ohio budget
Ohio budget primer: Here’s Gov. DeWine’s spending plan for the next two years
Last week, Ohioans got their first look at the governor’s budget proposal. Lawmakers got their first chance to ask questions about his plans. Gov. Mike DeWine outlined the broad strokes of his spending plan in his state of the state address, late last month. He put heavy emphasis on supporting families through tax incentives, education […]
DeWine child tax deduction leaves poor families out
At his “state of the state” address on Tuesday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine put forth a unique proposal to the Ohio legislature — to enact a $2,500 per child state tax deduction. When I first saw this, I was excited! The 2021 federal child tax credit expansion lifted over 2 million children out of poverty. […]
Critical local government funding in Ohio should be restored, municipal league says
Restoring local government funds for Ohio cities and villages should be a major priority in the newest state operating budget, according to policy experts and those who represent cities and counties. The Ohio Municipal League laid out their goals as the state operating budget discussion approaches, setting the LGF, which is used for the most […]
Ohio economists say state’s pandemic spending cuts won’t help the economy
In May 2020, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced $775 million in state spending cuts in the face of what he expected to be lower tax revenues due to economic dislocation caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The cuts included $300 million whacked from K-12 education and $210 million from Medicaid, the health program for the poor. […]
Mailbag: What’s the cost of sending Highway Patrol to the Texas border?
Welcome back to another installment of the Ohio Capital Journal Mailbag, which rank choice voting has shown is the most-read political column in the state. (Or at least is readers’ third pick.) Let’s get to it: Got a question about Ohio politics/government? Send them by email to [email protected] or tweet them to @tylerjoelb. Any new […]
Scrap tires and alcoholic bingo: The Ohio budget’s most obscure items
The new state budget allocates billions of dollars to necessary public services, but you have to flip to page 1,326 to find the part about buying to-go cocktails. Tucked between groundbreaking investments in broadband internet and children’s services, this provision lets Ohioans purchase drinks for “off-premises consumption,” so long as the drink is not any […]
DeWine signs budget, blocks erasure of COVID-19 health violations
Gov. Mike DeWine signed the $74 billion, two-year state budget into law, keeping in place nearly all of its signature policy positions and spending priorities while once again nixing an effort by Republican lawmakers to counter his administration’s methods of handling the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. The governor also vetoed an attempt by Republican lawmakers to […]
Experts overwhelmingly agree rural broadband will grow Ohio’s economy, reduce inequality. Senate leaders don’t
The great majority of a panel of Ohio economists agree: Better rural broadband would be an economic boon to the state and it would help to reduce a growing gap between haves and have nots, according to a survey that was released Monday. The results of the survey are likely to be grist for those […]
Ohio Senate passes state budget, negotiations with House to follow
The two legislative chambers have approved their respective versions of the two-year state operating budget. Now comes the heavy negotiating. Lawmakers in the Ohio Senate and Ohio House of Representatives have until the end of June to find common ground among their differing spending priorities. The goal is to send a finished version to Gov. […]
Ohio Budget: Lawmakers’ priorities not quite on target, advocates say
The money invested in a state budget should be fully reflective of the state’s values, public advocates say in arguing the current proposals considered by Ohio lawmakers have a long way to go in reaching that goal. The comprehensive, two-year budget is being negotiated inside the Ohio Statehouse and includes billions of dollars in proposed […]
Child care leaders ‘outraged’ at state Senate’s removal of quality system in budget proposal
The removal of the Step Up to Quality child care standards system as proposed in the Ohio Senate’s version of the budget was not only against the wishes of some child care leaders, but also came without any warning. “It was calculated,” said Dawn Blalock, co-owner of the Little Miracles Early Development Center. “It was […]
It’s time Ohio lawmakers fund alternatives to youth incarceration
By Kenza Kamal, Policy Director at Juvenile Justice Coalition It costs Ohio taxpayers $185,303 to incarcerate one child for one year. This is a staggering amount for us to spend on youth incarceration, an ineffective and harmful approach to the needs of communities in our state–particularly young Black Ohioans, who are six times more likely […]