State legislators can make Ohio good for businesses and working people
CNBC today identified Ohio as “America’s Top State for Business in 2026.” Policy Matters Executive Director Hannah Halbert issued the following statement: “Ohio’s #1 ranking may be good news for businesses, but it doesn’t reflect the reality that many of the most common jobs in the state pay too little for even a single person to get […]
Opportunity Zones 2.0 can do better than the original
Gov. DeWine’s decisions will define the program’s impact for the next decade July 1 marked the beginning of Gov. Mike DeWine’s 90-day window for nominating Ohio’s next round of Opportunity Zones (OZs): low-income communities where investors receive tax breaks for qualifying investments. The new designations will replace the 320 Opportunity Zones selected by Ohio in […]
Most common Ohio jobs still don’t pay enough to get by
Ohioans are still working for too little in 2026 A full-time job should pay enough to afford the basics, but a new Policy Matters Ohio report finds that nine of the 10 most common Ohio jobs pay less than what it takes to support a small family. The 2026 Still Working for Too Little report […]
Supreme Court decision puts Ohio communities and local economies at risk
The U.S. Supreme Court has cleared the way for the federal government to strip Haitian and Syrian immigrants of their Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Policy Matters Executive Director Hannah Halbert issued the following statement: “The direct human impact of the Supreme Court’s decision will be devastating for the individuals and families now facing separation and […]
Data center bill falls short
Legislators still have opportunities to make improvements In a series of hearings beginning today, June 9, the Senate Energy Committee is considering substitute House Bill 646. As introduced, H.B. 646 would have established the Data Center Study Commission to explore the implications and impacts of data center growth in Ohio. Now, the substitute bill adopted […]
Property tax repeal will especially harm suburban districts
District-level analysis shows property tax is critical Repealing the property tax is especially likely to harm suburban districts, according to Policy Matters Ohio’s new analysis of funding data. The brief uses the most recent available data to show the essential role property taxes played in funding school operations last year. District-by-district details are available in […]
Legislature could rein in data centers’ sales-tax break by taxing their equipment instead
Governor DeWine’s order temporarily suspending the approval of new sales-tax exemptions for data centers is a positive step, but it does not go nearly far enough. It does not reduce the existing exemptions that allowed some of the wealthiest corporations in the world to receive about $2 billion in exemptions last year, including both state and local sales tax. They will continue to receive them. It also […]
Pause on data center tax break won’t address soaring costs
Gov. Mike DeWine has directed state officials to pause consideration of new data center sales tax exemption applications, following the revelation that the exemption cost the state more than 11 times the predicted amount last year. The move signals rising concern among state leaders about one of Ohio’s most costly and least transparent economic development […]
Repeal overdue: Data center tax break costs Ohio 11x what state forecast for 2025
*CORRECTION: The headline of this statement originally overstated the amount by which the cost of the tax break exceeded the state’s forecast. The cost was more than 11 times greater, not 12 times greater. New reporting by Signal Ohio’s Jake Zuckerman reveals that Ohio’s data center sales tax exemption cost the state more than $1.5 […]
HB 695 should limit NDAs, restore access to records of data center and other development deals
In testimony delivered today, Policy Matters Ohio Research Director Zach Schiller urged the House Local Government Committee to strengthen House Bill 695 by broadening limits on nondisclosure agreements in data center and other economic development deals and repealing the recent change to Ohio law that shields key economic development records from public view. Schiller said […]
Ohio Supreme Court to hear arguments on unpaid Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation
Gov. DeWine stopped payments 10 weeks before they were set to expire The Ohio Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Wednesday, May 20th pertaining to an ongoing class action suit against Gov. DeWine for ending federal unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic early. “This case is important to all Ohioans, not just those who […]
Federal changes could strip some Ohioans’ food assistance by the end of the month
“Big Beautiful Bill” policies will especially harm seniors Last week, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) began informing some Ohioans that they could lose access to food assistance as soon as May 31st. Seniors will be disproportionately affected: In Cuyahoga County, 675 of the 1,350 people who will lose SNAP benefits are […]