Louis W. Blessing III (born November 11, 1980) is a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of the Ohio Senate for the 8th district, and a former member of the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in Ch ...

for the 29th District. He is the son of

Lou Blessing Louis W. Blessing Jr. (born August 1, 1948) of Cincinnati, Ohio, is an American politician of the Republican party. Career After graduation from the University of Cincinnati, he received a Juris Doctor degree from Northern Kentucky University l ...

, who previously served in the Ohio Senate and the

, before he was forced to step down due to term limits.

Early life, education, and pre-political career

Blessing was born in 1980 in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, Ohio, the son of Louis William and Linda Ann (née Lameier) Blessing Jr. He graduated from La Salle High School in Cincinnati in 1999, and then from the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...

in 2003, earning a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in Mathematics. He later went on to obtain a

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

degree in electrical engineering from the

in 2007. As a practicing engineer, Blessing earned his professional engineer's license in 2011.

Ohio General Assembly

Ohio House of Representatives

Energy

In 2017 Blessing introduced H.B. 114, legislation aimed at reducing energy efficiency mandates and eliminating renewable energy mandates in Ohio. The bill passed the House with bipartisan support.

Banking and Finance

In 2017 Blessing introduced H.B. 199. This legislation created the Ohio Residential Mortgage Lending Act for the purpose of regulating all non-depository lending secured by residential real estate, limited the application of the current Mortgage Loan Law to unsecured loans and loans secured by other than residential real estate, and modified an exemption to the Ohio Consumer Installment Loan Act.

Heroin epidemic

Along with Representative Jonathan Dever, Blessing jointly sponsored H.B. 171 in the 131st General Assembly. The legislation sought to get drug dealers off of the streets by decreasing the minimum amount of heroin to be considered a first-degree felony trafficking violation.

Education

In 2015, Representatives Blessing and Jeff Rezabek jointly sponsored H.B. 299. The legislation allows children who are with a legal, permanent or temporary custodian to apply for one of the state's Autism Scholarships. A constituent in Blessing's district, who is the legal guardian of a young girl with Autism, had lost the Autism scholarship. The legislation was ultimately passed and signed by governor

John Kasich John Richard Kasich Jr. ( ; born May 13, 1952) is an American politician, author, and television news host who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001 and as the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019. A Republican, Kasic ...

Alcohol

Blessing, with fellow Cincinnati Representative Denise Driehaus, introduced H.B. 47, which sought to establish "outdoor refreshment areas": areas designated by local governments that allow for open containers. In the 132nd General Assembly, Blessing sponsored H.B. 444, which allowed free sampling of alcohol beverages in restaurants.

Ohio Senate

Blessing entered the Ohio Senate on October 9, 2019, after the retirement of his predecessor

Louis Terhar Louis Terhar (born September 28, 1949) is an American businessman and former politician serving as a Republican member of the Ohio Senate, representing the 8th district. The district includes portions of Hamilton County. Formerly, he served in t ...

Committee assignments

During the 14th General Assembly, Blessing was assigned to the following Ohio Senate committees: * (Chair of) Ways & Means Committee * (Vice Chair of) Primary & Secondary Education Committee * Finance Committee * Transportation Committee

Electoral history

Personal life

Blessing and his wife Heather have two children: Louis William Blessing IV and James Warner Blessing.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blessing, Louis W. Living people Republican Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives University of Cincinnati alumni Place of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American politicians 1980 births Republican Party Ohio state senators