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Plan Consolidates Disability Commissions Into One Council

A proposal geared towards streamlining services for people with disabilities is on its way to the House. The idea is to take several state agencies and consolidate into one entity.

There are three commissions within the state of Ohio that, for the most part, all do the same thing. The governmental groups identify and implement ways to help connect people with disabilities to jobs and other services.

A Senate bill condenses those three groups into one body known as the State Rehabilitation Council. Republican Senator Bill Coley supports the bill, and says this is part of a trend from lawmakers to consolidate services to save money and cut down on confusion.

“Sometimes when you have so many different boards everything kind of gets clouded and lost in the haze.”

The groups being condensed are the Consumer Advisory Committee, Governor’s Council in People with Disabilities and a commission within Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities.

The State Rehabilitation Council will report to the Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities. The change is expected to save about $33,000 a year.

Copyright 2017 The Statehouse News Bureau

Andy Chow is a general assignment state government reporter who focuses on environmental, energy, agriculture, and education-related issues. He started his journalism career as an associate producer with ABC 6/FOX 28 in Columbus before becoming a producer with WBNS 10TV.