Robert Sherwin
COLUMBIA STATION – House District 57 candidate Robert Sherwin (L) today pledged his support for H.B. 596, the medical right-to-know bill, if he is elected on November 6. District 57 is in Huron County and includes the cities of Bellvue, Norwalk and Willard.
H.B. 596, introduced earlier this month by Rep. Bob Hagan (Youngstown), would fix the medical right-to-know and ‘gag-order’ provisions of Ohio’s new hydraulic fracturing law. That measure contained provisions allowing drilling companies to hide chemical information from doctors, nurses, emergency responders, medical technologists, and medical researchers. It also put a gag order on medical professionals who do obtain this chemical information.
On October 19, Mr. Sherwin wrote to Ohio Citizen Action, saying –
“I have been following the hydaraulic fracturing (fracking) issue for some time now and am NOT convinced that the practice is 100% safe to both our ground water and the land surrounding the injection well site, as well as people and other living creatures near the site. I feel that recent legislation has not gone far enough to ensure the safety of our citizens. If elected to the Ohio House of Representatives in the 57th district I pledge to both support and co-sponsor Representative Hagan’s H.B. 596, which would remove any obstructions that have been placed on our medical professionals to disclose fracking chemical information as they see fit.
I realize that the oil and gas industry supports many jobs in Ohio, but protecting our citizens should be the top priority for Ohio lawmakers. “
Sherwin’s incumbent opponent, State Rep. Terry Boose (R), did not vote on the defective hydraulic fracturing law last May and has not co-sponsored H.B. 596 to fix it. Democratic challenger Matthew Lark has not stated a position on the bill.
— Melissa K. English, Development Director, Ohio Citizen Action
