2014-15 Ohio Biennial Budget

Cincinnati.com this morning reports that Ohio Gov. John Kasich Sunday night signed the state’s 6,000-page, $62 billion biennial which took effect at 12:01 this morning, using his line-item veto power on 22 items including a provision that would have barred Ohio from preparing to expand Medicaid coverage under the federal Affordable Care Act, but letting abortion restrictions stand that include a requirement for doctors to do external examinations – likely ultrasounds – to search for fetal heartbeats before performing abortions.

“Gov Kasich supports expanding Medicaid coverage to include up to 366,000 uninsured, low-income Ohioans,” the article said, “though many lawmakers in his own party oppose it. Kasich’s veto allows the state to be ready to accept federal money for the expansion Jan. 1, if the General Assembly at some point authorizes it. Discussions on that point continue….. Kasich let abortion restrictions stand as the provision was criticized by abortion-rights advocates for being added to the budget at the last minute, without hearings or debate.”

The budget “includes Kasich’s 50 percent tax cut on the first $250,000 of income for small business owners, his plan to tie aid to state colleges to their graduation rate, a watered-down version of his income-tax cut and a nod to his plan to raise revenue through the sales tax. All Ohioans get a 10 percent income-tax cut.

The General Assembly has a year and a half to seek overrides on any of Kasich’s vetoes, which appears unlikely, the article says, or change the budget’s effects by passing separate laws in the fall or through the mid-biennial budget review.

BIENNIAL BUDGET 
Ohio Legislative Service Commission Bill Analysis