Columbus, OH – On Tuesday, Rea S. Hederman Jr., executive director of the Economic Research Center at The Buckeye Institute and vice president of policy, issued a statement on Senate Bill 310, which includes Ohio’s capital re-appropriation budget, authorizes a pay freeze for state employees, and expands the use of prevailing wage on transportation construction projects.

“Ohio faces an estimated $2.5 billion revenue shortfall in its budget, and The Buckeye Institute recognizes the difficult decisions that policymakers are addressing in Senate Bill 310, including the painful, yet necessary, decision to freeze some state employees pay during this fiscal crisis. Policymakers have also wisely postponed a new capital budget at this time. 

“However, The Buckeye Institute has serious concerns about the capital re-appropriations included in Senate Bill 310 that will spend more than $48 million of taxpayer dollars on future pork barrel projects. Buckeye is also concerned about the expansion of prevailing wage, which will not only increase the taxpayer cost of many transportation projects, it will reduce the number of essential projects that can be completed.

“Rather than spending millions of additional tax dollars on special interest pork projects and increasing the cost of vital transportation projects, policymakers would be wise to rein in government spending to address Ohio’s looming budget shortfall.”

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