COLUMBUS — The Ohio Senate cast a rare unanimous vote to support its version of a two-year budget built on a strong economy, low unemployment, and overflowing tax coffers.
While differences over taxation, failing schools, and Lake Erie cleanup still have to be worked out with the House, the Ohio Senate on Thursday spelled out how it wants to spend $69 billion, repeatedly using the word “invest.”
“The time is right because in Ohio we are fortunate,” said Sen. Matt Dolan (R., Chagrin Falls), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. “We have low unemployment. We have revenues that are coming into the state reflecting that people are working.”
The House promptly rejected the Senate changes, setting the stage for a six-member, Republican-majority conference committee next week to work out a compromise capable of passing both chambers and being signed by Gov. Mike DeWine by June 30.
Both chambers’ plans would eliminate income taxes for those earning less than $22,250 a year, but they differ on the size of a broader tax cut for all other wage earners.
The Senate would cut personal income taxes by 8 percent across all brackets — 4 percent a year over two years. The House plan holds a flat 6.6 percent cut.
The Senate also restored a number of tax breaks that the House would have eliminated on investments in coin and precious metal bullion purchases, movie production, aircraft repair and maintenance, and flight simulator purchases for pilot training.
The plan would weaken Mr. DeWine’s proposal to crack down on youth tobacco purchases and again backs away from tougher requirements for high school graduation adopted several years ago.
Both plans keep Mr. DeWine’s plan to raise the minimum age to buy cigarettes and other tobacco products from 18 to 21, but the Senate would grandfather in those who turn 18 before Oct. 1.
It also replaces its original plan to tax e-cigarettes and vapor products the way Ohio taxes cigars, chewing tobacco, and other non-cigarette tobacco products at 17 percent of wholesale price.
Instead the Senate would levy a new tax on distributors of e-cigarettes and vapor at a penny per 0.1 milliliter of liquid volume. The tax is expected to increase revenue for the state by several million dollars a year.
The Senate plan holds $675 million more for K-12 schools over two years. That includes $550 million for counseling, mental health, mentoring, after-school programs, and other “wrap-around” services for students and $125 million more for faster-growing districts and expanded vouchers for students headed for private and religious schools.
Sen. Kristina Roegner (R., Hudson), while voting for the budget, sounded an alarm. She noted the plan increases spending 4.4 percent in 2020 and 3.5 percent in 2021, almost twice the average rate of inflation compared with the past five years.
“Right now we are blessed with low unemployment and a growing, thriving economy,” she said. “But if there ever was a time to control spending, now is that time. We can do that while causing minimal disruption to the people that we serve.
“But instead, by relying on optimistic economic projections, I fear that we are setting ourselves up to have to make drastic and more painful programmatic cuts in the future when the economy cycles down, as throughout history it always has,” Ms. Roegner said.
The revised high school graduation standards, postponed and weakened because of the number of students expected to fall short, would, among other things, reduce the number of mandated course tests from seven to two — English II and Algebra I.
It would also require students to earn two diploma “seals,” options that can include areas such as job skill credentials, acceptable scores in math and English on ACT and SAT college admission tests, foreign language proficiency, and extracurricular activities.
The changes would take full effect with the Class of 2023.
Sen. Teresa Fedor (D., Toledo) supported the bill, despite failing to convince her Republican colleagues to remove the expansion in eligibility for school vouchers. She also commended the how the budget bill, like much of the actions taken so far by Gov. DeWine, have benefited children in Ohio.
“I’m confident in saying this budget goes in the right direction,” she said. “This budget reflects the year of the child ... and that is quite remarkable.”
The Senate budget would also increase the percentage of state revenues that are dedicated to local governments and public libraries, but not enough to undo the massive cuts they experienced eight years ago.
First Published June 20, 2019, 7:56 p.m.
