The Ohio Senate, which is mostly dominated by Republicans, cleared its own operating budget last Thursday.
The Ohio Statehouse (Photo: Library of Congress)
Revision of the Budget Proposal
The proposal is packed with debatable policy changes, such as bans on flavored vape, K-12 overhaul, social media bans, diversity mandates in universities and colleges, and banning faculty strikes. The changes are yet to be finalized by the House, where Republicans want to accept the version of the Senate’s operating budget despite the changes from their proposal that were made last April. Southern Ohio Republican and House Speaker Jason Stephens informs the reporters that the negotiations will continue through GOP Rep. Phil Plummer.
Continuous dispute between factions of the House leaves everyone with the question of when can they finally agree with each other. This also hints as to why the proposed changes were not included in hearings. Critics also target fiscal elements. Cuts in spending for childcare, food banks, education, and housing are considered heartless by Democrats and experts in those respective fields.
Aspects Within the Proposal
Here’s one for each aspect of the proposal that the state Senate wants to spend the budget of Ohio on:
Education
- A single provision to ban almost all inclusion and diversity training requirements at higher education institutions, ban faculty strikes, and forbid universities from commenting on “controversial” topics, like abortion.
Taxes
- A tax cut would be implemented to remove the state’s Commercial Activities Tax to 90% of the companies that are currently paying for them.
Public Assistance
- A budget of $16 million would be directed to pregnant women to help them pay for housing.
Others
- The state would implement a ban on select tobacco products.
