COLUMBUS -- An attempt to dramatically cut, if not eliminate, family planning funding for Planned Parenthood was quietly dropped Tuesday as lawmakers maneuvered a budget bill into position for a full House vote today.

But advocates of the maneuver to reconfigure how Ohio distributes $9.7 million in federal funds to put Planned Parenthood at the bottom of the priority list said the fight isn't over.

Mike Gonidakis, president of Ohio Right to Life, said the focus will shift to a similar stand-alone bill pending in the House.

"We're not going to go away," he said. "We're going to continue to advocate for money for community health centers and for local departments of health, because that's where the vast majority of women are going.

Ohio was following the lead of Texas and Wisconsin in the move to partly cut Planned Parenthood out of the family planning funding picture because three of its 32 Planned Parenthood clinics in Ohio -- in Cincinnati, Columbus, and Cleveland -- perform abortions.

The maneuver had prompted Democrats to adopt the narrative of President Obama supporters by claiming Ohio Republicans had added the provision to a midbudget review bill as part of their party's "war on women."

Planned Parenthood lobbyist Gary Dougherty said the organization expects the fight to continue.

"The chairman indicated that there's a bill pending in the health committee, so we'll be prepared to fight in committee," he said. "Whatever the venue is, we're going to make sure that reproductive health care is available to women and that taxpayer funds are used as cost efficiently as possible."

Under the budget amendment and the bill, Planned Parenthood would compete for a share of funding only after public health departments, federally approved community health clinics, and private community clinics were funded.

Critics argued that such a move would effectively defund Planned Parenthood.

In other action, the House Finance and Appropriations Committee added a provision to the budget bill designed to make it easier for Sylvania Township to act independently of the city of Sylvania in asking voters if they want to withdraw from the Toledo Area Regional Transportation Authority.

"It just doesn't work well if you have the city voting for the township whether they're in or out," said Rep. Barbara Sears (R., Monclova Township), a member of the committee.

The township could also separately ask voters whether they want to approve a property tax levy to fund its own transit system. The budget amendment specifies that the withdrawal from TARTA would take effect on Dec. 31 of the year that voters approve the secession and that taxes could not be collected prior to that date for operation of a new system.

Rep. Michael Ashford (D., Toledo) saw the amendment as a continuation of language added last year to the state budget to make it easier for municipalities to leave TARTA.

"You still have so many people who cross that political line between the township and the city," Mr. Ashford said. "That's what happens with public transportation."

Contact Jim Provance at: jprovance@theblade.com, or 614-221-0496.

First Published April 25, 2012, 4:00 a.m.