The Ohio Senate is set to vote on its version of the state’s two-year, $75 billion budget.
The main items in the Senate’s budget plan, which is similar to the budget on which the Ohio House voted in April, are an income tax cut, along with increased school funding.
Read More
A state senator from Toledo is blasting Gov. Mike DeWine’s decision to cut funding to public schools as part of a move to reduce spending amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Governor DeWine’s decision to slash more than $300 million from Ohio’s K-12 funding is an alarming divestment from our public school system during a time when schools need more support than ever,” state Sen. Teresa Fedor, D-Toledo, said in a statement. “Nearly half of the $775 million total in cuts to General Revenue spending will be stripped from Ohio’s public schools, which continue to serve more than 90% of children in our state.
Read More
by Tyler Arnold Neither right-leaning groups nor left-leaning groups are satisfied with Ohio’s changes to the tax law included in the two-year operating budget that was passed by the state legislature on Wednesday and signed into law by Gov. Mike DeWine on Thursday. The Buckeye Institute, a free-market think…
Read More
Under Ohio’s newly-passed budget, the legal age to purchase cigarettes and vaping products in the state will jump from 18 to 21. The 3,200-page budget document contains several pages of new tobacco-related provisions, all of which make it “illegal for any person under the age of 21 to purchase…
Read More
by Tyler Arnold Ohio Senate Republicans expect a budget bill compromise to be reached for a vote by Wednesday’s deadline, according to spokesperson John Fortney. “We are very close, and we expect the budget to be ready for a vote before the interim period ends,” Fortney told The Center…
Read More
As of now, Ohio’s state government is only funded through July 17 under a temporary budget passed by the State Legislature. The stop-gap measure was passed after legislators failed to meet their June 30 constitutional deadline for passing a biennial budget. But, according to The Cleveland Plain Dealer, legislators…
Read More
by Tyler Arnold Formal discussions between the House and the Senate regarding a budget agreement are expected to begin Wednesday. House Majority Leader Bill Seitz, R-Cincinnati, told The Center Square via email that some informal discussion are already underway. Although both chambers have a Republican majority and successfully passed…
Read More
Greg Lawson, a research fellow at The Buckeye Institute, is taking his message of sustainability to the Ohio Senate Finance Committee, which is currently hearing testimony on its version of the state’s biennial budget. As The Ohio Star previously reported, Lawson has been urging lawmakers all session to avoid…
Read More
State Sen. Lou Terhar (R-Cincinnati) said it would be “a mistake” for the Ohio Senate to support a decrease to the tax breaks small businesses receive in the state. “There are a range of issues with the House budget that concern us in the Senate. The first would be…
Read More
by Todd Defeo State senators debating the biennial budget could soon consider proposals to increase funding for direct service professionals, food banks and public schools throughout the state. Earlier this month, the Ohio House voted 85-9 to approve House Bill 166, a nearly $68.9 billion, two-year state spending plan.…
Read More
The Ohio Senate Finance Subcommittee on Primary and Secondary Education was asked to reconsider spending an additional $550 million on public education in the state’s biennial budget, House Bill 166. Testifying before the committee Wednesday, Greg Lawson, a senior research fellow at The Buckeye Institute, pointed out that “Ohio’s…
Read More
The Buckeye Institute, an Ohio-based conservative think tank, warned lawmakers Tuesday that state government spending “has outpaced inflation and population growth for years,” meaning the “day of reckoning will be painful for families and businesses” if they don’t cut down on spending. Greg Lawson, a research fellow at The…
Read More
A revised state budget proposal unveiled Thursday by House Republican leadership would introduce substantial income tax cuts for Ohioans but would do so by eliminating tax breaks for small businesses. The budget plan, House Bill 166, builds off of the budget proposal put forward by Gov. Mike DeWine, who…
Read More
An expert analyst suggested that the revenue forecast in Gov. Mike DeWine’s budget proposal is $705 million too high during a testimony before the House Finance Committee Tuesday. According to Legislative Service Commission Director Mark Flanders, DeWine’s General Revenue Fund (GRF) tax revenue forecasts would come up $704.9 million short…
Read More