(Toledo, OH) Toledo's mayor is blasting a state lawmaker's attempt to control lead contamination rules.
Democratic Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson ripped into Republican state representative Derek Merrin for a state budget amendment that makes the Ohio Department of Health responsible for lead inspections in rental homes. If approved, the measure would wipe out Toledo's lead-safe ordinance.
The mayor calls the Monclova Township Republican's amendment self-serving because he's a landlord in the city.
Merrin has called the lead ordinance is “unconstitutional” and “targeted discrimination against a small minority of property owners.” The state rep's bill calls the regulation of lead abatement “a matter of general statewide interest” that should be handled uniformly.