Gov. DeWine was ordered to claim $900M for Ohio workers. Will he?
Last week, Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Michael Holbrook ruled that Gov. DeWine erred in prematurely cutting off federal unemployment benefits to jobless Ohioans and ordered the governor to take action to restore the lost benefits. Gov. DeWine should follow the judge’s order and make good on the benefits he arbitrarily cut off in 2021. […]
A tax platform for everyday Ohioans
Policy Matters Ohio’s revenue proposals for the coming budget Policy Matters Ohio has released a platform of six tax policies that, if included in the 2026-27 state budget, would increase funding available for public schools, childcare, healthcare and other public services by more than $3.8 billion while targeting more than $1.8 billion in tax relief […]
New data show Ohio must increase transit funding
Data recently released by the National Transit Administration show declining state support for Ohio’s public transportation system, despite increasing ridership levels. Policy Matters Ohio’s new factsheet highlights these changes with updates to data from our 2024 report, Ohio public transit needs more state funding to connect communities. The new data show that, although total transit […]
A stronger future for Ohio starts with fully adhering to the Fair School Funding Plan
All In For Ohio Kids statement on Gov. DeWine’s budget proposal As hearings on Gov. Mike DeWine’s 2026-27 budget proposal continue before the House Finance Committee, the All In For Ohio Kids Coalition is releasing the following statement about the importance of adhering to the Fair School Funding Plan: When he released his 2026-27 Budget […]
Executive Budget proposals worth watching
Takeaways from Gov. DeWine’s final budget Yesterday, the DeWine administration released an overview of its 2026-27 Executive Budget. Absent the full text of the proposal, Policy Matters Ohio Executive Director Hannah Halbert released the following statement about the broad strokes: “Gov. DeWine’s budget proposal includes some potentially helpful ideas for making the state budget work […]
Ohio receives more from federal dollars than we pay in federal taxes
Federal grant dollars provide critical public services for everyday Ohioans The Trump administration announced on Jan. 27, 2025, that it would temporarily pause federal grant, loan, and other financial assistance programs. This would have enormous ripple effects in Ohio and elsewhere. A federal judge the following day temporarily blocked the policy, averting what would have been a […]
Correction and update on federal funding freeze
CORRECTION: Our Jan. 28th statement headlined “Federal freeze could disrupt Ohio budget process, jeopardize critical programs” incorrectly statedthe share of Ohio’s Department of Children and Youth’s budget that comes from the federal government. The nearly $3 billion in federal funding makes up 64% of DCY’s budget. UPDATE: Since our initial statement, the administration (1) rescinded […]
Federal freeze could disrupt Ohio budget process, jeopardize critical programs
Ohio lawmakers should protect Ohioans and demand clarity from administration *This statement has been edited to correctly state the share of Ohio’s Department of Children and Youth’s budget that comes from the federal government. The nearly $3 billion in federal funding makes up 64% of DCY’s budget. Yesterday, President Trump issued a memo directing agency heads to freeze federal […]
Ohio will punish fewer people for having too little money
Limiting the use of driver’s license suspensions will help hundreds of thousands of Ohioans Gov. DeWine today signed House Bill 29, reinstating some Ohio driver’s licenses that had been suspended for non-driving-related offenses, and limiting the use of driver’s license suspensions (DLS) as a penalty for those offenses in the future. As a result, more […]
Pay Stub Protection Act a win for working people
Gov. DeWine today signed the Pay Stub Protection Act, requiring Ohio employers to provide every employee with a pay stub. Ohio had been one of only seven states in the nation that did not require employers to do so. The new law will make it easier for employees to identify errors in their pay and […]
Tax breaks for data centers have huge costs for Ohio
Revenue losses, modest job creation, energy demands make exemption indefensible A sales-tax break offered by the state of Ohio to data-center operators like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft could siphon giant sums from state and local governments. A new report released today by Policy Matters Ohio found that if the tax break covers all the announced investments over […]
Ohio minimum wage adjusts for inflation to $10.70
Purchasing power the same as in 2007 Next month, Ohio’s minimum wage gets a 25-cent increase to $10.70 per hour to account for the impact of inflation. Some 313,300 Ohioans will be either directly or indirectly affected by this adjustment. The Economic Policy Institute estimates that approximately 112,700 Ohioans paid less than $10.70 will experience […]