Columbus, OH – As the Conference Committee begins its work on Ohio’s biennial budget, The Buckeye Institute issued its Keep, Cut, Change list to offer recommendations for which version of the budget—House or Senate—should be adopted by the Conference Committee, or whether the policy should be cut or changed. The list assesses tax cuts, spending, tax loopholes, health care reform, school choice, graduation requirements, and school district accountability.

“As Ohio’s policymakers hammer out several hundred policy and spending differences between the House and Senate versions of the budget, The Buckeye Institute is pleased to offer recommendations for addressing some of the most hotly debated issues of the session,” said Robert Alt, president and chief executive officer of The Buckeye Institute. “Most important, we need to save Ohio taxpayers millions of dollars by reducing income tax rates, as the Senate has wisely proposed. By adopting the Senate’s pro-economic growth tax cuts, policymakers will ensure that Ohioans are able to keep more of their hard-earned money.”

HANDOUT: Keep, Cut, Change: Recommendations for the Budget Conference Committee

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Keep, Cut, Change:  The Buckeye Institute’s Recommendations for
Ohio’s 2019 Budget Conference Committee

As the Conference Committee finalizes Ohio’s budget, reconciling the House and Senate versions, The Buckeye Institute offers the following policy recommendations.

Cut Taxes for Hardworking Ohioans: Keep Senate Version

The Senate’s eight percent across-the-board income tax cut reduces taxes for all Ohioans and keeps Ohio’s economy on a pro-growth path. The Senate’s version reduces the marginal rate for everyone, simplifies the tax code, and allows Ohioans to keep more of their hard-earned money.

FACT SHEET: Economic Growth in Ohio Begins by Putting More Money in Ohioans Wallets

Expand School Choice Options for Ohio Families: Keep Senate Version

The Senate’s budget will improve Ohio’s stagnant education environment by removing hurdles to available scholarships and helping to ensure that scholarships are available to students entering failing high schools.

Ensure a High School Diploma Means Something: Keep Senate Version

The Buckeye Institute generally agrees with the joint proposal offered by Ohio Excels, the Alliance for High Quality Education, and the Fordham Institute included in the Senate budget. The joint proposal reduces some of the testing requirements that have burdened teachers, and offers other career, technical, and apprenticeship pathways for graduation.

Reduce Unsustainable Spending: Cut

At $140 billion—a nearly eight percent increase over current spending—Ohio’s budget is simply unsustainable. Spending increases should be tied to inflation and population growth or a roughly 4.5 percent increase at current growth rates.

Support Ohio’s Small Business Owners: Keep Senate Version

Raising taxes on small businesses—the lifeblood of Ohio’s economy—will not promote economic growth. The Senate budget eases the pain of a tax increase by eliminating the deduction’s retroactivity provisions, and thus avoids additional harm to business owners who have already relied on those deductions in making their spending decisions this fiscal year.

Eliminate Tax Loopholes: Keep Parts of Both Versions

The House wisely eliminated the motion picture and NetJets tax loopholes. The Senate smartly eliminated a House addition for sales tax exemption on janitorial supplies. Special interest tax loopholes—that often fail to yield their promised returns—are unfair to the millions of Ohioans who must pay more in taxes to fill the financial holes the loopholes create.

Reduce Needless Regulation: Keep Senate Version

The Senate budget rightly requires state agencies to post inventories of regulations under their purview, and it prohibits agencies from imposing new regulations without eliminating existing restrictions. Such a policy will remove unnecessary regulatory hurdles that harm businesses.

Improve Health Care Cost Transparency: Keep House Version

The Senate’s budget tries to improve health care cost transparency, but the House’s version is better. Health care transparency for non-emergency services, when combined with consumer-directed health care options, will help consumers make better-informed decisions.

Making Ohio’s Medicaid Program Healthier: Change

The House Finance Committee attempted to improve Healthy Ohio, but its effort was removed on the House floor. The Senate’s budget says nothing regarding the program. By not including Healthy Ohio in the budget, the General Assembly will miss an opportunity to improve the health of Ohio Medicaid recipients.

Strengthen Accountability for Poor Performing School Districts: Change

The House’s proposals regarding the Academic Distress Commissions were flawed. The Senate initially worked to improve the current statute, but the improvements were not included in the Senate’s final budget. The Conference Committee should adopt the improved policy that the Senate was considering.

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