Robert Sprague

Early life and career

Sprague was raised in Findlay, Ohio, and graduated from Findlay High School.{{cite web |title=Treasurer’s Biography |url=https://www.tos.ohio.gov/bio/

Ohio House of Representatives

In 2011, then-Representative Cliff Hite was appointed to the Ohio Senate, creating a vacancy for the 83rd House District. Sprague was appointed to fill that seat, which he was re-elected to in 2012, 2014, and 2016.

During his time in the legislature, his was a leading voice on fiscal matters as a member of both the House Finance and Financial Institutions Committees. As a member of the General Assembly, he led efforts to combat the addiction crisis by working with law enforcement, community leaders, and doctors on preventing prescription drug abuse, reducing overdose deaths, and improving treatment systems.

Addressing drug addiction

As a freshman member of the General Assembly, Representative Sprague sat on the House Criminal Justice Committee. Feeling there were improvements that needed to be made in the state's criminal justice system, particularly regarding drug offenses, he remarked, “Drug offenders are cycling through the courts, the jails, the prison system, and the mental health system. [And] the state still has not figured out a way to . . . help people get out of a continuing spiral.”

At the time, Sprague was recognized for a sincere commitment to addressing the addiction crisis.

During the 130th General Assembly, Representative Sprague chaired a special committee that traveled the state gathering information on the opioid addiction crisis.

Through legislation he sponsored and supported, he was deeply involved in addressing many addiction related issues, including:

• Adding modules about prescription opioids and heroin addiction to Ohio's health curricula (H.B. 367);
• Increasing penalties for illegally providing controlled substances to pregnant women (HB 394);
• Shutting down pill mills through revised pain management, prescribing, and dispensing regulations (H.B. 93);
• Increasing access to the life-saving overdose reversing medication, naloxone (Narcan) (H.B. 4);
• Creating Good Samaritan provisions for overdose situations, encouraging individuals to call for help (H.B. 110);
• Providing the framework and funding to increase prevention efforts and ensure a full continuum of treatment services would be available to every Ohioan (H.B. 483); and
• Providing the framework and funding to establish and increase the use of specialty drug dockets, which give courts flexibility for drug offenders, allowing them to place people with drug addictions into treatment and rehabilitation (H.B. 59).

Developmental disabilities

In the 131st General Assembly, Representative Sprague was chairman of the House Finance Subcommittee on Health and Human Services. That biennium's operating budget, H.B. 64, addressed many DD-related issues.

As chairman, he had a significant role in guiding these provisions through the legislative process, such as providing more opportunities for individuals with disabilities to live and work in their community, while insuring institutional opportunities remained an option for individuals desiring that setting or requiring a higher level of care.

He also worked to include certain DD-related changes in H.B. 483. Provisions included:

• Reforming the levy process for county boards of developmental disabilities;
• Designating October as Disability History and Awareness Month;
• Authorizing a personal income tax deduction for STABLE Account contributions;
• Authorizing residents of other states to open accounts under Ohio's STABLE program; and
• Authorizing the Treasurer of state to issue interest payments to beneficiaries.

Representative Sprague co-sponsored H.B. 158, legislation that removed references to “mental retardation” from the Ohio Revised Code.

Other

In March 2012, the Ohio House passed legislation sponsored by Representative Sprague that would increase the maximum amount that the Ohio Treasurer could invest in agricultural linked deposits from $125 million to $165 million. It also increased the maximum amount that could be loaned to farmers and agri-businesses from $100,000 to $150,000 per application. Governor John Kasich signed the bill on June 26, 2012.

Legislative Awards

While serving in the General Assembly, Sprague received multiple awards including the:

• Ohio Association of County Behavioral Health Authorities (OACBHA) Award for Legislative Excellence (2013);
• Ohio Association of County Boards of Developmental Disabilities (OACB) Legislator of the Year (2014);
• Public Children Services Association of Ohio (PCSAO) Outstanding Legislator of the Year (2015);
• Center for Community Solutions (CCS) Award for Public Service (2016);
• Ohio AMVETS Legislator of the Year (2017); and
• Ohio American Legion Recognition Award (2018).

Ohio treasurer

On March 7, 2017, Sprague announced his intention to run for the office of Ohio treasurer.

During his run for office, Sprague received endorsements from the editorial boards of the Columbus Dispatch, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Akron Beacon Journal, and several other Ohio publications.

On November 6, 2018, Sprague was elected as Ohio's 49th Treasurer of State, defeating opponent Rob Richardson (D), 53% to 47%. He took office on January 11, 2019.

As treasurer, Sprague successfully launched ResultsOHIO, a program that empowers policymakers and innovators to pursue pay for success projects aimed at tackling social and public health challenges facing the Buckeye State. ResultsOHIO protects taxpayer dollars by focusing on bold, new results-based ideas. Through the initiative, public dollars are only used to reimburse project costs if the project has proven to deliver verifiable results.

2026 Ohio secretary of state campaign

Main article: 2026 Ohio Secretary of State election

On January 18, 2025, Sprague announced that he would run for governor of Ohio in the 2026 election, seeking to succeed term-limited governor Mike DeWine. However, Sprague withdrew from the race on February 5, 2025, running instead for Ohio secretary of state and endorsing Vivek Ramaswamy in the gubernatorial election.

Personal life

Sprague currently resides in Findlay, where he lives with his wife, Amanda, and their five children.

References

References

1. "Office of the Ohio Treasurer".
2. "Hannah News Story".
3. "Editorial: For state treasurer: Robert Sprague offers better experience".
4. (5 October 2018). "Robert Sprague for Ohio treasurer: endorsement editorial".
5. "Treasurer's race pits state lawmaker against former county auditor".
6. "130th General Assembly, Substitute House Bill Number 367".
7. "Laws, Acts, and Legislation".
8. "Laws, Acts, and Legislation".
9. "The Ohio Legislature HB4".
10. "Ohio Legislative Service Commission Sub. H.B. 110".
11. "Laws, Acts, and Legislation".
12. "Ohio Legislative Service Commission Am. Sub. H.B. 59".
13. "The Ohio Legislature HB64".
14. "The Ohio Legislature HB483".
15. "The Ohio Legislature HB158".
16. "Laws, Acts, and Legislation".
17. "Annual Association Awards".
18. "Legislator of the Year Award".
19. "PCSAO Award".
20. "Community Solutions Award for Public Service in Honor of John A. Begala".
21. "AMVETS 2017 Legislator of the Year".
22. "Ohio Legion News, Vol. 84, No. 2".
23. "Editorial: For state treasurer: Robert Sprague offers better experience".
24. (5 October 2018). "Robert Sprague for Ohio treasurer: endorsement editorial".
25. "Beacon Journal/Ohio.com editorial board: Robert Sprague for state treasurer".
26. "2018 OFFICIAL ELECTIONS RESULTS".
27. "State's Treasurer-Elect Announces Swearing-In Ceremony".
28. "Treasurer Robert Sprague".
29. (January 17, 2025). "Ohio Treasurer files paperwork for gubernatorial run". [[WTVG]].
30. (February 5, 2025). "Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague to run for secretary of state, backs Ramaswamy for governor". [[The Columbus Dispatch]].