State Rep. Mike Foley
CLEVELAND — State Representative Mike Foley has co-sponsored H.B. 596, the medical right-to-know bill introduced last week by Rep. Bob Hagan (Youngstown). Foley represents House District 14, which includes Brook Park, Parma Heights, and Cleveland wards 19, 20 and 21.
The bill would fix the medical right-to-know and ‘gag-order’ provisions of Ohio’s new hydraulic fracturing law. That measure, signed by Ohio Gov. John Kasich on June 11, 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. Foley voted against the bill on final passage in May.
On May 2, Rep. Foley wrote to Ohio Citizen Action, saying –
“I have co-sponsored legislation to require disclosure of fracking chemicals and to ensure that the whole fracking process takes place in a well-regulated and safe environment. Additionally, I am the sponsor of H.B. 464 which would regulate methane emissions from the drilling process. Methane emissions into the atmosphere to me, are the scariest aspect of natural gas drilling as methane is 20 – 25 times more harmful as a greenhouse gas than carbon. If natural gas drilling is to take place in the amount anticipated by the Governor, then we should be making sure it is done in as safe a manner as possible.”
— Paul Ryder, Assistant Director, Ohio Citizen Action
