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Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ohio Senate passes budget giving Browns $600 million, tax cut to wealthy, more public school money
Ohio Senate President Rob McColley, R-Napoleon. (Photo by Graham Stokes for Ohio Capital Journal. Republish photo only with original article.) The Ohio Senate has passed a $60 billion state biennial operating budget, which includes a tax cut for the wealthy, some increased public education funding, and $600 million in funding to the Cleveland Browns for their new stadium. The total budget is expected to be around $200 billion once federal dollars come in. Ohio House Bill 96 was voted on mainly along party lines, 23-10. State Sen. Bill Blessing, R-Colerain Township, joined the Democrats to vote no. The senators increased the amount of money going to public schools from the Ohio House's proposal. The Senate budget gives public schools about $100 million more than the House. Although they follow most of the Ohio House's proposed budget, which only gives schools about $226 million of an increase for school funding, the Senate changed the funding 'guarantee' amount. Right now, some districts have guarantees that a portion of their funding will not be reduced, even if their enrollment goes down This $100 million added back would only go to high-performing or 'improving' districts. However, to be fully funded based on statistics from the Fair School Funding Plan (FSFP) from 2021, schools would need an additional $666-800 million, compared to the $226 million given by the House. Still, the Senate's version is closer to the FSFP than the House's. 'We're following the funding scheme that was put together in the first place,' Senate Finance Chair Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland, said. 'Our bill is the closest way to get there.' They also raised the House proposal's cap on districts' rainy day funds to 50%, instead of 30%. This would mean that the schools would have to refund anything above that back to the taxpayer to provide property tax relief. 'The priority is not, obviously, in fully funding education, investing in our children and our future,' Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, said. The Senate's budget proposal still includes $600 million for a new Cleveland Browns stadium in Brook Park. However, the funding structure differs from what the Browns proposed and what the House approved earlier this year. The House proposed borrowing $600 million by issuing bonds and repaying the debt, with interest, over 25 years, at a cost of about $1 billion. The Senate is proposing a $600 million grant for the stadium using unclaimed funds. That's other people's money that the state is holding, from things like forgotten bank accounts, rent, or utility deposits or uncashed insurance policies. The Ohio Department of Commerce's website states the state is sitting on $4.8 billion in unclaimed funds. Asked about the possibility of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine vetoing that provision, Cirino noted that DeWine said publicly he did not like the debt arrangement of the House for the $600 million. DeWine himself had proposed raising gambling taxes. 'I'm pretty confident and feel good that the governor and the House will look at our approach to it,' Cirino said. Ohio Democratic lawmakers remain staunchly opposed to the project. 'If they could find that money for the Browns and their stadium's move to Brook Park, why didn't they decide to use those funds for the schools?' Antonio asked. The budget also includes a 2.75% flat income tax. There are three income tax brackets in Ohio. Those making up to $26,000 do not need to pay state income tax. Ohioans earning between $26,000 and $100,000 pay a tax of 2.75%. Those making more than $100,000 have to pay 3.5%. State data reveals that this flat tax could result in a loss of about $1.1 billion in the General Revenue Fund. 'The dollars that we're foregoing in the flat tax are already incorporated into our overall spending,' Cirino said. Funding for schools, Medicaid, libraries, lead abatement, food banks, and child care face funding decreases from the current status or from the governor's budget. Asked about these cuts these cuts to social services for lower-income people while giving a tax cut to the state's highest earners, Cirino said Republicans think it's going to be good for the economy. 'It's going to be good for attracting people,' Cirino responded. Antonio disagreed. 'It's a gift to the wealthiest among us on the backs of the poorest and lowest-income and middle-class folks in the state of Ohio,' she said. Senate Republicans propose giving $20,000 to top high school students to encourage them to stay in the state for their higher education. The Governor's Merit Scholarship was passed in the House budget. Already existing, the House language would extend the proposal that gives the top 5% of each graduating high school class $5,000 a year to attend a public or private school in Ohio. But the Senate version reduces the scholarship to the top 2% of students. The money would also have strings attached. The scholarship recipients would be required to reside in Ohio for three years after graduation. There would be an 'expectation' that the money would be returned if they leave within the three years. Now, the Senate and House leaders will enter a conference committee, a closed-door negotiation period to create a final budget. Once a decision is made, both chambers must pass the combined bill. If it passes through both sides, it will be sent to Gov. Mike DeWine for review. In the past, he issued dozens of line-item vetoes on operating budgets. Line-item vetoing is the ability for the governor to pick and choose which policies within a larger piece of legislation get to stay or must go. The deadline for the budget to be passed is July 1. Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on X and Facebook. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ohio Senate passes bipartisan bill to block ranked choice voting at state, local level
May 16—The Ohio Senate voted 27-to-5 to ban ranked choice voting at the state level and to cut off state funding to local governments that choose to allow it. The bill, Senate Bill 63, received broad bipartisan support with a five Democratic detractors, including area Sen. Willis Blackshear, Jr., D-Dayton. It now heads to the Ohio House for further consideration. Ranked choice voting, as described by the Council of State Governments, is "any system for counting votes that gives voters the option to rank their choices in order of preference." Broadly, the higher a voter ranks a candidate, the more points that candidate gets in the count. It takes multiple rounds, each time eliminating the last-placed candidate and redistributing their first-ranked votes to whomever the voter picked as their second choice candidate, and so on until a winner is decided. Ranked choice systems are used at state levels in Alaska and Maine, the latter of which uses it in all state-level primaries and all general elections for federal office. While there are no local governments that use ranked choice voting in Ohio, there's a smattering of local governments across the country that do use ranked choice systems. "My opposition to S.B. 63 is based on the ability for the state to withhold local government funding for localities that implement ranked choice voting," Blackshear told this outlet after Wednesday's vote. "Municipalities shouldn't have to worry about losing funding for implementing something that people in their communities want." The bill received support from Democratic leaders (Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, called ranked choice "confusing") in the Senate and every Republican. "Frankly, everywhere it's been tried, it's led to an awful lot of confusion, so I think it's good that we acted on this," Senate President Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, told reporters Wednesday. McColley said he's comfortable with the bill's provision that would punish local governments that choose to use ranked choice. "It does not infringe on home rule with the provision that's in there talking about the withholding of local government funds," McColley said. "There's (Ohio) Supreme Court precedent out there that says that is our appropriation authority to do that." ------ For more stories like this, sign up for our Ohio Politics newsletter. It's free, curated, and delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday evening. Avery Kreemer can be reached at 614-981-1422, on X, via email, or you can drop him a comment/tip with the survey below.
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
DeWine attends signing of executive order to dismantle Department of Education
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — President Donald Trump dismantling the U.S. Department of Education is leaving Ohio leaders at odds about whether it will help or hurt our education system to have more power returned to the state. 'I think there could be major benefits for all for Ohio,' Ohio Senate President Rob McColley (R-Napoleon) said. 'I'm concerned about that,' Ohio Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio (D-Lakewood) said. How dismantling the Department of Education will affect Ohio schools Gov. Mike DeWine took a clear stance on the issue. A spokesperson confirmed that DeWine attended the executive order signing. 'Today, I joined President Trump and several fellow governors at the White House in support of the president's proposal to return education back to the states,' DeWine said in a statement. 'Every student, family, and community is different,' he said. 'In Ohio, we've achieved great results by focusing on our administration's priorities, like improving literacy achievement, ensuring all students have pathways to thrive in our workforce, and more. Now it's time to take the next step. By giving states more authority over education, we will have the flexibility to focus our efforts on tailoring an educational experience that is best for our children and that meets Ohio's needs, rather than trying to chase federal priorities.' The Ohio Democratic Party criticized DeWine for attending the signing. 'Ohio's students are our state's future, but their elected officials are cheering as billionaires rip away their access to a quality education,' Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer said in a statement. 'Today reveals DeWine, Husted & Moreno's complete disinterest in any future that isn't focused on their extreme politics. Our elected officials should be standing up for our students, but they can't even stand up to Donald Trump.' Former lawyer pleads guilty to lying to FBI about discussing client with sex worker How does it all really impact Ohio? The state's public K-12 schools and universities receive millions, sometimes billions, of dollars a year from the Department of Education. McColley said it comes with too many strings attached. A recent example is Title IX compliance funding. 'It's now basically legal bribery to the states to say you have to take this federal money and you have to do everything that we're asking you to do, otherwise, you're not going to get this federal money,' McColley said. 'And they put us in a position where, quite frankly, the one-size-fits-all approach that's coming down from Washington, D.C. is not working.' Overall, McColley said the money from the federal government should be free for use, as prescribed by the state. 'We would be better served to block grant that money to the state of Ohio and to all the other 49 states and basically say, 'Look, the beauty of this country is we have 50 laboratories of democracy. Some states are going to get it right. Some states are going to get it wrong,'' he said. McColley said it lends itself to one 'simple fact': Ohio knows what is best for Ohio. 'Just greater flexibility on how we're going to spend the money in the state, I think would be helpful for everybody,' he said. 'We are going to have a better idea of what Ohio education needs are than they are in Washington, D.C. That's just a simple fact.' But it is not that straightforward for Antonio. Antonio said she worries about how Ohio's Republican-led legislature would dole out the money. 'You hear leaders say things like 'the Fair School funding formula is just not sustainable; they need $1 billion.' And at the same time, the same legislator leader is suggesting that we give $1 billion to private schools, religious-based schools,' she said. Fishermen in Ohio found guilty for unlawfully taking more than the legal daily limit of six walleye Antonio said it goes beyond the ways Ohio would choose to spend the money, but also the threat of a loss of programs, like Title 1. 'Which provides a supplemental reading services and additional help for kids that are that otherwise would fall through the cracks,' she said. 'They don't have enough learning problems to qualify for, to be on an individual education program or plan. But they still need some assistance, some help. And they're identified and they're given extra assistance.' Antonio said while there is no telling what will really be done, she does not trust Republicans in power in Ohio to legislate responsibly when given more power. 'There's a disconnect with the state of Ohio legislators in power right now who support giving money to private entities over public schools. I think that's a problem,' she said. 'I don't think Ohio is a good example of a state going ahead in and forging ahead with its own policies when it comes to education.' But McColley said, when it comes down to it, he thinks this power rightfully belongs to the states. 'Every state is going to have a better idea of what they can do with that money, better than what Washington, D.C. is having us do,' he said. 'The Constitution, quite frankly, dictates that we should be the ones controlling education in our states, not the federal government.' Ohio attorney general backs Trump order ending birthright citizenship 'There are a lot of levers, pulleys and checks and balances that come through the Department of Education, that states left to their own devices, I worry what that means for each individual state,' Antonio said. 'More importantly, I worry about what it means for our children.' This all comes after Ohio lawmakers majorly restructured the state's own State Board of Education and Department of Education and Workforce. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ohio Democrats applaud DeWine's child tax credit proposal, while Republicans seem more skeptical
Senate President Rob McColley, left, and Speaker of the House Matt Huffman speak to the media after the State of the State address at the Ohio Statehouse on Wednesday, March 12, 2025 in Columbus, Ohio. (Pool photo by Samantha Madar, The Columbus Dispatch) While Ohio Democrats and Republicans praised parts of Gov. Mike DeWine's state of the state speech, the two parties have differing views of the governor's child tax credit proposal. Ohio Democrats applauded in the House chamber when DeWine talked about his budget proposal to create up to $1,000 in child tax credits for parents with children younger than seven during his State of the State address on Wednesday. 'We know that getting those funds into our local communities makes all the difference in the world for the families as well as our communities,' said Ohio Senate Minority Leader Nickie J. Antonio, D-Lakewood. Antonio also said she hopes to see the eligibility threshold for publicly funded child care increase to at least 300%. DeWine's proposal cuts off eligibility at 200% of the federal poverty line. Despite their praise, Ohio Democrats criticized DeWine for not talking more about the child care crisis, the housing crisis and the cost of living crisis. 'Every day, our offices are receiving calls from parents struggling with the high cost of quality child care, which means parents are buying fewer groceries, delaying paying utility bills sometimes and medical bills, and struggling to keep a roof over their head,' Antonio said. 'Rising property values are forcing seniors out of their homes.' The child tax credit the governor has proposed would be funded by increasing cigarette taxes from $1.60 per pack to $3.10, but Senate President Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, is hesitant about an increase in that area. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX 'You have to be careful about basing any spending, historically or long-term spending, on a cigarette tax because it's going to be a declining source of revenue,' he said. 'I would suggest that if the cigarette tax were increased even more than what it is, it's probably going to be an even more rapidly declining source of revenue.' McColley, however, was quick to point out he supports family policies. 'But at the same time, we also, generally speaking across the board, have to be aware that every tax credit that we introduce, or every tax deduction that we introduce makes it harder for us to get to our ultimate goal, that being eliminating the income tax or having a flat income tax in the state of Ohio,' he said. Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman, R-Lima, said he doesn't think income tax credits for many Ohioans is 'really the way to go.' 'I think some of the other things the governor has proposed, especially regarding child care, we have been careful about what we're doing here,' he said. 'I guess I'd like to see some modeling on whether this particular tax credit would really promote the ability of people to have children.' Ohio Democrats took the opportunity after the state of the state address to discuss school funding. 'If we truly want to invest in our children, we should fully fund the fair school funding (plan),' Antonio said. The governor's version of the state budget for the next two years would decrease funding for traditional public schools by 0.9%, according to a Fair School Funding Plan workgroup analysis. Voucher programs including the EdChoice private school program would see a 15.8% increase. The Ohio House is currently working on making changes to the budget and will send it over to the Ohio Senate. It must be signed into law by DeWine by July 1. Democrats also took the opportunity to criticize Senate Bill 1 — a massive higher education bill that would, among other things, ban diversity and inclusion efforts, prohibit faculty from striking, limit scholarships and restrict classroom discussion. 'Instead of taking any meaningful action to invest in our kids or lower property taxes, the legislature, through Senate Bill 1, has prioritized an egregious attack and plan to dismantle our world renowned institutions of higher learning,' Antonio said. Ohio House Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, said she wants more Ohio students to stay in the state for college and wants college to be more affordable. 'Let me be super clear: what the Republicans have put forward and what we're debating right now in S.B. 1 does none of that,' she said. 'It is a distraction from what the real issues in higher education are right now in the state of Ohio. Even though DeWine didn't talk much about the federal government during his speech, Russo said the federal government is not living up to basic principles in the U.S. Constitution. 'The domino effect of that failure is being felt right here in Ohio,' she said. 'Federal programs that provide critical services that many Ohioans rely on are under attack. They are real, tangible cuts to working families, to our veterans, to our seniors and children across our state.' Follow Capital Journal Reporter Megan Henry on Bluesky. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Jim Tressel confirmed as Ohio lieutenant governor with House and Senate vote
Former Ohio State football coach and Youngstown State University President Jim Tressel, left, who Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, right, has just selected to serve as the state's next lieutenant governor. (Photo provided by Ohio governor's office.) Former Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel has been officially confirmed by the General Assembly as Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine's lieutenant governor. DeWine announced Tressel, 72, as his pick for lieutenant governor on Monday and needed the House and the Senate to confirm the pick. Tressel has never held a political position before. The Senate voted 31-1 and the House voted 68-27 during Wednesday's sessions to make Tressel's appointment official. State Sen. Beth Liston, D-Dublin, voted against the appointment. All 27 negative votes in the House were from Democrats, but a handful of Democrats voted in support of Tressel's appointment. Tressel replaces former Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, whom DeWine appointed to the U.S. Senate last month to fill Vice President J.D. Vance's Senate vacancy. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX DeWine celebrated Tressel's confirmation in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. 'Congratulations to Jim Tressel on being confirmed by the Ohio General Assembly to become the next lieutenant governor! He brings a wealth of knowledge to the position and will serve Ohio with distinction,' DeWine said in his post. Tressel is best known for his time as the head football coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes from 2001-2010, including winning the 2002 national championship. He then went on to serve as the president of Youngstown State University from 2014-2023. Before his time at Ohio State, he was the head football coach at Youngstown State for 15 years. Tressel is from Mentor and graduated with a degree in education from Baldwin Wallace University, where he played quarterback on the football team. 'He's widely known, obviously, for his activities on the gridiron, being one of the most successful college football coaches of the last 20 years or so,' said Senate President Rob McColley, R-Napoleon. 'He's also widely known, even more importantly, for the mentorship that he provided to countless young men and young women who were part of the Ohio State football program during that time period.' McColley went on to call Tressel one of the 'greatest leaders we've had in our state.' State Sen. Al Cutrona, R-Canfield, said he has seen firsthand how Tressel has transformed the part of the state he represents. 'He brings about passion for workforce development and higher education,' Cutrona said. '(Tressel) brings out the very best in every person that he meets, and, I believe, he will bring out the very best in Ohio as our next lieutenant governor.' Senate Minority Leader Nickie J. Antonio, D-Lakewood, had a chance to talk with Tressel before the Senate vote. 'My caucus is very hopeful that Jim Tressel will provide through his expertise and experiences in higher ed that they're hopeful that he will bring some balance and some inside experience and expertise on higher ed to the administration,' she said. Over in the House, state Rep. Phil Plummer, R-Dayton, spoke in favor of Tressel's confirmation. 'I, along with many of our colleagues, instantly agreed that that was the right pick because Jim Tressel is a winner, he's a leader and he's a champion for the people of Ohio,' he said. State Rep. Juanita O. Brent, D-Cleveland, voted against Tressel's confirmation due to his involvement in helping pass a 2015 law that allows the state to take control over school districts with low standardized test scores. 'The Academic Distress Commission has kept schools like in my district — East Cleveland, Lorain, Youngstown — under the control of the state, is taking away parental choice … is taking away the voice of our school board members,' Brent said. 'And the person behind all of this is the person who's now trying to be appointed to our lieutenant governor.' Follow Capital Journal Reporter Megan Henry on Bluesky. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
