Budget Update: Will Legislative Love Keep Us Together?

By Belinda Jones - Legislative Counsel

Do you remember what you were doing in 1975? Gerald Ford was President. "Jaws" was the number one grossing movie at the box office that year. And during this season, the summer of 1975, the number one song? Captain and Tennille's "Love will Keep Us Together." Why the look back at 1975? 1975 was the last year that the Ohio General Assembly overrode a Governor's veto (then Governor James Rhodes). Thus, today, even veteran government employees and consultants are scratching their heads a bit as the 132nd General Assembly tries to decide whether and how to handle the 47 vetoes Governor Kasich made to HB 49, the state operating budget. Because this is such an unusual year, we thought a few history lesson reminders might be in order as we put things in context.

As you know, our Ohio Constitution mandates that our governor sign a balanced budget by June 30 of every odd numbered year. One would think that most turmoil ensues when there are a balanced number of Democrats vs Republicans and/or when the governor is one party and the General Assembly is a different party. With Republicans controlling the House and the Senate and with a Republican Governor, one would think that "love will keep us together". Not so.

From "30,000 feet," a large part of the base of the dissension stems around the unwillingness of Republicans to even consider any type of revenue enhancement or tax reform. Again, with his eye on the prize of a balanced budget and addressing some crises such as the opioid epidemic, Kasich's original budget included new service taxes on things like cable television, lobbying and other consulting services along with a severance tax on oil and gas drilling. The conservative House and Senate stripped nearly all of the governor's revenue enhancement proposals and was forced, therefore, to look at "cuts" to balance the budget. As deliberations moved from the House to the Senate, state revenue numbers were reported much lower than expected, putting further strain on the effort of balancing the budget.

Also complicating the matter are the "untouchables:" corrections, education and federal mandates like Medicaid. Ultimately, more than one-third of the Governor's 47 vetoes related to Medicaid. Much of the Medicaid disagreement can be traced back to the last operating budget in which Kasich broke ranks with fellow Republicans by urging Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This disagreement resulted in Kaisich implementing expansion via executive order. No question, this disagreement reared its head with fervor in this budget. Exacerbating the subject even further is the unknown future impacts of Congressional efforts to repeal and replace "ObamaCare."

So, how does the veto process work? A veto override requires a three-fifths supermajority vote. In the Ohio House, that would be 60 votes (currently Republicans control 66 votes) and in the Ohio Senate it would be 20 votes (Republicans control 24 seats). Each veto has to be handled as a separate measure and the vetoes must start in the House of origin (in this case the House because that is where HB 49 was introduced).

Last week, the Ohio House convened and overrode 11 of the 47 vetoes. To date, the Senate has not scheduled session for overrides. When the Senate does convene (expected in late August or Sept.), they may only consider the 11 overrides that the House has accomplished so far. It is noteworthy that one of the main vetoes the House did not take up was the Medicaid expansion freeze veto. Medicaid Expansion has garnered significant involvement from the right and the left. On the right, groups like Americans for Prosperity and the Ohio Christian Alliance have been calling for an override of Medicaid expansion freeze. Meanwhile, families and groups who need and rely on medicaid have been holding rallies asking the GA to refrain from an override with shouts of "Save Medicaid, Save Lives." Does that mean the House will let it stand? Not necessarily. The House and the Senate have until the end of the General Assembly (December of 2018) to override the vetoes.

In summary, while one would think that one party dominance would be easy to navigate, as we are seeing at the federal level, the divide within "the family" (in both parties) is great. Perhaps, the summer break will afford time for cooler heads to prevail and maybe then legislative "love will keep us together."