Gov. Mike DeWine has signed the two-year state budget, which creates a 2.75% flat income tax and gives a $600 million grant to the Cleveland Browns' domed stadium development in Brook Park backed by unclaimed funds held by the state. In signing the budget right at the deadline, he also issued 67 line item vetoes.
DeWine vetoed a proposal to allow school districts to carry over a maximum of 40% of their operating budgets from the property tax they collect from voter-approved levies, with the rest refunded to taxpayers. DeWine wrote that the plan would significantly limit the amount of carryover cash for districts, "resulting in more districts asking taxpayers to pass levies more often, which could very well exacerbate property tax increases instead of reducing them." Republican lawmakers described this as immediate property tax relief, though districts had warned it could send many of them into financial chaos. DeWine said that the provision is "contrary to local control and will undermine efforts by school districts to manage their finances responsibly and follow best business practices. Further, the increased levy cycle could cause more levies to fail due to levy fatigue, impacting the overall financial stability of school districts."
DeWine also struck a section requiring libraries to limit access to material related to sexual orientation and gender identity to people over 18. DeWine called the restriction "vague".
"No child should have access to inappropriate materials or to materials that their parents or guardians deem inappropriate. In Ohio, we have strong laws on obscenity and material harmful to juveniles."
LGBTQ advocates had asked for that veto along with libraries, and had requested a veto of a provision banning state funds going to youth homeless shelters that help trans kids. "The reality is that a homeless child has been through a horrible experience and likely needs to be met where that child is at emotionally," DeWine wrote. "If a shelter has to call a homeless youth a pronoun that is incongruent with that youth’s gender to get that person into a shelter so the child won’t freeze to death, it needs to be done without fear of getting funding clawed back. No Ohio youth should be denied shelter from a facility that receives state funds."
DeWine also struck a provision that could have ended continuous Medicaid coverage for some kids under four by requiring annual eligibility reviews. "Access to needed healthcare for babies and young children is critical to early childhood development, and continuous health insurance coverage will help ensure children receive preventative care, ongoing care for chronic conditions, and hospitalization or emergency care."
Among DeWine's other vetoes:
- the creation of educational savings accounts so students in non-chartered, non-public schools can get taxpayer-paid vouchers
- a provision requiring emergency and substitute tax levies be included when calculating a school district's 20-mill floor
- lines limiting districts' power to ask for emergency levies or replacement levies
- an Election Integrity Unit in the Secretary of State’s Office to investigate alleged violations of elections law, campaign finance law, and campaign finance complaints
- a requirement that local school board candidates to run under partisan labels
- sales tax exemptions for newspapers and data centers
- a restriction against local school boards from paying employee contributions to the State Teachers Retirement System on behalf of superintendents and principals
- a ban on using Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to buy sugar-sweetened drinks
- a requirement that state buildings can display only the Ohio flag, the U.S. flag, the POW/MIA flag, and flags of official state agencies
The 67 veto total is far more than the 44 vetoes DeWine issued when he signed the current state budget. One was a veto on a provision banning cities from banning flavored vape products. Republican state lawmakers overrode that in late 2023.
Six Republican lawmakers and all House and Senate Democrats voted against the budget.
DeWine will have more detail about his vetoes in a press conference Tuesday.
The new chair of the Ohio Democratic Party was quick to blast the budget and tie DeWine to the leading Republican candidate who's running to replace him next year.
“Republicans just made Vivek Ramaswamy even richer. Instead of supporting Ohio families, the Republican legislature passed a budget that only helps their billionaire friends and special interests,” said Ohio Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Clyde, who took that leadership post earlier this month. “Ohioans deserve better, and Republicans will have to answer for this disastrous budget in the next election cycle.”
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
