member of the Ohio House of Representatives from 2001 until 2006, and of the Ohio Senate from 2007 to 2014 and also previously represented the 77th District of the Ohio House of Representatives from 2015 until 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shannon Jones</span> American politician

Shannon Jones is an American politician from the state of Ohio. A Republican, she was a member of the Ohio House of Representatives from 2007 to 2009 and a member of the Ohio Senate from 2009 to 2016. She was the Executive Director of Groundwork Ohio from 2016 to 2024, and is currently a county commissioner in Warren County, Ohio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armond Budish</span> American politician

Armond D. Budish is an American politician, lawyer, and television host who served as Cuyahoga County Executive for two terms from 2015 to 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, he was a four-term Ohio State Representative from the 8th district, and served as Speaker of the House from 2009 to 2011. He was the first Jewish representative to hold that office. He was re-elected to the House in 2010 and 2012, and thereafter was term-limited.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBTQ rights in Ohio</span>

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Ohio enjoy most of the same rights as non-LGBTQ people. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal in Ohio since 1974, and same-sex marriage has been legally recognized since June 2015 as a result of Obergefell v. Hodges. Ohio statutes do not address discrimination on account of sexual orientation and gender identity; however, the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County established that employment discrimination against LGBTQ people is illegal in 2020. In addition, a number of Ohio cities have passed anti-discrimination ordinances providing protections in housing and public accommodations. Conversion therapy is also banned in a number of cities. In December 2020, a federal judge invalidated a law banning sex changes on an individual's birth certificate within Ohio.

Courtney Combs was a member of the Ohio House of Representatives, representing the 54th District since his appointment in 2004. He was the Chairman of the House Criminal Justice Committee. He is a member of the Republican Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Coley</span> American politician (born 1960)

Bill Coley is a former Republican member of the Ohio Senate, representing the 4th District from 2011 to 2020. Formerly, he was a member of the Ohio House of Representatives from 2005 to 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Sprague</span> Ohio politician

Robert Cole Sprague is an American politician serving as the 49th and current Ohio Treasurer of State. Prior to his election as treasurer, he represented the 83rd district in the Ohio House of Representatives, and served as city auditor and treasurer in his hometown of Findlay. He is a member of the Republican Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ray Rodrigues</span> American politician

Raymond Wesley Rodrigues is the 12th chancellor of the State University System of Florida since 2023. Previously, he served four terms in the Florida House of Representatives, representing southern and coastal Lee County from 2012 to 2020 and one term in the Florida Senate from 2020 to 2022. His campaign website describes him as conservative.

A six-week abortion ban, also called a "fetal heartbeat bill" by proponents, is a law in the United States which makes abortion illegal as early as six weeks gestational age, which is when proponents claim that a "fetal heartbeat" can be detected. Medical and reproductive health experts, including the American Medical Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, say that the reference to a fetal heartbeat is medically inaccurate and misleading, for a conceptus is not called a fetus until eight weeks after fertilization, as well as that at four weeks after fertilization, the embryo has no heart, only a group of cells which will become a heart. Medical professionals advise that a true fetal heartbeat cannot be detected until around 17 to 20 weeks of gestation when the chambers of the heart have become sufficiently developed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Dever</span> American politician

Jonathan Dever is an American politician who previously served as a member in the Ohio House of Representatives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kyle Koehler</span> American politician

Kyle Koehler represented Ohio's 79th district in the Ohio House of Representatives from January 2015 to December 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Onder</span> American politician & physician (born 1962)

Robert Onder Jr. is an American politician and physician from the state of Missouri. A Republican, he was a member of the Missouri Senate from 2015 to 2022, serving the 2nd District in the St. Charles area. He was elected Assistant Majority Floor Leader in 2015. Onder previously was a member of the Missouri House of Representatives from 2007 to 2008.

Abortion in Ohio is legal up to the point of fetal viability as a result of abortion rights being placed into the Ohio State Constitution by November 2023 Ohio Issue 1.

The Ohio nuclear bribery scandal (2020) is a political scandal in Ohio involving allegations that electric utility company FirstEnergy paid roughly $60 million to Generation Now, a 501(c)(4) organization purportedly controlled by Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives Larry Householder in exchange for passing a $1.3 billion bailout for the nuclear power operator. It was described as "likely the largest bribery, money laundering scheme ever perpetrated against the people of the state of Ohio" by U.S. Attorney David M. DeVillers, who charged Householder and four others with racketeering on July 21, 2020. According to prosecutors, FirstEnergy poured millions into the campaigns of 21 candidates during the 2018 Ohio House of Representatives election, which ultimately helped Householder replace Ryan Smith as Republican House speaker.

References

  1. ↑ "Senator Louis W. Blessing III (R)". Ohio Senate . Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  2. ↑ "Ohio Engineers and Surveyors Board" . Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  3. ↑ "Energy bill passes House, but fight expected in Senate". The Harrison Press. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  4. ↑ "Ohio House passes bill to change renewable energy mandates". The News Center. Archived from the original on March 31, 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. ↑ "Governor Kasich signs 15 bills into Ohio law". ABC 6. 22 December 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  6. ↑ "New heroin law takes aim at drug dealers". The Akron Legal News. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  7. ↑ "House bill would revise guidelines for Autism Scholarship program". The Akron Legal News. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  8. ↑ "Governor Signs House Bill 299 Into Law, Includes Great News for Autism Scholarship". School Choice Ohio. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  9. ↑ "Ohio House passes bill allowing drinking in designated public district". WLWT5. 27 March 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  10. ↑ "State Passes H.B. 47 "Outdoor Refreshment Area Legislation"". City of Cincinnati. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  11. ↑ "Let them drink samples". The Toledo Blade. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  12. ↑ "H.B. 444". Ohio House of Representatives . Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  13. ↑ "Senator Louis W. Blessing, III - Bio | The Ohio Senate". ohiosenate.gov. Retrieved 2022-11-06.
  14. ↑ "Hamilton County, Ohio Board of Elections". Hamilton County, Ohio Board of Elections. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.