Policy Matters Ohio
Ohio House passes state budget; here’s what to know
Ohio took a step closer toward a constitutional school funding model with the passage Wednesday of a two-year operating budget in the Ohio House of Representatives, a sweeping bill that also proposes an across-the-board income tax cut, a broadband internet expansion plan and more spending to aid businesses struggling from the pandemic. The House passed […]
GOP lawmakers seek to repeal tax on Ohio businesses
Some Republican lawmakers want to do away with an Ohio business tax that helps to fund state services. A new bill proposes to repeal Ohio’s “commercial activity tax” (CAT for short) by phasing it out over the next five years. This tax is levied on businesses with over $150,000 in yearly taxable gross receipts — […]
Ohio bill slashing “regulatory restrictions” by 30% has watchdog, fire official worried
A bill making its way through the Ohio Senate would require the state to slash almost a third of all state rules based on whether they contain certain words. While supporters say the bill, sponsored by Sens. Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, and Kristina Roegner, R-Hudson, will cut business-suffocating red tape, opponents say it’s an arbitrary, simple-minded […]
Cleveland debate: Fact checking claims from Trump, Biden
President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden squared off in their first General Election debate in Cleveland on Tuesday night. There were plenty of fireworks throughout the night, most coming from the debate stage and not from Progressive Field three miles away. (Sorry, Indians fans.) Here is a look at several claims with […]
Feds release unemployment guidance, could be a long time before supplements reach Ohioans
As promised, the U.S. Department of Labor last week released guidance to the states on how it will disburse money to supplement unemployment checks. But it’s far from clear when — or whether — hundreds of thousands of out-of-work Ohioans will see those funds. A $600-a-week federal supplement had been credited with keeping millions of […]
Extra $600/wk in unemployment benefits must not be allowed to expire
For working people who have been laid off during the COVID-19 pandemic, unemployment support from the federal government has been a lifeline — helping them keep food on the table and a roof over their head. It’s kept people spending money — supporting the state and local economy, too. As the number of coronavirus cases […]
Ohio unemployment dipped in June; remains three times higher than last summer
Ohio’s unemployment rate dipped significantly last month — hitting its lowest percentage since the coronavirus pandemic stunted the state’s labor force in March — but unemployment numbers remain nearly three times that of last summer. According to a monthly report by the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services, Ohio’s unemployment rate was 10.9% in June […]
More Medicaid funding needed to survive the recession, advocates say
After cuts to the state’s health care assistance program, Medicaid advocates are hoping a temporary federal funding increase will continue. In May, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced cuts to many state agencies, but the biggest cuts hit Medicaid and education. The budget for Medicaid was chopped by $210 million. Much of that original cut represented […]
Ohio’s punitive student debt collection hurting thousands trying to advance their futures. It must end.
My daughter Hannah has been a full-time student at Ohio State University since 2016. She took classes each summer to be able to graduate in four years, and when possible, she would take those in Cincinnati, where we live. Now, because of Ohio’s punitive approach to student debt collection, she may not get the degree […]
Employers can save jobs with Shared Work Ohio
A little-known program that’s part of Ohio’s unemployment compensation (UC) system could help keep more workers on the job and allow many employers to bring laid-off employees back to work as they ramp up operations. It’s called Shared Work Ohio, and it’s an example of how government can tackle problems and support working people and […]
Can lessons from the Great Recession help states avoid budget disasters?
As they face massive budget shortfalls due to the COVID-19 pandemic, states are looking for federal money to help stave off the kind of drastic cuts they enacted during the last economic downturn. State budget officers and economists generally agree that cuts to state spending worsened the Great Recession in the years following 2008. Layoffs, […]
What’s good for people is good for the economy; Ohio policymakers must help
Our health depends on the health of the people near us, and the people near them. Gov. Mike DeWine’s social distancing orders have saved lives by slowing the spread of COVID-19. Ohioans have pulled through by pulling together. Now we need our statehouse leaders to put people first: Let public health experts, not politics, guide […]