Legacy on the line

Line-item veto lets DeWine decide what kind of Ohio he leaves behind

House Bill 96, the state budget bill, has been sent to Governor DeWine for his review, line-item vetoes, and signature. Policy Matters Ohio Executive Director Hannah Halbert issued the following statement:

“Yesterday, parents, teachers, childcare providers, and advocates for equitable taxation rallied outside the Statehouse. Inside, the Ohio Senate passed a budget bill that mortgages Ohio’s future to pay for another wave of tax giveaways to the rich at the expense of everyday Ohioans. The Ohio House of Representatives soon gave its stamp of approval. Gov. DeWine is now reviewing the final budget of his administration. The line-item veto gives him an opportunity to define his legacy.

“The governor has long styled himself as a man who defends children. This bill harms them. The governor can mitigate the damage by vetoing a variety of line items, including:

• • A budget-busting $1.1 billion handout to those with six-figure incomes by way of flattening Ohio’s income tax.

• • A $600-million giveaway to a single billionaire for a new stadium paid for by Ohioans’ unclaimed funds.

• • The ill-advised and illogical cap on school-district carryover balances.

• • The non-chartered voucher program known as ‘educational savings accounts.’

• • Last-minute changes to Publicly Funded Child Care that would force more providers out of business.

• • Medicaid changes that would jeopardize health care for tens of thousands of Ohio children.

• • Language that would make Ohio more dangerous for LGBTQ people.

“The General Assembly’s budget breaks the bipartisan promise of the Fair School Funding Plan, making the future an uphill battle for children and young adults. The governor can’t fix that failure with his veto pen. He owes Ohio’s kids a fighting chance, and that means doing all he can to shore up the state budget now.

“The General Assembly’s budget will also harm working families, with its combination of giveaways to billionaires and a flat income tax that will hamstring the state’s ability to fund public services that benefit everyone. The flat tax alone will cost the state more than a billion dollars a year. Having made much of his vision of Ohio as “the best state in the nation to raise a family,” Governor DeWine cannot in good conscience approve such a massive revenue loss, especially knowing that the federal government is likely to drastically reduce funding for many of those same services. The governor has thus far not persuaded Senators Moreno and Husted to stand up for Ohioans’ interests in D.C.; at a minimum, he should stand up for them here at home, by vetoing the flat tax proposal.

“The General Assembly has passed a budget that puts their wealthiest backers ahead of everyday Ohioans. Policy Matters Ohio will continue our analysis of the impacts; in the meantime, Governor DeWine will define his legacy, one way or another: as a man who stood by his commitment to Ohio’s kids, working families, and economic future — or as a rubber stamp for a General Assembly that time and time again has ignored and scorned their constituents.”

Below is a full list of Policy Matters Ohio’s recommendations for line-item vetoes:

Taxation and General Finance

• • Flat income tax: TAXCD103

• • County budget commission cuts to schools and the 40% carryover balances (anti-property tax revenue provisions): TAXCD91

• • Browns Stadium: OBMCD51

• • Special carve-out for car dealers from vendor discount limit: TAXCD113

• • Property taxes: County budget commission authority and procedure: TAXCD110

• • Opportunity zone and transformational mixed use credits:  TAXCD118 and TAXCD87

• • Reduction on the limit on what the Controlling Board can approve: CEBCD8

Education and Higher Education

• • Non-chartered educational savings account program: EDUCD118

• • Centers for Civics, Culture, and Society and Workforce Development: BORCD106

• • FAFSA support team system: BORCD115

• • Campus Community Grant Program: BORCD98

Medicaid

• • Group VII Transition Plan: OBMCD32

• • Every 6-months Medicaid redetermination provision: MCDCD73

Child Care

• • PFCC payment categories: KIDCD58

• • Family childcare home payment rates: KIDCD59

LGBTQ+ Ohioans

• • Biological Sex: DOHCD40

• • Youth Homelessness: DOHCD14

• • Social Gender transition: MCDCD68

• • Library material related to sexual orientation or gender identity: LIBCD5