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State Senator Keith Faber
Senate Passes
State Budget
Budget Returns Money to Ohio Taxpayers and Invests in Education
COLUMBUS– Ohio Senate President Keith Faber (R–Celina) today announced
the passage of Am. Sub. House Bill 64, the state’s two-year operating
budget. The Senate voted 23-9 in favor of the conference report
approved earlier in the day. The bill gives nearly $2 billion in tax
cuts to Ohioans and makes significant investments in both K-12 and
higher education.
“This is a balanced budget that supports our vision for making Ohio the
best state to live, work and raise your family,” Faber said. “It allows
us to create an environment where our economy can grow, where our
children have access to affordable and quality education and where we
can put money back in the pockets of hard-working Ohioans.”
The bill provides significant tax relief and support to Ohioans and
small businesses with the purpose of keeping the state’s economy
healthy and growing. The $1.8 billion net tax cut includes an across
the board 6.3 percent income tax cut for all Ohioans. The bill also
makes permanent the 75 percent tax cut on small businesses’ first
$250,000 of net income and increases it to 100 percent in FY17 and
establishes a three percent flat tax on income above that.
The proposal, which will become law with the Governor’s signature, also
provides much needed sustainability and solvency to the state’s K-12
school funding formula, investing over $930 million dollars over the
next two years. Based largely on the current formula, this budget
ensures that no school district loses funding and drives additional
dollars to low-wealth, low-capacity districts while ensuring more
districts are on the funding formula.
A hallmark of the bill is the Senate’s focus on making college
affordable and accessible. A two-year tuition freeze will go into
effect, and universities and colleges are required to reduce student
costs by five percent. This budget also makes the largest state
investment in SSI (state share of instruction) in higher education in
eight years and creates and funds the Higher Education Innovation Fund
to assist institutions with their cost reduction efforts.
Additional highlights include:
Women’s Health Funding and Coverage: Restores funding for Medicaid
coverage of pregnant women up to 200% of the poverty level and restores
coverage for breast and cervical cancer screenings for women on Medicaid
Reducing Infant Mortality: Infuses funding and outcome-driven programs
to areas with prevalent infant mortality problems
Support for Developmental Disability: Fully funds DD initiatives
outlined in the Governor’s plan and provides funding for ABLE savings
accounts for the developmentally disabled
Improved Mental Health Care: Provisions included to integrate
behavioral health care services into a managed care model
Increased Police Training: Includes additional GRF funding for a total
of nearly $20M for police training and community police relations
initiatives
Local Township Support: Adds $20M in a local government support fund
specifically targeted to township needs
Modernizing Ohio’s Elections: Includes $12.8M for a state-local
partnership to provide county board of elections with new, digital
electronic pollbook technology, making it even easier to vote in Ohio
Relief for Ohio’s Waterways: Provides additional loan and tourism
funding for Ohio’s distressed lakes
Additional Student Aid: Includes $100M for need-based student aid
through the Ohio College Opportunity Grant
Building Our Savings: Increases the maximum allowable rainy-day fund
from 5 percent of general revenue funds (GRF) to 8.5 percent.
The conference committee report now awaits a vote in the House before
moving to the Governor for his signature. The bill must be signed into
law before July 1, 2015.
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