State Budget Bill Arrives

A little more than week after the governor’s budget roll out and press conference, the State Operating Budget Bill was officially introduced as HB 49. The bill, which funds state government for two years and proposes numerous and significant policy changes, clocked in at 3,512 pages.

Administration officials continued to testify at the House Finance Committee this week on a variety of the proposals, including the always controversial primary and secondary education funding portions of the bill, as well as tax proposals that include lowering personal income tax, increasing the sales tax and centralizing municipal income tax collections.

• Testimony of Timothy Keen, Director, Office of Budget & Management, on education funding
• Testimony of Paulo DeMaria, Superintendent of Public Instruction, on education funding
• Testimony of John Carey, Chancellor, Department of Higher Education, on education funding
• Testimony of Joe Testa, Ohio Tax Commissioner, on tax proposals

Testimony and hearings will continue through June. The legislature and governor have a deadline of June 30 to pass and sign the bill.  2/9/2017