Ohio’s operating budget bill is now in conference committee, a small group of three House members and three Senate members. Any budget item can be added or removed during this process. After that, the full House and Senate will vote on the budget tomorrow, Wednesday, June 25. The bill that passed will then go to Governor DeWine’s desk, where he has the power to veto any line items he wants removed.
Some of the most horrible items in the proposed budget include:
- Property tax changes that will devastate local communities, first responders, and public schools (check your school districts’ websites and emails for specific impacts)
- A massive tax cut for the rich — phasing down state income tax to a flat rate of 2.75%
- $600+ million for the Haslams to build a new Cleveland Browns stadium
- Trigger language that will likely end Medicaid expansion in Ohio
- Language removing all state dollars from the Legal Aid Fund
- Language forcing libraries to find space to hide books from kids — will likely lead to library branch closures
- Language making all state board of education and local school board races partisan
- Language legalizing HB 6 corruption — will significantly weaken Ohio’s ban on corporate political spending
ACTION: There is still time to make an impact. Read this explainer by Rachel Coyle of How Things Work at the Ohio Statehouse, then call Sen. Terry Johnson, Rep. Jean Schmidt or Adam Bird, as well as the legislators on her list, which includes the members of the conference committees and other key players. Next our focus will be on Gov. DeWine.
