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This week, our #GOPCThread previews the upcoming #Ohio biennium budget, the process of enacting it, and a few of the key “asks” @GreaterOhio will be advocating for at the statehouse over the next 6 months
Over the next six months, #Ohio lawmakers will be asked to pass four different budgets, which will provide funding for two years for a variety of programs, fund state government operations and capital projects, as well as enact a number of law and policy changes #GOPCThread
These budgets include the Transportation Budget, which allocates #Ohio motor fuel tax and license fees for highway infrastructure projects as well as the state highway patrol… #GOPCThread
The Main Operating Budget, which funds general government operations primarily from sales tax & income tax revenue, as well as budgets for the Ohio BWC & Ohio Industrial Commission, which are based on fees paid by businesses to belong to those entities #GOPCThread
The budgets must be passed and enacted by the legislature & governor by the end of June. #Ohio’s fiscal year begins on July 1 of each year. Without passage of budgets, services & operations of state government would come to a halt. #GOPCThread
The process of developing the budget began months ago, when @Ohio_OBM published guidance for state agencies and requested that they prepare their funding requests for the next two years. These requests are then reviewed and refined, by OBM and the governor’s office #GOPCThread
The proposals for funding and policy changes are then presented by the governor to the legislature in what is known as the “blue book”.
#Ohio law requires the governor to present this proposal 4 weeks after the new general assembly convenes. This year, that is Feb. 1 #GOPCThread https://obm.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/obm/areas-of-interest/budget-and-planning
The legislative process of passing the budget begins in the #Ohio House. Lawmakers on the Finance Committee will hear testimony from @Ohio_OBM as well as from @lscohio about the state of Ohio’s economy and the specifics of the funding proposals in the budget. #GOPCThread
The first budget to move will be the #Transportation budget. The budget must be passed by April 1 to become effective July 1. This will require lawmakers to move quickly to pass a budget which funds highway repair and construction, the @OHHPatrol, transit & airports #GOPCThread
2 years ago, lawmakers debated & passed an increase in the #Ohio motor fuel tax as part of this budget. They also approved the largest increase in funding for #Ohio’s transit agencies in a generation. #GOPCThread
We worked with many, including @OhioNeedsTransit for this funding #GOPCThread https://bit.ly/2Map9tR
This year, we will be encouraging the legislature to continue this funding for transit, which has continued to provide vital services to communities across Ohio during the COVID-19 pandemic. We highlighted this last year on our very first #GOPCThread https://twitter.com/GreaterOhio/status/1271112317107933185
In the House, most of the work on the #Transportation budget will be completed in subcommittee, where a handful of lawmakers will hear testimony from @ODOT_Statewide, @OHPublicSafety, advocacy groups, & the general public who wish to testify about the proposed budget #GOPCThread
When the subcommittee finishes its work, the full Finance Committee will come together to hear a report from the subcommittee, make changes to the bill, & report a new version of the budget which includes changes requested by lawmakers, advocates, & the public #GOPCThread
The full House will then vote on passage of the transportation budget, sending it to the #Ohio Senate to repeat the process. The House should complete its work by late Feb. Senators will likely begin its work with prelim. hearings before the House passes the budget #GOPCThread
Senate work will take place in the Transportation Committee. Those interested will have another chance to ask for changes, which will be made to the bill before it's reported to the full Senate for a vote. This should be completed by Mid-March #GOPCThread https://www.ohiosenate.gov/committees/transportation
Because there will be major differences between the House & Senate bills, a conference committee will be necessary to work out a compromise bill. This work will take-up the later-part of March before a final agreement is reached, passed, & sent to the Governor #GOPCThread
Once the governor receives the bill, he will have an opportunity to review & use his line item veto, which allows him to disallow certain parts of the bill while approving the rest of the legislation. This power only applies to spending bills #GOPCThread https://bit.ly/2YjO4xD
The governor does not have final say though. If he vetoes a provision the legislature thinks should be law, then the House & Senate can vote to override the veto. This requires a 3/5 vote in both chambers. That is 20 votes in the Senate & 60 in the House #GOPCThread
Veto overrides are rare, but they can happen. #GOPCThread https://www.wcbe.org/post/ohio-senate-cancels-veto-override-session
Much of the process outlined above will be repeated for the main operating budget. However, some key differences include the House hearing from ALL state agencies, boards, and commissions in multiple subcommittees before work in returned to the full finance committee #GOPCThread
The House should complete its work on budget by late April or early May. Like the transportation budget, Senators will begin prelim. work before the final passage in the House. Subcommittees may hear the bill, but none have been announced #GOPCThread https://www.ohiosenate.gov/committees/finance
The Senate should complete work on the budget in Mid-June, allowing about two weeks for a conference committee to work out differences on the bill and send the final agreement to the governor, for enactment by July 1 #GOPCThread
GOPC will be advocating for a number of issues as part of the main operating budget. This will include a request to lawmakers to restore funding to the #CleanOhio #brownfields program, which has not received revenue since 2013 #GOPCThread https://bit.ly/3qVZ8xd
We will also be encouraging lawmakers to maintain the suspension of the so-called ’20-day rule’ which was enacted in response to COVID-19. This possible change in law could cost Ohio’s 6 largest cities $306 million in lost revenue annually #GOPCThread https://bit.ly/3sW0Q3D
To better understand the budget process & what will happen over the next 6 months at the Statehouse, be sure to join us tomorrow for “Understanding Ohio’s Biennial Budget Process”… #GOPCThread
During this webinar, you can learn more about how & when Ohio will enact its next budgets #GOPCThread https://bit.ly/3cf2EyL
