By Debra Jasper
Columbus Enquirer Bureau

COLUMBUS - With a week to go before summer break, Republican lawmakers and Gov. Bob Taft are scrambling to push through bills that would limit damages in certain lawsuits, reform pension plans and provide more tax incentives for creating jobs.

Taft is lobbying hard for quick passage of those bills because they are critical to jump-start Ohio's economy, said his spokesman, Orest Holubec.

"All of these bills have an impact on our job climate, and the governor is working to make sure Ohio doesn't get left behind," he said.

But with just days left on the legislative calendar, it's unclear whether Taft will get his way. Several bills are still held up in committee, where House and Senate members continue to argue over their merits.

Two of the measures under debate would limit who can sue over exposure to asbestos or silica dust, which is dust used in sandblasting and glassmaking. Both bills require specific medical tests to prove that someone has been exposed. Silica dust and asbestos can cause swelling and scarring of tissues, and obstruct airflow.

Backers of the measure say requiring people to get medical tests will help determine who really needs help and who doesn't.

"Our hope is to keep people who are truly sick and injured from trying to get benefits from companies who have been bankrupted by paying out benefits to people who are not sick and may never get sick," said David Hansen, chairman of the Ohio Alliance for Civil Justice, which represents about 200 employer groups.

Opponents, however, say the bills limit the rights of people who are injured - and gives companies less incentive to be careful.

"One of the benefits of America's legal system is that corporations are motivated to behave responsibly because they know if their dangerous products injure people and put them in the hospital, then they will have to pay damages," said William Mason, executive director of the Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers. "Lawsuits are the tools that ordinary people use to hold people accountable."

A Senate panel recommended passage of the silica bill last week, and it is expected to be voted on before lawmakers adjourn for the summer. That bill has generated less controversy than the asbestos bill, which has been changed by both the House and the Senate and is now sitting in the Senate. It's unclear if the bill will pass before lawmakers head home, but state Rep. Bill Seitz, R-Cincinnati, said he is holding out hope.

"I'm optimistic because we need this to establish a court management system that allows the sickest people to get their cases heard first," Seitz said.

Lawsuit control

The debate over those lawsuits has also been bogged down by broader debate over limiting lawsuit damages in general.

The Ohio Senate has passed a bill that would put a $500,000 limit on pain and suffering awards in personal injury lawsuits, and a $1 million limit on damages in catastrophic injury cases. It would also cap punitive damages at $100,000 or the amount of economic damages, whichever was greater, for businesses with more than 50 people.

But despite strong support for the measure in the Senate, the bill is stalled in the House.

Some Democrats and Republicans say lawmakers need to know more about how much money is paid out in frivolous lawsuits. They also want to know whether limiting damage amounts might stop injured people from getting the help they truly need.

Both sides will have plenty of opportunity to weigh in on the issue this summer.

Judiciary Committee chairman Scott Oelsager, a Republican state representative from Canton, said this week that he will continue to hold hearings on the bill and that it isn't likely to go to a vote until after the November elections.

Gambling bill a long shot

Lawmakers also don't seem likely to come together next week in support of putting a measure on the ballot to allow slot machines at racetracks.

The latest plan, as put forth by Seitz, would divide an estimated $500 million in gambling revenues - giving 50 percent to scholarships, 30 percent to educational programs and 20 percent to early childhood services.Opponents of the measure say gambling is morally wrong. And Taft has vowed to work to defeat it if it goes to the ballot, saying it's the wrong approach to boosting Ohio's economy.

But Seitz and other backers of the bill argue that too much Ohio money is going to other states and that legalizing gambling would keep the money here.

"Racetracks are having their lunch eaten by other racetracks in other states, because they have slot machines and bigger purses," Seitz said. "So our tracks have said, if we don't get this done, some of them will close shop and board up business. When it's a factory, we fall all over ourselves and give them tax credits to keep them here. Well, there are a lot of jobs at stake with racing, too, like farmers, ticket takers - the whole nine yards."

Seitz said he is still hopeful that House Speaker Larry Householder will get behind the bill next week, but added that so far the speaker has not been communicative.

Householder, R-Glenford, has indicated that racetracks might need to take action themselves if they want to put the issue before voters in November.

Pensions, tax breaks

Lawmakers are also still debating the best way to overhaul Ohio's retirement systems, and whether to require them to use Ohio-based money managers and brokers.

Holubec said Taft has met with bankers, lawmakers and others to emphasize the importance of passing a reform package before summer break.

The House wants the pension systems to "Buy Ohio," but senators and pension directors have said that requirement could be too costly and create conflicts.

The five public pension systems together - the Public Employees Retirement System, the School Employees Retirement System, the Police and Fire Pension Fund, the State Teachers Retirement System and the State Highway Patrol Retirement System - benefit 1.45 million workers, retirees and their survivors.

Taft also continues to push lawmakers to pass a bill that would increase the length of time that tax breaks offered to businesses through so-called enterprise zones can stay in effect from 10 years to 15 years.

The bill would also guarantee that the state will put up $3 million in matching funds for local communities that attract new plants and want to provide job training for workers. The companies must agree to bring 100 new high-paying jobs to Ohio before the state would put up money for the extra training.

Holubec, the governor's spokesman, predicted the measure will pass before lawmakers adjourn for the summer.

"The House and Senate have both realized the value of the jobs bill," he said. "We're just working out the details."

E-mail djasper@enquirer.com