Cleveland steps up
Cleveland City Council votes to pass paid parental leave for municipal employees Today, the Cleveland City Council has demonstrated its commitment to improving job quality in Cleveland by passing paid parental leave for the over 7,000 municipal employees serving our city. Under this new policy city employees will have up to 12 weeks of 100% […]
Legislators squander golden opportunity
*This release has been corrected to reflect the fact that eligibility for subsidized child care was expanded by even less than initially reported, from 142% of FPL to 145%. Instead of a transformative budget, Ohioans get more of the same Today Governor DeWine addressed the press and all of Ohio about the 2024-25 state budget, […]
Gov. DeWine can improve the budget with line-item vetoes
Extremist budget passed by legislators takes from Ohio families to enrich the well-connected and well-off Today lawmakers on the Conference Committee released their final 2024-2025 budget, House Bill 33. It was passed by the House and Senate and now awaits action from the governor. Policy Matters released the following statement and brief calling on Governor […]
More than 1,000 endorse call for a people’s budget
Policy Matters Ohio yesterday delivered the following letter to Conference Committee members, House and Senate leadership and members of the DeWine administration. The letter, signed by 98 state and local organizations and more than 900 individuals, urges Ohio leaders to prioritize the health and well-being of Ohioans in the state budget. Policy Matters Project Director […]
Most of CAT cut in Senate bill would go to larger businesses
Most of the business tax reduction included in the Ohio Senate budget bill will go to just a tenth of the companies currently liable for the tax — those with more than $6 million in annual Ohio receipts. “Ohio’s taxes on business are already low,” said Zach Schiller, Policy Matters Ohio research director. “The General […]
Senate passes cruel budget bill
This piece was corrected on June 20, 2023. The Senate budget leaves in place a provision that would increase pay for care workers. The Ohio Senate today passed a budget that will cost the state nearly a billion dollars each year for tax cuts that mostly benefit the wealthy. To pay for another tax cut […]
Senate proposal: A lopsided business tax cut
Proposed 25% reduction in Commercial Activity Tax goes mostly to big business The Ohio Senate budget bill now getting consideration would cut the state’s main business tax, the Commercial Activity Tax (CAT), by a quarter over the next two years. The prime beneficiaries will be big businesses, while most small businesses will get little or […]
Policy Matters Ohio responds to Senate budget proposal
Today, Ohio’s Senate leadership released its state budget proposal. Policy Matters Ohio Executive Director Hannah Halbert issued the following statement: The Substitute Bill produced by the Senate majority continues to rely on failed tax strategies at the expense of education and family economic security. Legislators have been cutting taxes for more than two decades, yet […]
Ohio bill would slash unemployment benefits
A business tax cut masquerades as a solvency plan A bill in the Ohio Senate would slash unemployment benefits, leaving half of jobless Ohioans who qualified without their unemployment compensation (UC) before they find work, according to a state analysis. Senate Bill 116, currently being heard in the Senate Insurance Committee, would cut the maximum […]
Policy Matters applauds Cuyahoga County Council for Passing Wage Theft Ordinance
Cuyahoga County Council passed an ordinance Tuesday to strengthen wage theft protections, a move that will prevent employers who steal from their workers from doing business with the county and help county residents make ends meet. Over the past several months, the Guardians for Fair Work coalition, which includes Policy Matters Ohio, has advocated for […]
A 10-point plan to put working people first
Policy Matters Ohio celebrates May Day with pro-labor platform Policy Matters Ohio today released a policy plan that would build on the recovery of Ohio’s jobs to nearly pre-COVID levels, strengthen workplace protections and improve conditions for working people throughout the state. A New Way Forward identifies 10 pro-worker principles that would improve job quality […]
House budget leaves room for improvement
Senate now has opportunity to prioritize everyday Ohioans Today, Ohio’s House of Representatives passed its version of the state budget for the next biennium. Policy Matters Ohio Executive Director Hannah Halbert released the following statement: The budget bill passed by the House of Representatives creates more tax benefits for the wealthy and makes drastic cuts […]