State Senator Kevin Coughlin, a conservative Republican from Cuyahoga Falls, says right now the two houses of the legislature and the new governor are trying to feel each other out.
Kevin Coughlin: It's almost like three cobras hanging back waiting for the first one to strike. But at the same time what each chamber stands for, each institution stands for and what their priorities are.
Coughlin says the action should all kick off on the Ides of March when the governor unveils his first budget. The Republican says it's harder to maintain bipartisan feelings under term limits. He says there's almost no opportunity now for social mixing with members of the other party.
Kevin Coughlin: You have people coming in and out so quickly that their mind set is 'I'm going to be here a few years and I'm going to get my headlines, I'm going to pass a few low hanging fruit bills, and I'm going to run for something else.'
House member Brian Williams of Akron agrees. The Democrat says term limits have done a great harm to the legislature by eliminating the institutional knowledge he says is vital. Williams said it takes two years in the House just to learn your way around.
Brian Williams: I'm seeing now some folks who are in their last two years and I can't imagine they are going to devote the kind of time and energy and interest and passion takes to do that job correctly.
Williams even chose a Republican Conservative, Chuck Calvert of Medina, as an example of a dedicated legislator who was lost to term limits. While he and Coughlin are both against term limits, they also agree that nothing is likely to be done about them.
One small sign that the two parties might work together is a proposal by House Speaker Jon Husted that the Governor be the person to choose the Chancellor of the Board of Regents. Coughlin says both parties feel the governor needs to take greater control over higher education.
Kevin Coughlin: The governor is probably going to limit tuition increases and offer more tuition assistance and increase the amount of money for institutions. And I think the legislature is going to do the same. It may not do it from the same angle but we all have the same goal in mind. The bigger picture is: how do you get more accountability out of the system. I think he and the legislative leadership seem to be on the same page on that.
By accountability, Coughlin refers top the way state universities spend their money. And Williams agrees that every school may be trying to do too much.
Brian Williams: There are duplications. I think everybody would admit that. And probably some great savings could take place if we took a hard look. Interestingly The board of regents is talking about doing that now.
Coughlin feels there could be some changes likewise for K-12 schools. He argues that the state has increased funding for schools and now it's time to work on how the money is spent. The senator suggests things like pooling health care for all state school employees.
Kevin Coughlin: There are so many efficiencies we can promote and require. Maybe even look at consolidating the administration of some school districts. As I said so many times during the campaign, there's no reason why three, four, (or) five districts can't share a treasurer, or a business manager, or a transportation director or a special education director.
Governor Strickland has said one of his priorities will be K-12 education funding. Williams, who was superintendent of the Akron City Schools, wants to see less disparity in funding between the top spending districts and the lowest spending districts. He supports some parts of the constitutional amendment proposed this year by a public school coalition. But he says he prefers to first give the new governor and the legislature a chance to find a solution.