Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to override the Governor's line item veto and pass a bill that appropriates funding for the fiscal year 2025-2026 state budget in Ohio.

Highlights:

• Appropriates $60 billion in funding for the fiscal year 2025-2026 state operating budget in Ohio and amends certain provisions, including, but not limited to (Sec. 1-819):

• A 2.75% flat income tax (reduced from 3.5%);

• Slowed growth of 4% in the state education budget, including a 40% cap on school districts' rainy day funds, meaning that schools would have to refund anything above that back to the taxpayer to provide property tax relief;

• Eliminating levy replacements on property taxes for all political subdivisions. For schools, it prohibits them from imposing a fixed-sum emergency levy, a substitute emergency levy, and a combined school district income tax and fixed-sum property tax levy;

• Prohibiting a school district from submitting any current expense levy to voters if it has a general fund carry-over balance of more than 100% of general fund expenditures in the preceding fiscal year, while excluding renewal levies;

• Authorizing the Governor’s Merit Scholarship, which guarantees admission to a public university for each high school graduate in the top 10% of their graduating class. The students would also get $5,000 each year in financial aid, but it requires the student to sign a “statement of commitment” to stay in Ohio for 3 years after graduating;

• $30 million to five “intellectual diversity” centers at different public colleges across the state. These centers were created to combat what some consider liberal bias at universities;

• $2.5 billion over the biennium for the state’s voucher system, providing taxpayer dollars for students to attend nonpublic schools and establishes a new education savings account program, (ESAs), which is a way for families to get state money to purchase “educational goods and services,” including tuition at nonchartered, nonpublic schools;

• Restrictions on levies and carryover caps in the education budget are meant to give relief to property taxpayers.

• Allowing the boards of county commissioners to provide up to a 2.5% owner-occupancy tax credit and a permissive homestead exemption for those who qualify;

• $600 million for the Cleveland Browns' new Brook Park stadium;

• Requires the state to take legal ownership of $1.7 billion in unclaimed funds and establish a timeline for individuals to file claims and get reunited with their missing money;

• Reforming state law designed to make it difficult for pro sports teams to leave publicly subsidized facilities and specifying new language (Modell law) designed to prevent major sports teams from pulling up stakes would only come into play if a team chose to leave the state;

• Removing the majority of educators from the state’s retired teachers’ pension fund board and reduces the makeup of the board from 7 elected teachers, 5 contributing, and 2 retired to 3 elected after seats are phased out over several years;

• Making numerous changes to Medicaid that could result in hundreds of thousands of Ohioans being at risk of losing health insurance and restricting access to Medicaid for infants;

• Funding a Child Care Choice program, which would provide millions for eligible families to cover child care services and towards eyesight programs, and for families with children with disabilities;

• Reducing the Governor’s pediatric cancer research funding by half;

• Prohibiting SNAP for “sugar-sweetened beverages”;

• Requiring public libraries to place books related to sexual orientation or gender in an area away from the public;

• Adding more reporting requirements for abortion;

• Enshrining into state law that there are only 2 sexes;

• Stopping funding for both youth homeless shelters and mental health services that support transgender or nonbinary identities; and

• An ability to lock lost or stolen EBT cards;

• Specifies that the provisions of this bill shall take effect immediately upon passage and approval by the Governor (Sec. 820).

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to override the Governor's line item veto and pass a bill that appropriates funding for the fiscal year 2025-2026 state budget in Ohio.

Highlights:

• Appropriates $60 billion in funding for the fiscal year 2025-2026 state operating budget in Ohio and amends certain provisions, including, but not limited to (Sec. 1-819):

• A 2.75% flat income tax (reduced from 3.5%);

• Slowed growth of 4% in the state education budget, including a 40% cap on school districts' rainy day funds, meaning that schools would have to refund anything above that back to the taxpayer to provide property tax relief;

• Eliminating levy replacements on property taxes for all political subdivisions. For schools, it prohibits them from imposing a fixed-sum emergency levy, a substitute emergency levy, and a combined school district income tax and fixed-sum property tax levy;

• Prohibiting a school district from submitting any current expense levy to voters if it has a general fund carry-over balance of more than 100% of general fund expenditures in the preceding fiscal year, while excluding renewal levies;

• Authorizing the Governor’s Merit Scholarship, which guarantees admission to a public university for each high school graduate in the top 10% of their graduating class. The students would also get $5,000 each year in financial aid, but it requires the student to sign a “statement of commitment” to stay in Ohio for 3 years after graduating;

• $30 million to five “intellectual diversity” centers at different public colleges across the state. These centers were created to combat what some consider liberal bias at universities;

• $2.5 billion over the biennium for the state’s voucher system, providing taxpayer dollars for students to attend nonpublic schools and establishes a new education savings account program, (ESAs), which is a way for families to get state money to purchase “educational goods and services,” including tuition at nonchartered, nonpublic schools;

• Restrictions on levies and carryover caps in the education budget are meant to give relief to property taxpayers.

• Allowing the boards of county commissioners to provide up to a 2.5% owner-occupancy tax credit and a permissive homestead exemption for those who qualify;

• $600 million for the Cleveland Browns' new Brook Park stadium;

• Requires the state to take legal ownership of $1.7 billion in unclaimed funds and establish a timeline for individuals to file claims and get reunited with their missing money;

• Reforming state law designed to make it difficult for pro sports teams to leave publicly subsidized facilities and specifying new language (Modell law) designed to prevent major sports teams from pulling up stakes would only come into play if a team chose to leave the state;

• Removing the majority of educators from the state’s retired teachers’ pension fund board and reduces the makeup of the board from 7 elected teachers, 5 contributing, and 2 retired to 3 elected after seats are phased out over several years;

• Making numerous changes to Medicaid that could result in hundreds of thousands of Ohioans being at risk of losing health insurance and restricting access to Medicaid for infants;

• Funding a Child Care Choice program, which would provide millions for eligible families to cover child care services and towards eyesight programs, and for families with children with disabilities;

• Reducing the Governor’s pediatric cancer research funding by half;

• Prohibiting SNAP for “sugar-sweetened beverages”;

• Requiring public libraries to place books related to sexual orientation or gender in an area away from the public;

• Adding more reporting requirements for abortion;

• Enshrining into state law that there are only 2 sexes;

• Stopping funding for both youth homeless shelters and mental health services that support transgender or nonbinary identities; and

• An ability to lock lost or stolen EBT cards;

• Specifies that the provisions of this bill shall take effect immediately upon passage and approval by the Governor (Sec. 820).

Full Bill Text

Signed by Governor Mike DeWine

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to adopt a conference report and pass a bill that appropriates funding for the fiscal year 2025-2026 state budget in Ohio.

Highlights:

• Appropriates $60 billion in funding for the fiscal year 2025-2026 state operating budget in Ohio and amends certain provisions, including, but not limited to (Sec. 1-819):

• A 2.75% flat income tax (reduced from 3.5%);

• Slowed growth of 4% in the state education budget, including a 40% cap on school districts' rainy day funds, meaning that schools would have to refund anything above that back to the taxpayer to provide property tax relief;

• Eliminating levy replacements on property taxes for all political subdivisions. For schools, it prohibits them from imposing a fixed-sum emergency levy, a substitute emergency levy, and a combined school district income tax and fixed-sum property tax levy;

• Prohibiting a school district from submitting any current expense levy to voters if it has a general fund carry-over balance of more than 100% of general fund expenditures in the preceding fiscal year, while excluding renewal levies;

• Authorizing the Governor’s Merit Scholarship, which guarantees admission to a public university for each high school graduate in the top 10% of their graduating class. The students would also get $5,000 each year in financial aid, but it requires the student to sign a “statement of commitment” to stay in Ohio for 3 years after graduating;

• $30 million to five “intellectual diversity” centers at different public colleges across the state. These centers were created to combat what some consider liberal bias at universities;

• $2.5 billion over the biennium for the state’s voucher system, providing taxpayer dollars for students to attend nonpublic schools and establishes a new education savings account program, (ESAs), which is a way for families to get state money to purchase “educational goods and services,” including tuition at nonchartered, nonpublic schools;

• Restrictions on levies and carryover caps in the education budget are meant to give relief to property taxpayers.

• Allowing the boards of county commissioners to provide up to a 2.5% owner-occupancy tax credit and a permissive homestead exemption for those who qualify;

• $600 million for the Cleveland Browns' new Brook Park stadium;

• Requires the state to take legal ownership of $1.7 billion in unclaimed funds and establish a timeline for individuals to file claims and get reunited with their missing money;

• Reforming state law designed to make it difficult for pro sports teams to leave publicly subsidized facilities and specifying new language (Modell law) designed to prevent major sports teams from pulling up stakes would only come into play if a team chose to leave the state;

• Removing the majority of educators from the state’s retired teachers’ pension fund board and reduces the makeup of the board from 7 elected teachers, 5 contributing, and 2 retired to 3 elected after seats are phased out over several years;

• Making numerous changes to Medicaid that could result in hundreds of thousands of Ohioans being at risk of losing health insurance and restricting access to Medicaid for infants;

• Funding a Child Care Choice program, which would provide millions for eligible families to cover child care services and towards eyesight programs, and for families with children with disabilities;

• Reducing the Governor’s pediatric cancer research funding by half;

• Prohibiting SNAP for “sugar-sweetened beverages”;

• Requiring public libraries to place books related to sexual orientation or gender in an area away from the public;

• Adding more reporting requirements for abortion;

• Enshrining into state law that there are only 2 sexes;

• Stopping funding for both youth homeless shelters and mental health services that support transgender or nonbinary identities; and

• An ability to lock lost or stolen EBT cards;

• Specifies that the provisions of this bill shall take effect immediately upon passage and approval by the Governor (Sec. 820).

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to adopt a conference report and pass a bill that appropriates funding for the fiscal year 2025-2026 state budget in Ohio.

Highlights:

• Appropriates $60 billion in funding for the fiscal year 2025-2026 state operating budget in Ohio and amends certain provisions, including, but not limited to (Sec. 1-819):

• A 2.75% flat income tax (reduced from 3.5%);

• Slowed growth of 4% in the state education budget, including a 40% cap on school districts' rainy day funds, meaning that schools would have to refund anything above that back to the taxpayer to provide property tax relief;

• Eliminating levy replacements on property taxes for all political subdivisions. For schools, it prohibits them from imposing a fixed-sum emergency levy, a substitute emergency levy, and a combined school district income tax and fixed-sum property tax levy;

• Prohibiting a school district from submitting any current expense levy to voters if it has a general fund carry-over balance of more than 100% of general fund expenditures in the preceding fiscal year, while excluding renewal levies;

• Authorizing the Governor’s Merit Scholarship, which guarantees admission to a public university for each high school graduate in the top 10% of their graduating class. The students would also get $5,000 each year in financial aid, but it requires the student to sign a “statement of commitment” to stay in Ohio for 3 years after graduating;

• $30 million to five “intellectual diversity” centers at different public colleges across the state. These centers were created to combat what some consider liberal bias at universities;

• $2.5 billion over the biennium for the state’s voucher system, providing taxpayer dollars for students to attend nonpublic schools and establishes a new education savings account program, (ESAs), which is a way for families to get state money to purchase “educational goods and services,” including tuition at nonchartered, nonpublic schools;

• Restrictions on levies and carryover caps in the education budget are meant to give relief to property taxpayers.

• Allowing the boards of county commissioners to provide up to a 2.5% owner-occupancy tax credit and a permissive homestead exemption for those who qualify;

• $600 million for the Cleveland Browns' new Brook Park stadium;

• Requires the state to take legal ownership of $1.7 billion in unclaimed funds and establish a timeline for individuals to file claims and get reunited with their missing money;

• Reforming state law designed to make it difficult for pro sports teams to leave publicly subsidized facilities and specifying new language (Modell law) designed to prevent major sports teams from pulling up stakes would only come into play if a team chose to leave the state;

• Removing the majority of educators from the state’s retired teachers’ pension fund board and reduces the makeup of the board from 7 elected teachers, 5 contributing, and 2 retired to 3 elected after seats are phased out over several years;

• Making numerous changes to Medicaid that could result in hundreds of thousands of Ohioans being at risk of losing health insurance and restricting access to Medicaid for infants;

• Funding a Child Care Choice program, which would provide millions for eligible families to cover child care services and towards eyesight programs, and for families with children with disabilities;

• Reducing the Governor’s pediatric cancer research funding by half;

• Prohibiting SNAP for “sugar-sweetened beverages”;

• Requiring public libraries to place books related to sexual orientation or gender in an area away from the public;

• Adding more reporting requirements for abortion;

• Enshrining into state law that there are only 2 sexes;

• Stopping funding for both youth homeless shelters and mental health services that support transgender or nonbinary identities; and

• An ability to lock lost or stolen EBT cards;

• Specifies that the provisions of this bill shall take effect immediately upon passage and approval by the Governor (Sec. 820).

Full Bill Text