Ohio

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    • Headlines : Minnesota, Colorado, California, Maryland, Ohio, Nebraska, Louisiana, Massachusetts

      States' Rift on Taxes Widens

      The Wall Street Journal | by Mark Peters | May 24, 2013

      Minnesota's move to raise $2.1 billion in new taxes, largely from the wealthy, to fund government programs puts it among a handful of states controlled by Democrats that are adopting more liberal fiscal policies at a time when many Republican-dominated statehouses are pushing to cut taxes.

    • Headlines : Ohio

      Bill in Ohio House revives Medicaid expansion

      The Columbus Dispatch | by Catherine Candisky | May 24, 2013

      The bill is the first of a handful expected to be introduced since Republican leaders in the House rejected the proposed Medicaid expansion Gov. John Kasich included in his two-year budget proposal.

    • Headlines : Ohio

      Senate Democrats want more money for schools in state budget

      The Columbus Dispatch | by Jim Siegel | May 23, 2013

      Senate Democrats want to direct $508 million more to Ohio schools over the next two years by eliminating part of a GOP-proposed tax cut for upper-income Ohioans.

    • Headlines

      Rich States, Poor States, 6th Edition

      American Legislative Exchange Council | by Arthur B. Laffer, Stephen Moore and Jonathan Williams | May 23, 2013

      This 6th edition of Rich States, Poor States contains invaluable insight into each of the 50 "laboratories of democracy." With solid empirical research and the latest data on state economies, the evidence is clear on which state tax and fiscal policies directly lead to more opportunities, more jobs, and more prosperity for all Americans.

    • Headlines : Ohio

      State pension fund leaders fire back at Mandel

      The Columbus Dispatch | by Alan Johnson and Darrel Rowland | May 17, 2013

      Dissatisfied with state pension reforms enacted last year that affect 1.8 million current and former government workers, Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel says without more changes "there will be nothing left at the end of the rainbow" when public employees retire.

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    Budget timeframe: Biennial

    Fiscal Year begins: July 1 

    The current state budget can be found here.

    Find the legislative session calendar here.

    Find the current legislative leaders here.

    John Kasich

    Gov. John Kasich
    Office of Governor John Kasich
    77 South High Street
    30th Floor
    Columbus, OH 43215-6117
    Phone: (614) 466-3555
    Fax: (614) 466-9354
    http://governor.ohio.gov/

     

     

    Ohio OBM Dir. KeenTimothy S. Keen , Director
    Office of Budget & Management
    30 E. Broad Street, 34th Floor
    Columbus, OH 43215-3457
    Phone (614) 466-4034
    www.ohio.gov/obm
    obm@obm.state.oh.us

     

     

     

    Want a more robust, long-term look at your state's fiscal health, beyond the budget? There are two parts: Click here for the FY2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report compiled by the state government, and click here for information on the state's pension liabilities.  

     

    Ohio's "balanced budget" requirements come in the forms of a limit the issuance of debt and an appropriations cap that is tied to the actual revenue raised during previous years. Section 107.33 of the State law creates a cap on appropriations that is the previous year's revenue, adjusted for inflation and population growth, or the previous year's revenue plus 3.5%, whichever is greater. Article 8, Sections 1 and 2 of the 1851 Constitution permit the state to contract debts, to supply casual deficits or failures in revenues, or to meet expenses not otherwise provided for as long as those costs do not exceed $750,000. Title 1, Section 126.05 of the State law requires the director of the budget to notify the governor each month on the status of available revenue receipts and balances. The governor must then prevent expenses of state agencies from exceeding those revenue receipts. Ohio law forbids the carrying over of a deficit from one year to the next.

     

    Even though Ohio has specific balanced budget requirements, the State's Budgetary Comparison Schedules indicated budget deficits (negative net transactions) for the three years studied.

     

    Budgetary information within the Ohio CAFR is presented in a consistent manner all three years and easy to locate. Specific information is also presented efficiently (inclusion of "total" columns). The State's governmental funds include the General Fund and 15 special revenue funds, 23 debt service funds, and 10 capital projects funds. The State budgets on a modified cash basis of accounting. The General Fund, and 11 out of 15 special revenues funds, 9 out of 23 debt service funds, and 9 out of 10 capital projects funds are budgeted. Most but not all funds are budgeted. Revenues are budgeted only for the General Fund. This results in very large gap between actual and budgeted figures.  [from the Institute for Truth in Accounting]

     

    Find the state's bond ratings here.

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    • Solutions:

      How Reality-Based Budgeting Can Permanently Resolve State Budget Gaps

      State Budget Solutions | by Bob Williams | November 7, 2012

      State Budget Solutions recommends that state legislators take action in 2013 to resolve the serious state financial crises by changing their focus from inputs to outcomes by redesigning budgets from the ground up based on priorities and performance.

    • Solutions:

      How to Prevent Future Pension Crises

      by Cory Eucalitto | November 1, 2012

      The time for state and local governments to offer defined contribution retirement plans that protect both taxpayer dollars and public employee retirement security is now.

    • Solutions:

      State Lawmaker’s Guide to Evaluating Medicaid Expansion Projections

      The Heritage Foundation | by Edmund F. Haislmaier and Drew Gonshorowski | October 17, 2012

      Supporters of Obamacare claim that expanding Medicaid will entail little to no cost to state governments, since the federal government will fund the vast majority of the additional costs. Indeed, some analyses project states achieving savings from adopting the expansion. However, state lawmakers should be wary of accepting such analyses at face value.

    • Solutions:

      Medicaid Is Broken—Let the States Fix It

      The Wall Street Journal | by Paul Howard and Russell Sykes | October 15, 2012

      Block-granting Medicaid is the best way to deliver better, cost-effective care to the most vulnerable Americans.

    • Solutions:

      The Case for Reform: Prisons

      Right on Crime | August 1, 2012

      Prisons are supremely important, but they are also a supremely expensive government program, and thus prison systems must be held to the highest standards of accountability.

    • View All Solutions