Since the end of 2022’s Lame Duck period and the start of the new year, we have been waiting for Governor DeWine to announce his 2023 Budget. Well, wait no more. Governor Mike DeWine provided an overview of his budget to the General Assembly during his State of the State address on Jan. 31st.
This budget, taken together, provides pathways for pathways out of poverty, stronger schools, and healthier and safer communities. However, this work is not finished. There are many investments and policies missing from this budget or need strengthened. There are also proposals that will not strengthen our communities and change lives for the better.
Below are highlights from the recommendations:
Increased Need, but no increased dollars - Food bank Funding static:
In the State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2024-2025 TANF Spending Plan, in SFY24, they estimate to spend $22,050,000. They also estimate to spend the same amount in SFY25. This does not account for rising grocery prices, which will increase costs on Ohio’s food banks at the same time that families are feeling the squeeze at the grocery store checkout line and forced to turn to emergency food assistance.
Childcare is an economic and a family issue - Childcare Eligibility Expanded:
Publicly funded childcare is an important tool to help low and middle income families provide high quality care for children, early education, and support families in the workforce. The Governor proposed expanding eligibility from 142% of Federal Poverty Levels (FPL) to 160%. This is a great start, but this still leaves many families without access to high quality childcare. An increase to 200% of the FPL will be a bold step toward guaranteeing families access to the workforce and pathways out of poverty.
The Slow slog of School Funding:
With continuing the phase-in of the school funding formula, the Department of Education will disburse more than $11 billion in FY 2024 and $11.2 billion in FY 2025 from state sources to schools, districts, and students across the state to support Ohio's 1.7 million schoolchildren. This continues a pathway set in the last budget toward equity and adequacy in school funding. However, why should Ohio wait four more years when we have the resources NOW to properly fund our schools.
Making Higher Education Accessible:
In the recommended budget, there is an expansion of the Ohio College Opportunity Grant, which provides grants (not loans) to Ohio students in financial need. This prioritizes higher education access for students by proposing over a $100 million expansion in each year for the Ohio College Opportunity Grant (OCOG) program that will significantly improve student affordability and access to higher education.
Full Bellies lead to Full Minds - Missed Opportunity to Expand School Meals:
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, universal lunch programs were used all over the State of Ohio. Research shows that school meals improve school attendance, academic achievement, standardized test scores, and overall cognitive function. With no promise of Universal School Meals, there is a detrimental risk of increasing food insecurity among students.
Poorly Targeted Tax Policy:
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress reacted to the COVID emergency with an expansion of child tax credits. It worked, we saw hunger in our communities drop for families with children, despite massive unemployment and economic uncertainty. The Governor proposed a tax deduction - which will impact families earning below (Approximately) $30,000 a year. At most, the proposed deduction will offer the wealthiest Ohio families only about $100 per child each year.
Instead, the Governor should target this $135 million annual expenditure toward low and middle income families with a refundable Earned Income Tax Credit. A 10% refundable credit would cost the state not much more than the Governor’s proposal, but would be laser focused on families that need the assistance the most.
Clean water is essential for our communities - H2Ohio Expanded:
Natural Resources will increase the funding to the H2Ohio program by $10 million per year and have plans in place to continue and enhance the program that focuses on the restoration and improvement of all Ohio rivers and river areas across the state and lead pipe abatement projects.
A diversion of Resources - Voucher Expansion:
Although there is significant appreciation for DeWine’s mention of the Fair School Funding Plan, DeWine also announced that his proposed budget would expand eligibility for the voucher program to households at or below 400% of the federal poverty level. This voucher expansion would ultimately take away from the funding of public schools and overall take away from families.
Safe and Healthy Communities - 988 Crisis Hotline Expansion:
In the last year, Ohio expanded its Lifeline Call Center capacity, so that every county has coverage and calls to the new three-digit number 988. The goal in the proposed budget is to invest in this network to increase the ability to provide a timely and quality response and intervention during a behavioral and mental health crisis. This expansion will allow law enforcement to focus on the law and allow health professionals to hand healthcare.
Questions Remain on Low-Income Housing Construction:
In this budget, there is a proposed tax policy addressing the creation of a state Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC). The credit would support developers to increase the supply of safe, high-quality, and affordable housing to lower-income Ohioans. The conversation about this topic will be exciting to have as more details about the credit begin to surface.
Aging with dignity - Adult Protective Service expansion:
In the budget, there is a proposal of a $4 million increase in adult protective services. This will allow and increase from $2.74 million each year of the biennium to $4.23 million each year of the biennium. This will better equip communities to provide dignity and protection to our senior citizens.
This is just the start for conversations and deep-dives around the Governor's recommended budget. For more information on these issues and conversations to come, please see the following links: