Committee hears proponent testimony on HB 188 to create Ohio–Israel trade and innovation partnership; members press for oversight and spending details

Proponents told the Ohio House Development Committee that House Bill 188 would create an Ohio–Israel Trade and Innovation Partnership to promote trade, research collaboration and workforce development and that the partnership could help bring Israeli startups and investments to Ohio.

"The chamber is proud to stand in support of HB 188, which creates the Ohio Israel trade and innovation partnership between our 2 nations," said Rick Carfagna, identified in the transcript as representing the Ohio Chamber of Commerce. He cited state trade figures, saying "Ohio exported nearly $242,000,000 worth of manufacturing goods to Israel in 2023" and that Ohio's exports to Israel since 1996 have totaled more than "$6,000,000,000." Carfagna said the partnership would advance trade, business and academic exchanges and other collaborative efforts.

Howie Begelman, president of Ohio Jewish Communities, told the committee the partnership should focus on three things: connecting universities and research hubs; funding proof-of-market activities to help startups secure first customers; and workforce development. Begelman cited a regional example, saying the Dayton Region Israel Trade Alliance produced "$54,000,000 in local revenue over 5 years and the creation of 93 full time jobs." He said the funding could be used to subsidize pilot clients, convenings and targeted R&D partnerships.

Evan Reamer of Jewish Columbus described past delegations that brought Israeli startups to U.S. markets and said an Ohio innovation hub could translate into "high skill jobs for Ohioans" while helping scale technologies into local industry sectors.

Committee members repeatedly pressed witnesses for details about the fiscal and governance structure. Representative Matthews asked specifically how the bill's $5,000,000 appropriation "being spent on this partnership" would be allocated and later asked whether it was appropriate to direct taxpayer dollars to the partnership while citing concerns about international law and recent events: "Considering what's happening right now currently, the political climate of Israel and the country being in violation of international laws, the ICC, convicting them of war crimes, is this a good use of our taxpayer dollars?" Carfagna said he was not the best person to answer appropriation specifics and that the committee would hear from other proponents; Begelman and Reamer also deferred specifics on allocations to the committee and sponsors and described possible expenditures (administration, R&D partnerships, proof-of-market subsidies, workforce upskilling).

Ranking member Abdulai raised oversight and conflict-of-interest questions, asking "Are there any oversight provisions, who ought be suspending? Are you aware of those aspects of this bill? How are we going to maintain credibility of this money being spent properly?" Witnesses replied that oversight details would be fleshed out through the legislative process and suggested the development department and any commission established by the bill would play roles in governance.

A member of the public briefly addressed the committee during proponent testimony. Austin Powers criticized the proposal, saying counties were choosing not to reinvest Israeli bonds and asked why the state would invest abroad "when working people are struggling here in Ohio." The chair limited the public commenter because the hearing was designated for proponents.

Chairman Hoops closed in‑person proponent testimony, noted five written submissions were available to members, and concluded the committee's second hearing on HB 188. Members requested follow-up materials, including a cost-benefit or job‑creation forecast comparing the proposed funding to other uses. The committee moved to House Bill 86, received no testimony on that bill and then adjourned.