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House Adds Funding for Opioid Crisis, CAUV Changes and Other Provisions in Budget Bill; Bill Passes to Senate for Deliberation

By Belinda Jones, Legislative Counsel

The Ohio General Assembly is in the process of deliberating the budget bill, HB 49. As introduced, the bill included, among other things, a Kasich proposed across-the-board income tax cut. To "fund" the income tax cut, the administration proposed changes in beer and wine taxes, an increase in tobacco taxes, a modest increase in the overall sales tax, an expansion of the service tax to include landscape design taxes, lobbying services, cosmetic surgery services and more. 

The industries added to the service tax list worked to "kill" the additional service taxes. Toward the end of the House process, the governor announced the state needs to cut an additional $400 million per fiscal year from the budget, due to lackluster state revenues. Thus, the House stripped the bill of the income tax cut and the proposed additional service taxes. They added their own agenda items as well. Among the changes:

  • Inclusion of language to update the Current Agricultural Use Valuation (CAUV) (OABA was supportive of this Ohio Farm Bureau-lead initiative)
  • Giving the House Speaker the authority to appoint members of the Oil and Gas Commission, which could lead to drilling and fracking in state parks (something Kasich has opposed)
  • Removal of tuition caps from universities that offer four-year tuition guarantee 
  • Increasing power to the Controlling Board giving the legislature a stronger hold over IT contracting and release of Medicaid expansion funds.

Other than boisterous banter between House Republicans and House Democrats about Medicaid Expansion and Democrats cry for health care for the needy, the majority of the floor speeches in the House pertained to the public health crises that is ravaging Ohio: opioid addiction, rampant overdose fatalities and familial decimation from the addiction and overdoses. The House Finance Committee Chairman likened the opioid epidemic to a "natural disaster". The House allocated $171 million dollars to combat this horrific problem. Democrats on the House floor said that allocation did not go far enough and recommended tapping into the $2 billion rainy day fund, calling the opioid crises a "monsoon" (referencing the need to tap the rainy day fund).

Ultimately, the House passed the budget 58-36 with three democratic House members (Messrs. Patterson, Rogers and Sweeney) joining majority republicans to pass the bill. Reps. John Becker (R-Cincinnati), Bill Dean (RXenia), Keith Faber (R-Celina), Wes Goodman (R-Cardington), Christina Hagan (R-Alliance), Ron Hood (R-Ashville), Jim Hughes (R-Upper Arlington), Candice Keller (R-Middletown), Kristina Roegner (R-Hudson), Nino Vitale (R-Urban) and Paul Zeltwanger (R-Mason) joined most Democrats in voting against the legislation.

The Ohio Senate receives HB 49 with trepidation with some members claiming "off the record" that they believe the House is not handing them a balanced budget. In fact, one senate staffer shared a belief that the Senate will have to fill a hole upwards of $600 million. This means that there will be no meringue dolloped out to the throngs of stakeholders who want a piece of the already thin pie. 

The Ohio Senate will use the month of May and part of June to forge their own agenda before handing the bill off to a conference committee mid-June. According to the Ohio Constitution, the Governor must sign a balanced budget by June 30.

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