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The Ohio House of Representatives passed its version of the state budget late last night 61-35 – one Republican, Rep. Hood, voted against the budget and 3 Democrats, Reps. Barnes, Milkovich, and Patmon, voted for the budget.

After hours of unexplained recess Thursday afternoon, the biggest news of the day was the inclusion of an amendment offered by Republican Rep. Sears related to Medicaid expansion.  The short explanation: the amendment means that Medicaid expansion language is in the budget, which will lead to it being discussed in the Senate.

Other changes in the final days included the removal of a provision limiting the teaching of sexual education that had drawn wide criticism, an academic stress commission that undermines the authority of local schools and districts, and a misguided change requiring that colleges and universities not provide out-of-state tuition paying students with utility bills to verify Ohio voter registration (if they do, they can’t charge out-of-state tuition).  For the most part, the bill (HB59) passed including the pieces expected following the sub bill introduced last week.

Now the budget moves on to the Senate, where it will be debated and discussed for the next several weeks (it is expected to be voted out the first week of June).  Medicaid expansion remains a – arguably the – hot topic, education funding changes are bringing loud jeers as the House took away $200 million from the Governor’s proposal (which was already far insufficient), and income tax cuts and the “big business” income tax cut continue to be contentious.

We’ll keep you posted as the budget makes its way through the process.

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Ohio’s state budget bill, HB59, is making its way through the process – we’re now nearly 1/3rd complete as the budget is slated to be voted out of the House of Representatives on Thursday, April 18th.  Next, the budget will move to the Senate.  For a look at the whole process, click here.  Here are the toplines based on where we’re at now:

- Yesterday, an estimated 2,500 people were on the Statehouse lawn rallying for Medicaid expansion.  This component of the budget bill would provide health care for 275,000 Ohioans, bring 30,000 jobs to our state, raise over $1 billion in revenue over the next 10 years, and more.  It is supported by a wide range of advocacy groups – many of whom typically butt heads: Planned Parenthood and Ohio Right to Life, for example.  It is the breadth and depth of the coalition that supports Medicaid expansion that makes it so frustrating that the House pulled the expansion from the proposed bill that was introduced by the Governor.  This is the biggest change to the bill and the piece getting the most coverage.

- Income tax cuts, something that One Ohio Now has pushed back on from the beginning because of how they disproportionately benefit the wealthy, are another significant change in the sub (short for substitute) bill introduced in the House on Tuesday.  The original proposal called for 20% across the board income tax cuts (plus an additional one time 4% cut via the spillover effect from the Rainy Day Fund), but the new proposal calls for 7% cuts.  In addition to lowering the income tax cuts – a great move for Ohio (though we should go further and eliminate them altogether since they have not been proven to work) – the “big business income tax cut” of 50% was taken out.  This was another great decision, given its misguided nature and large benefit to the wealthiest 5% (who would get 80% of the benefit), while the average true small business wouldn’t get enough in return to hire a single employee.

- Continuing the trend, the most notable pieces of the new budget bill are those that don’t exist.  Governor Kasich’s proposals to expand the sales tax base and reduce the rate: out.  His reasonable move to increase the severance tax on oil and gas drilling: no longer in the budget.  These tax changes were the revenue generators that were being traded for income tax cuts, so with them gone the House could not find the money to give away to the wealthiest Ohioans.  In fact, the House is still planning to use one-time money, which will leave a structural imbalance over time, to pay for part of the income tax cuts – using Rainy Day Funds.  Even Senator Keith Faber has acknowledged that a 7% income tax cut is unlikely to produce any results given what has happened in the recent past.

- The K-12 education funding formula has been changed substantially and the net result is that the total amount of funding is down $313 million from the Kasich proposal to the House proposal.  There are numerous other changes, but what is important to remember is that K-12 education saw $1.8 billion in cuts in the current budget – the investment needed in our education system is not in this budget.  We have ongoing concern that poor districts will not get nearly what they need while the wealthy continue to get wealthier.  This is an unconscionable trend, and education advocates are working hard right now to get things moving in the right direction.

- Yet again, the legislature has put in language to defund Planned Parenthood.  This political attack would lead to reduced health care opportunities for low-income women across the state and is being vociferously debated in the House as I type.

There are certainly a number of other changes to the House version of the budget – an attempt to mollify health and human service leaders on Medicaid expansion by giving $100 million (a substantial sum in nearly any other context) to mental health and addiction services, taking out the “parent trigger” language from the K-12 component, removing the workload requirement changes to the higher ed budget, and more.  And at over 4,000 pages, there is new information still being found every hour.

Hopefully you’ve found this to be a good summary – let us know if you have specific questions or would like to learn more.  And don’t forget to weigh in yourself by contacting your legislators!

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Governor Kasich released his proposed state budget on February 4th.  Full details and numbers are yet to be released, but after looking at the “Blue Books” (a budget narrative, with many details, can be found here), here are some top line responses:

- Income tax cuts haven’t brought the promised jobs and growth since 2005, so why do we expect them to work now?  The 21% cut in ’05 gave $10,000 to the top 1% and only $182 to to middle-income Ohioans on average.  Plus, less revenue meant major cuts to K-12 education, local governments and more.

- Medicaid expansion is in the budget, and that is great news.  The Governor should be applauded for making the right decision for Ohio’s future.  Medicaid expansion will provide care for hundreds of thousands of Ohioans, create jobs, and raise revenue over the next decade.

- The income tax giveaway – the wealthy will benefit the most just like in ’05 – is paid for largely be expanding the sales tax.  Many loopholes – like those that favor attorneys and accountants who don’t have to pay the tax currently – make sense to close.  But, credits or changes will be needed because, as proposed, Ohio’s middle and working class families are simply carrying more water for the wealthy.  This is a tax shift in the wrong direction.

- A bad trade of severance tax (on oil and gas drilling) for income tax is also in the proposed budget.  We agree with the Governor that we need more revenue and that oil and gas drillers should pay more.  In fact, we think the proposal doesn’t go far enough (Ohio would still have the 2nd lowest rate in the country).  Severance tax revenue is needed to help impacted local communities, and now is the time to be investing and restoring our services that position Ohio for the future – K-12 education, local governments, health and human services and more are all in need.

- We are talking about investment because, by and large, this budget does very little to make up for the historic cuts we saw in the current budget.  The recession is easing.  The economy is getting better.  We should be investing in our communities to amplify the improvements and make sure everyone in Ohio benefits.

We expect the full budget to be released any day, and we’ll be posting again as we have more information.

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With the state budget set to be introduced on February 4th, there are bound to be many, many issues of importance that we’ll be watching closely.  But, our Top 4 currently include:

1. Income Tax Cuts – These cuts will lead directly to service cuts. We should be investing in education, public safety, and more, not further cutting these and other services that Ohioans rely upon.  The Governor is very likely to include the income tax/severance tax swap (we think that’s a bad trade) he proposed last year, but may go further.  We are opposed to income tax cuts that disproportionately benefit the wealthiest Ohioans.
2. Medicaid Expansion – A program that both insures approximately 500,000 Ohioans AND is expected to bring in $1.4 billion in revenue over the next decade?!  This is exactly the kind of investment we should be making for the future of Ohio, so One Ohio Now supports the Medicaid expansion.
3. Education Funding/Formula – Details will be released later today, but we’re hopeful that the Governor will recognize that after $1.8 billion in cuts to K-12 education and $500 million in cuts to higher ed, it is time to re-invest in our education system in Ohio.  The new funding formula will be inevitably be hotly debated and we’ll be keeping a close eye on the process.
4. Local Government Fund (LGF) Funding – After being cut in half in the current budget, we believe restoration of the LGF is the right choice for Ohio.  But, it seems likely that the General Assembly will at least not make any further cuts to the LGF.  Our voices have been heard on this issue, but we still have more work to do to ensure we’re investing appropriately and adequately at the local level.

What are you paying close attention to in the budget?  What are you wondering about?  Many questions will be answered on February 4th with the budget’s introduction, and full information should be available in the weeks following.

Stay tuned!

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With 2013 comes the 2014-15 state budget (wouldn’t it be great if it was just called the 2013 budget?).  Something will be introduced no later than February 4th -since that’s the law – and it’s likely that we’ll have a much better idea of the details within a week or so later.  But we’ve already got three tips for how to talk (and think) about the budget:

1. Remember the past and learn from our mistakes. In 2005, a tax overhaul left us with $2.5 billion less in annual revenue in Ohio, leading to cuts of $1.8 billion to K-12 education and $1 billion to local governments in the current budget.  The new budget cannot be considered the new normal – as the economy improves, we need to invest in the public services that make our communities stronger.
2. More income tax cuts mean more cuts to programs that Ohio families rely upon, like public education and public safety.  Cuts to higher ed lead to higher tuition for students, health and human services cuts mean problems like mental health programs being underfunded, and many more.  Be sure people you’re talking to understand that income tax cuts do not take us in the right direction.
3. We can get Ohio back on track.  We need real reform that closes loopholes and balances our tax system so that the wealthiest Ohioans and corporations pay their fair share. We can give local governments who fix our roads and keep our communities safe the tools and resources they need. We can increase support for vital programs like those that support our seniors. And, by investing in our people and priorities like K-12 and higher education, we can create good jobs now and into the future. Together, we can ensure a fair state budget that works for all Ohioans.

Look for more from us in the weeks and months to come, but this primer should be a steady guide.

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The current state budget in Ohio is so bad – we cut $1.8 billion from K-12 education, $1 billion from local governments, and much more – that it’s hard to imagine how the 2014-15 budget that will be crafted in 2013 could be any scarier.  But in true Halloween spirit, the prospect of gutting our revenue system by giving state income tax breaks to the wealthy should be freaking plenty of people out.

In 2005, Ohio began phased in cuts to the income tax that left it down by 21%, leading to $2.5 billion less annually for schools, safety, social services, and more.  That’s not to mention eliminating the corporate income tax and more severely shifting the tax load to average Ohioans while the wealthy are on the upswing.  Why on earth would we cut taxes again, leading to more service cuts, when we didn’t see any job growth as a result the last time?

So, as the next budget round approaches and we prepare to make our case, we’re looking for every possible way to let people know about the tricks – and the treats – for Ohioans.  Enter our Halloween images!

This pumpkin is probably my favorite, but you can see plenty more here.  Please share with your friends and colleagues – help us get the word out build out network!