lower the blood alcohol level considered driving under the influence. Johnson suggested that at the new lower limit, "We could give that level a $100 fine, or call it driving under federal blackmail." He also sponsored legislation to increase the hours of driving sixteen-year-olds needed to obtain a driver's license and saw it enacted into law. Johnson opposed efforts to locate state offices outside of Columbus, defeating a bill in committee in 1998. Johnson declared of the defeat "the people of the state are the winners, not Toledo, not Marietta, not Columbus." In 1999, he obtained Senate passage of a resolution commending "Neighbors Day". As part of the debate, he sang the theme song to Mister Rogers' Neighborhood on the Senate floor. That year he also sponsored legislation to declare the northern largemouth bass the official state fish. The Columbus Dispatch after his resignation referred to his "blunt, opinionated style." Johnson also served as President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the second ranking position in the body, which he held when he left to enter Governor Taft's cabinet. He was chairman of the Finance and Financial Institutions Committee until his resignation. Appointed Development Director On August 28, 2001, Johnson being ineligible for a third term under Ohio's term limits law, Governor Taft appointed him director of the Ohio Department of Development to replace C. Lee Johnson, who had resigned the previous December. "His experience as a capable manager and knowledge of utility issues, tax policies, economic development, and the law make him an excellent choice" said Taft. The department, with a staff of five hundred and a half-billion dollar budget, is charged with promoting economic development in Ohio, attracting new industry, and promoting tourism in the state. Johnson resigned from his Senate seat on September 17 and David Goodman, a 34-year-old member of the Ohio House was appointed by the Senate Republican caucus in Johnson's place. Upon his departure, Johnson told his colleagues "I hope to make you proud, and I hope to pick your pocket." Johnson's hometown paper, The Columbus Dispatch, hailed the choice saying "Taft picked a pro in Bruce E. Johnson" but Cleveland's The Plain Dealer, Ohio's largest newspaper, editorialized that Johnson was an "uninspired choice" with "no discernible experience in job creation." The Toledo Blade also was skeptical, writing in an editorial "he brings gusto to a job that requires verve, imagination, and the ability to