Ohio has begun setting the state’s operating budget over the next two years. The remit sounds simple enough, but the process, considerations and negotiations that go into directing over $200 billion dollars in total funding (including $61 billion coming from the state) is a complex endeavor.
I’ll walk you through the beginning stages of the budget, the launch of a new Dayton Daily News reporting project focused on helping readers understand how the Statehouse works, and the rest of the biggest political stories of this past week.
• The story: Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine kicked off the state’s biennial budget process Monday with a proposed 2026-2027 operating budget package that would cost the state $61 billion, about $25 billion less than the current two-year operating budget.
• The process: Ohio’s budgetary process is the first big project of every new Ohio General Assembly. It’s a gargantuan piece of legislation that includes tens of billions in funding for programs and a raft of legislative policies folded in. The process always starts with an initial proposal from the governor’s administration before that proposal is vetted and amended by the Ohio House and Senate, in that order.
• His initiatives: As such, Ohio governors use the budget as a way to get their legislative priorities in Ohio law. Here’s some of what DeWine’s proposal would do:
Give Ohio families up to a $1,000 tax credit per child under seven years old, funded by a $1.50 cigarette tax increase;
Increase sports gambling taxes from 20% to 40% and direct the new revenue into a fund for major and minor league teams to improve or fully replace their stadiums and for the state to offset sports costs for Ohio youth;
Increase recreational cannabis sales tax from 10% to 20%;
Further tie state funding of public universities to graduates’ career placements;
Continue Ohio’s universal school choice voucher system and implement the state’s third and final round of its state school funding formula.
• What’s next: The budget is already being deliberated by the Ohio House Finance Committee. Republicans and Democrats alike have expressed trepidation with some of DeWine’s proposed tax hikes, which will be a central point of debate during the vetting process.
Inside Ohio Politics: 10 local lawmakers dealt powerful positions
• The story: In this new Ohio General Assembly, 10 area lawmakers have been picked to lead Ohio House and Senate committees, granting locally-elected legislators considerable power over the state’s policies on health, transportation, Medicaid, workforce development, higher education and more. Here’s my full story.
• Inside Ohio Politics: This story explains the role of committees and the power committee leadership has. It’s the first installment of a project we’re undertaking with the goal of helping readers understand the functions of our state government. You can read more about that project here.
• Committee role: Committees are all about delegation. They’re the Statehouse bodies that shape legislative ideas into actionable policies and vet the concerns of lobbyists, advocates and everyday Ohioans. Here’s a full list Miami Valley committee assignments
• Immigration enforcement: Dayton police are attempting to downplay concerns about their role enforcing immigration law, but didn’t answer questions from this news outlet about how or whether they intend to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement on immigration enforcement efforts. Here’s the story from Cornelius Frolik, Sydney Dawes and Josh Sweigart.
• License suspensions: Montgomery County leaders have expressed concern with the practice of suspending driver’s licenses for failure to pay child support following DDN reports that the county has led the state for three years running. Here’s the story from Sydney Dawes and I.
State political news of the week
• Tax credits: Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s newly proposed child tax credit, which would give Ohio families up to $1,000 in tax refunds per child under seven years old, would cost Ohio about $450 million per year, the state estimates. DeWine wants to pay for it with cigarette and tobacco tax hikes. Here’s my story, with followup coverage from Thomas Gnau.
• Transparency concern: Ohio House Democrats expressed concern about transparency following a Republican move to eliminate a requirement that the House’s legislative session agenda be set at least 24 hours prior to session starting, among other things. Here’s my story.
National political news of the week
• USAID axed: The Trump administration said Tuesday that it is pulling almost all U.S. Agency for International Development workers off the job and out of the field worldwide, moving to all but end a six-decade mission to shore up American security by fighting starvation, funding education and working to end epidemics. The Associated Press has the story.
• Communication problems: Area residents are expressing frustration about not being able to share their views with the U.S. senators representing them in Ohio after Senate phone lines went down due to high call volume. Josh Sweigart has the story.
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