The Ohio Channel

Link

Embed Code

Available Versions

To download a video: right-click on the version you'd like to save, then choose "Save Link As..." and save to your desktop.

Collections

The State of Ohio

Description

The House gets the call to come back to work early to override fellow Republican Gov. Mike DeWine's vetoes, while a Senate leader tells us that chamber's plans. Guest is Senator Jerry Cirino (R-Kirtland).

Markers Transcript

There are no markers for this video.

00:00:00	Support
00:00:00	for the Statehouse News Bureau
00:00:02	comes from Medical Mutual,
00:00:03	dedicated to the health
00:00:03	and well-being of Ohioans,
00:00:05	offering health insurance
00:00:05	plans, as well as dental,
00:00:08	vision and wellness programs
00:00:08	to help people
00:00:10	achieve their goals
00:00:10	and remain healthy.
00:00:12	More at Med mutual.com.
00:00:14	The law offices of Porter,
00:00:14	right, Morris and Arthur LLP.
00:00:17	Porter Wright is dedicated
00:00:17	to bringing inspired legal
00:00:21	outcomes to the Ohio business
00:00:21	community.
00:00:23	More at porterwright.com.
00:00:25	Porter Wright
00:00:25	inspired Every day
00:00:27	in Ohio Education Association,
00:00:27	representing 120,000
00:00:31	educators who are united
00:00:31	in their mission
00:00:33	to create the excellent
00:00:33	public schools.
00:00:35	Every child deserves
00:00:35	more at OHEA.org.
00:00:39	The house gets the call
00:00:40	to come back to work early
00:00:40	to override fellow
00:00:42	Republican Governor
00:00:42	Mike DeWine vetoes,
00:00:45	while a Senate leader tells us
00:00:45	that chamber's plans.
00:00:47	That's this
00:00:47	weekend. The state of Ohio
00:01:08	Welcome to the state of Ohio.
00:01:10	I'm Karen Kasler.
00:01:11	The new fiscal
00:01:11	year is underway,
00:01:13	and the budget is in place to
00:01:13	take full effect October 1st.
00:01:16	Except for 67 line item
00:01:16	vetoes, the state
00:01:20	ended fiscal year 25 with $1.3
00:01:20	billion more than predicted,
00:01:24	which was factored
00:01:24	into the new budget
00:01:26	and not deposited
00:01:26	into the rainy day fund.
00:01:29	Democratic former lawmakers
00:01:29	Jeffrey Crossman
00:01:31	and Mark Diane have filed
00:01:31	their promised lawsuit
00:01:33	over the state's
00:01:33	ownership of unclaimed funds
00:01:35	to create a sports
00:01:35	and cultural facilities fund,
00:01:38	with $600 million earmarked
00:01:38	for a grant for the Cleveland
00:01:41	Browns
00:01:41	Dome stadium in Brook Park.
00:01:43	We'll have more on the budget
00:01:43	coming up.
00:01:46	The Republican dominated Ohio
00:01:46	ballot bore dealt a blow
00:01:49	to backers of a wide
00:01:50	ranging antidiscrimination
00:01:50	amendment,
00:01:52	saying it must be split
00:01:52	into two parts.
00:01:54	The Ohio Equal Rights
00:01:54	Amendment
00:01:56	would protect more
00:01:56	than a dozen groups
00:01:58	from local and state
00:01:58	government discrimination,
00:02:00	and would also overturn
00:02:00	the amendment
00:02:02	banning same sex marriage
00:02:02	that voters approved in 2004.
00:02:06	Secretary of state
00:02:06	Frank Lareau said splitting
00:02:06	the amendment is appropriate.
00:02:10	It seems to me reasonable
00:02:10	that there are voters in Ohio
00:02:14	that may be supportive of,
00:02:14	repealing
00:02:18	the marriage amendment.
00:02:19	So to allow,
00:02:19	you know, in the Ohio
00:02:21	Constitution,
00:02:21	in the institution of marriage
00:02:23	between any two loving couples
00:02:23	that want to be together,
00:02:27	but that may not want to
00:02:27	support,
00:02:30	creating 12 new protected
00:02:30	classes
00:02:33	under a bunch of different
00:02:33	listed circumstances.
00:02:37	the This means backers
00:02:37	would have to gather 443,200
00:02:40	valid signatures on each part
00:02:40	to make next year's ballot,
00:02:44	then argue both issues
00:02:45	instead of one.
00:02:45	They haven't decided
00:02:47	if they'll go forward
00:02:47	or go to court.
00:02:50	Ohio is joining
00:02:50	some other states
00:02:52	and sending assistance
00:02:52	to Texas,
00:02:53	where flooding along
00:02:53	the Guadalupe River killed
00:02:56	dozens of people, including
00:02:56	kids and counselors at camp
00:02:59	mystic, a private all girl's
00:02:59	Christian summer camp.
00:03:02	Ohio State Highway
00:03:02	Patrol troopers
00:03:04	headed to south central Texas
00:03:04	this week to support
00:03:07	search,
00:03:07	rescue and recovery work
00:03:08	following the July 4th
00:03:08	flooding.
00:03:11	it makes me incredibly
00:03:11	proud to know
00:03:12	the caliber of troopers
00:03:12	that we have here in Ohio
00:03:14	that are willing to put their
00:03:14	lives on hold to go help,
00:03:17	those that are in need,
00:03:17	regardless of the situation.
00:03:20	You know, we've asked them to
00:03:20	to step away
00:03:22	from their families,
00:03:22	child care, things like that.
00:03:24	When we put the request
00:03:24	out to our troopers,
00:03:26	we had the complete roster
00:03:26	filled up within two hours.
00:03:29	And Troopers
00:03:29	and K-9 officers were expected
00:03:29	to search the river basin,
00:03:33	but will be flexible to switch
00:03:33	to other duties as needed.
00:03:36	The Ohio House reconvenes
00:03:36	Monday, July 21st, to override
00:03:40	three of the 67 line
00:03:40	item budget vetoes by governor
00:03:43	Mike DeWine.
00:03:44	They'll meet in the Senate
00:03:45	because of maintenance
00:03:45	work on the air
00:03:47	conditioning system
00:03:47	in the House chamber.
00:03:49	The session will address
00:03:50	three of the four property tax
00:03:50	related vetoes on provisions
00:03:54	allowing county budget
00:03:54	commissions
00:03:55	to reduce voter
00:03:55	approved levies
00:03:58	requiring emergency
00:03:58	and other levies to be used
00:04:00	when calculating
00:04:00	the 20 mill floor.
00:04:02	That is, the effective
00:04:02	tax rate
00:04:04	and limiting districts power
00:04:04	to ask for emergency levies.
00:04:08	But the override session
00:04:08	will not address the veto
00:04:11	of the limit of collected
00:04:11	property
00:04:12	tax that districts can carry
00:04:14	over at 40%
00:04:14	of their operating budgets,
00:04:17	with the rest
00:04:17	refunded to taxpayers.
00:04:19	Republican
00:04:19	leaders have described
00:04:20	that as immediate property
00:04:20	tax relief,
00:04:23	but districts have said
00:04:24	it would send
00:04:24	many into financial chaos
00:04:26	and lead to more school
00:04:26	levies,
00:04:28	which DeWine noted in his veto
00:04:28	message.
00:04:31	One vocal
00:04:31	supporter of the budget
00:04:33	and critic
00:04:33	of several of DeWine's
00:04:34	vetoes is Senate
00:04:34	finance Chair Jerry Serino.
00:04:37	I spoke to him this week.
00:04:38	we do not have a firm
00:04:38	date yet.
00:04:40	It's it's a matter
00:04:40	of corralling all the members,
00:04:44	many of whom are on vacation.
00:04:46	Some people
00:04:46	probably out of the country.
00:04:49	So I think the
00:04:49	the staff is, is working
00:04:52	that issue right now,
00:04:54	to looking at,
00:04:54	it, other dates that, we,
00:04:57	we might need to be
00:04:57	coming back
00:04:59	to, later in July or possibly
00:04:59	even early in August.
00:05:03	But it doesn't look like
00:05:03	we're going to be able to do
00:05:06	at the same date
00:05:06	as the House is planning to.
00:05:09	Do you feel a time crunch
00:05:09	or pressure to do this
00:05:12	more quickly than you have
00:05:12	the whole rest of the session
00:05:15	to override these vetoes?
00:05:17	Well, there are some timing
00:05:17	issues, the details of which
00:05:20	I'm not exactly familiar with,
00:05:20	but there are some, school
00:05:24	reporting, school
00:05:24	financial reporting deadlines.
00:05:28	That would be relevant
00:05:30	to when this
00:05:30	this would become effective.
00:05:33	On the, real estate, or,
00:05:33	excuse me, the property tax
00:05:36	reform issue.
00:05:37	So I think that's the,
00:05:37	that's the deadline.
00:05:40	On on that particular
00:05:40	subject, on other subjects,
00:05:45	that were vetoed.
00:05:46	We do, as you point out
00:05:48	correctly, we do have lots
00:05:48	more time to deal with
00:05:51	any other vetoed material
00:05:51	that we would like to address.
00:05:55	Subsequently.
00:05:57	Is it fair to say that
00:05:57	there are other vetoes
00:05:57	that you are concerned
00:06:00	about besides the property
00:06:00	tax vetoes?
00:06:02	I think there's, I don't know
00:06:03	that there's a consensus yet,
00:06:03	within the Senate of which
00:06:06	those are in
00:06:07	which ones are so important
00:06:07	that we can't deal with
00:06:11	either in other legislation,
00:06:11	separate from the budget bill
00:06:15	or that they are worthy of an
00:06:15	veto override consideration.
00:06:19	We're still working through
00:06:19	those issues right now,
00:06:22	but the the
00:06:22	the property tax reform,
00:06:25	I was again,
00:06:26	I was very happy
00:06:27	with a lot of the things
00:06:27	that the governor approved,
00:06:29	and did not veto
00:06:29	in the budget.
00:06:31	And we appreciate,
00:06:31	appreciate that, on his part.
00:06:34	But I think the, the,
00:06:34	the property
00:06:36	tax reform was one that
00:06:38	I think most of us
00:06:38	were very disappointed
00:06:41	that it got vetoed
00:06:41	because it's such a,
00:06:43	an important issue
00:06:45	to our taxpayers
00:06:45	around the state right now.
00:06:48	We have studied
00:06:48	the issue quite a bit.
00:06:51	We've already had, study
00:06:51	committee,
00:06:53	a joint committee
00:06:53	between the House and Senate.
00:06:55	They produced
00:06:55	a 900 page report.
00:06:58	I think close to 20
00:06:58	or 21 recommendations.
00:07:01	We had hearings
00:07:02	in our respective chambers
00:07:02	as part of the budget process,
00:07:06	and we spent a lot of time,
00:07:06	I can tell you,
00:07:09	in the conference committee,
00:07:09	between representative Chair
00:07:13	Stewart and myself
00:07:13	and our respective teams
00:07:16	talking through all of the,
00:07:16	you know, the different
00:07:20	scenarios in property tax
00:07:22	reform to come up
00:07:22	with what we finally included
00:07:25	in the bill.
00:07:26	I don't think
00:07:26	we need another study
00:07:26	committee to study the issue,
00:07:29	but it's fair to point out
00:07:29	that the 21 recommendations
00:07:32	that were put together
00:07:32	by this bipartisan joint
00:07:35	Commission of lawmakers,
00:07:35	none of those have passed yet.
00:07:40	Right.
00:07:40	And and again, it's my
00:07:42	point in bringing that up
00:07:42	is that that we've studied it.
00:07:44	We've listened to input.
00:07:46	We've had lots of hearings.
00:07:49	Whether or not those
00:07:49	particular 21 recommendations
00:07:52	made it into the budget bill.
00:07:54	I think we would see
00:07:54	some variations
00:07:56	and some of their
00:07:56	recommendations, certainly.
00:07:58	But, what we had in the budget
00:07:58	bill,
00:08:01	is what we believe to between
00:08:01	the House and the Senate.
00:08:04	What was
00:08:04	would be an appropriate,
00:08:07	very good start to dealing
00:08:07	with the property tax issues.
00:08:11	It's not the final solution.
00:08:13	It is not going to solve
00:08:13	all of the problems.
00:08:15	But when it comes to improve
00:08:15	transparency and providing,
00:08:20	a lot more local control
00:08:20	and authorization
00:08:24	to deal with tax levies
00:08:24	and property tax issues.
00:08:28	I think I think that would
00:08:28	have been a great start in
00:08:31	that's what we're looking to
00:08:32	reestablish,
00:08:32	in any, veto override.
00:08:37	The House is coming back
00:08:37	to override
00:08:38	three of the four property
00:08:38	tax related vetoes.
00:08:41	The highest profile one,
00:08:41	though, is not on that list.
00:08:43	That's the one
00:08:43	that would set a cap
00:08:45	for 40% of the districts
00:08:45	operating budget
00:08:48	that can be carried over
00:08:48	in property
00:08:50	taxes, with the rest
00:08:50	refunded to taxpayers.
00:08:52	Do you think there are the
00:08:52	votes to override that cap?
00:08:56	That veto on that cap?
00:08:57	I haven't been doing
00:08:57	a very recent vote counting.
00:09:00	But I do think
00:09:00	there was a lot of interest.
00:09:02	Obviously,
00:09:02	it was part of the budget
00:09:04	that the Senate passed.
00:09:05	And,
00:09:05	you know, it was the House
00:09:08	that came up with that concept
00:09:08	in the first place
00:09:10	with their 30% cap
00:09:10	in their omnibus budget.
00:09:14	We moderated that to 50%,
00:09:14	and we ended up
00:09:17	settling for 40%
00:09:17	in the final budget bill.
00:09:20	Is it is a compromise
00:09:20	between the two chambers?
00:09:23	I'm not sure
00:09:23	what the rationale is.
00:09:25	It is the house's stated
00:09:25	in terms of why
00:09:28	they are not planning
00:09:28	to pursue that one.
00:09:31	Again,
00:09:32	that's one of those things
00:09:32	that perhaps that's
00:09:34	something that
00:09:34	is pursued at a later date.
00:09:37	And, I again, I don't know,
00:09:37	the vote counts in the House.
00:09:40	But,
00:09:40	obviously there's reasons
00:09:43	why they're not bringing that
00:09:43	one forward.
00:09:46	School districts have said
00:09:46	that that cap would throw them
00:09:48	into financial chaos,
00:09:48	and many of them into the red
00:09:51	in the second year
00:09:51	of the budget, even,
00:09:52	and forcing them
00:09:52	to go to voters for levies.
00:09:55	Governor Mike DeWine mentioned
00:09:55	that in his veto message.
00:09:58	Well,
00:09:58	I've talked to a school
00:09:58	funding expert, Howard Leader,
00:10:01	who says
00:10:01	there are 370 districts
00:10:01	with more than 40% carryover.
00:10:05	They have to start
00:10:05	refunding money.
00:10:06	Taxpayers under the bill
00:10:06	that was the budget
00:10:08	bill was passed.
00:10:09	353 districts were under
00:10:09	the 50% last fiscal year.
00:10:14	And auditor
00:10:14	Keith Faber has said
00:10:16	his financial health
00:10:16	indicators for schools
00:10:18	says a district
00:10:19	is in financial caution
00:10:19	if the carryover balance
00:10:22	is under 50%.
00:10:24	So is the cap really an idea
00:10:24	that you think that
00:10:28	can can be maintained or
00:10:28	could be and can be supported?
00:10:32	Well, that perhaps is
00:10:32	why the House has decided
00:10:35	not to address that one.
00:10:36	Now for, in trade for further
00:10:36	study and discussion.
00:10:40	You know, the,
00:10:40	the whether it's the 30,
00:10:40	40 or 50% cap limit.
00:10:45	You know,
00:10:45	there has always been
00:10:47	and we made allowances
00:10:47	for this
00:10:48	in the budget that we passed,
00:10:48	for, capital dollars
00:10:52	to be set aside, taken outside
00:10:52	of that cap calculation,
00:10:57	as well
00:10:57	as some other provisos
00:11:00	that would have
00:11:00	given more flexibility
00:11:00	even at the 40% level.
00:11:04	But I think, you know, look,
00:11:04	we have $10 billion of, of,
00:11:10	year over year carryovers
00:11:10	in our school systems
00:11:13	in the aggregate right now.
00:11:15	That is ridiculous.
00:11:17	That's half of what we pay
00:11:17	in property taxes
00:11:20	in a given year.
00:11:22	And so in the aggregate,
00:11:22	that has to be addressed.
00:11:25	That is way too much
00:11:25	to be carrying over.
00:11:28	Yes. Individual school systems
00:11:28	have unique circumstances.
00:11:32	And perhaps that's something
00:11:32	that we should look at,
00:11:34	you know, as we address
00:11:34	this issue in the future.
00:11:37	But,
00:11:37	taxpayers who are screaming
00:11:40	about tax valuations
00:11:40	and property tax bills,
00:11:45	have a
00:11:46	difficult time in the ones
00:11:46	I've talked to
00:11:48	with reconciling
00:11:48	having $10 billion of, of,
00:11:53	carryover sitting in our 611
00:11:53	school systems
00:11:58	for the more than 230
00:11:58	districts
00:11:59	that are under the 40%
00:11:59	carryover.
00:12:01	How does the cap provide
00:12:01	property tax relief for them?
00:12:05	Well, it would it
00:12:05	the other parts of the bill
00:12:07	certainly would trigger
00:12:07	an evaluation
00:12:11	by the budget commissions,
00:12:12	which were giving greater
00:12:12	authority to in the bill,
00:12:16	to to make those
00:12:16	determinations into, decide
00:12:19	whether or not any money,
00:12:19	money should be rolled back.
00:12:23	And remember too,
00:12:23	that the state of Ohio.
00:12:26	Well,
00:12:26	we don't levy property taxes.
00:12:28	Not one dime of property
00:12:28	taxes.
00:12:31	We actually pay some property
00:12:31	taxes for the citizenry.
00:12:36	We pay.
00:12:36	You know, with the rollback.
00:12:39	We pay close to, in the,
00:12:42	owner occupied, 2%.
00:12:44	We're actually paying about
00:12:46	12% of everybody's property
00:12:46	taxes, through the state.
00:12:50	Okay.
00:12:51	So not only do we not levy
00:12:51	taxes, we're actually doing
00:12:54	the opposite.
00:12:55	We're paying taxes, which
00:12:55	most people do not realize.
00:12:58	But what our biggest goal
00:12:58	here with this bill,
00:13:01	with this component
00:13:01	of the bill, was to provide
00:13:04	greater transparency.
00:13:06	So that people know
00:13:06	what they're voting on, in,
00:13:09	in how their, a tax
00:13:09	assessments are being levied,
00:13:13	by not just schools
00:13:13	but other levies that are in
00:13:16	every county right now
00:13:16	libraries, senior citizens,
00:13:20	Adams board.
00:13:20	There are lots of other things
00:13:20	that are levied
00:13:23	against
00:13:23	some of these property value.
00:13:25	We want to see more local
00:13:25	transparency
00:13:29	and local authority
00:13:29	to make changes
00:13:31	because every community
00:13:31	is a little different.
00:13:34	And I think empowering
00:13:34	the local,
00:13:36	the local officials,
00:13:36	the budget commission
00:13:38	in in a couple of small cases,
00:13:38	the county commissioners,
00:13:41	the ability to make
00:13:41	adjustments as they see fit,
00:13:44	they're responsible to
00:13:44	the voters on a regular basis.
00:13:48	And if they don't make
00:13:48	the right decisions
00:13:49	to give some property
00:13:49	tax relief
00:13:52	when they can and should,
00:13:53	they're going to
00:13:53	have to answer to the voters.
00:13:56	You I
00:13:57	may be saying this, but I
00:13:57	you know,
00:13:58	I've heard
00:13:58	from other lawmakers
00:14:00	that property taxes are the
00:14:00	complaint they get most common
00:14:03	from constituents.
00:14:03	Constituents have been howling
00:14:03	for some relief
00:14:06	from property
00:14:07	tax, rising values and those
00:14:07	rising bills in the budget.
00:14:11	The passed
00:14:12	you did do a flat income tax,
00:14:13	which turns out to be
00:14:13	an income tax cut.
00:14:15	That's about $1 billion that
00:14:15	the state will spend on that.
00:14:18	Why didn't you choose
00:14:18	to use that
00:14:19	billion dollars
00:14:20	for property tax relief
00:14:20	instead of an income tax cut?
00:14:23	You have a lot of people
00:14:24	saying income
00:14:24	tax cuts are not something
00:14:26	they necessarily wanted
00:14:26	to see.
00:14:28	Well, we had, our legislature
00:14:28	for the last ten years,
00:14:31	particularly has been
00:14:31	has been whittling down
00:14:34	the tax rate in the number
00:14:34	of brackets, as you know.
00:14:37	So this shouldn't
00:14:39	have come as a surprise
00:14:39	to anybody
00:14:41	that we were headed
00:14:41	in this direction.
00:14:43	I think,
00:14:43	by by having a flat tax at
00:14:46	the end of the second year
00:14:46	or the biennium here of 2.75%,
00:14:50	we're going to be joining 14
00:14:50	other states, in a flat tax.
00:14:54	And we will be the best flat
00:14:54	tax rate
00:14:57	of all of our neighboring,
00:14:57	states.
00:14:59	That's important to make.
00:15:02	Make sure that we have
00:15:03	a vibrant economy,
00:15:03	an attractive economy
00:15:06	for people, for businesses
00:15:06	to come to Ohio.
00:15:09	The the property tax issue
00:15:09	is, we all know, is the,
00:15:13	the biggest,
00:15:14	the biggest component of what
00:15:14	has caused us is inflation.
00:15:20	Inflation
00:15:20	caused by Washington spending
00:15:23	and borrowing to to an extent
00:15:23	that we've never seen before.
00:15:27	Okay.
00:15:28	That is what causes,
00:15:29	mortgage rates to go up,
00:15:29	which causes,
00:15:32	you know, fewer transactions,
00:15:33	which means that
00:15:34	less of something
00:15:34	means that the
00:15:37	other things that are out
00:15:37	there are worth more, right?
00:15:39	And so that is the
00:15:41	those have been the biggest
00:15:41	contributing factors.
00:15:43	Those will come
00:15:43	and those will go.
00:15:46	But what we're trying to do
00:15:47	is provide some means
00:15:47	and mechanisms in this bill
00:15:51	for, for local governments
00:15:51	to make adjustments.
00:15:54	On property tax levies,
00:15:54	to make sure that there's
00:15:58	not too much carryover
00:15:58	that is in excess
00:16:01	of what they need
00:16:01	to be fiscally viable.
00:16:04	And that's the best way.
00:16:06	The best thing that we can do
00:16:06	at the state level,
00:16:08	we unfortunately don't
00:16:08	have the funds to be able to
00:16:11	just pay everybody's
00:16:11	property taxes
00:16:13	or to go to the other extent.
00:16:15	These people
00:16:15	that are gathering signatures
00:16:17	right now
00:16:17	to eliminate property taxes
00:16:19	with no substitute
00:16:19	that they're suggesting,
00:16:23	we collect about $21 billion
00:16:23	a year in property taxes.
00:16:27	Okay.
00:16:28	And as I said before, it's
00:16:28	not just the schools.
00:16:31	It's other community
00:16:31	organizations
00:16:33	that provide services,
00:16:33	whether it's fire and safety.
00:16:37	Senior citizens,
00:16:37	Adams board, etc.
00:16:41	if they just get rid
00:16:41	of the property taxes,
00:16:43	all of those things,
00:16:43	the support
00:16:45	for all of those things
00:16:45	goes away.
00:16:47	I think it's very,
00:16:48	very irresponsible for them
00:16:48	to try to key off of people's
00:16:53	being upset
00:16:53	with property tax levels,
00:16:56	but to go to this extent
00:16:56	without having an alternative
00:16:59	that is
00:16:59	viable, is irresponsible.
00:17:03	The Legislative
00:17:03	Service Commission did a study
00:17:04	that said that since 2005,
00:17:07	and all the tax cuts
00:17:07	for the income tax cuts
00:17:09	that have happened since then,
00:17:10	it's about $72 billion
00:17:10	in income taxes
00:17:13	that have not gone
00:17:13	to income taxes to the state.
00:17:17	Do you think the state
00:17:17	has gotten
00:17:19	$72 billion
00:17:19	worth of economic growth?
00:17:23	Has it been worth it to cut
00:17:23	taxes, income taxes that much?
00:17:26	You know,
00:17:26	if you look at our GDP growth
00:17:28	over the last 10 to 12 years,
00:17:28	the GDP growth suggests,
00:17:32	you know,
00:17:32	I don't think it suggests
00:17:33	I think it actually
00:17:33	demonstrates
00:17:35	that we have grown our
00:17:37	our gross domestic product
00:17:38	here in the state of Ohio,
00:17:38	coincident
00:17:40	with those reductions
00:17:40	in taxes.
00:17:42	There are other factors
00:17:42	that that, that help support
00:17:46	a GDP growth.
00:17:47	But clearly it's not hurting
00:17:47	our economy.
00:17:49	It's not destroying
00:17:49	our economy as some had said.
00:17:52	And we're also able
00:17:52	to spend so much money
00:17:55	on so many other projects
00:17:55	and programs.
00:17:58	You know, almost half of our
00:17:58	budget is Medicaid related.
00:18:02	Okay. We've increased that.
00:18:04	We've increased spending
00:18:04	for schools for K through 12
00:18:08	by almost $1 billion
00:18:08	in this biennium budget.
00:18:12	We've increased so many other
00:18:12	services for those in need,
00:18:16	in programs
00:18:16	that are worthy of our support
00:18:18	without having to sacrifice
00:18:18	those, the support,
00:18:21	but at the same time,
00:18:21	making sure that we are
00:18:23	doing the right things
00:18:23	for economic development,
00:18:26	that are going to make sure
00:18:26	that we have a
00:18:28	a very vibrant and growing
00:18:28	economy in the future.
00:18:31	Because without that,
00:18:33	we are not going to be able
00:18:33	to sustain supporting
00:18:36	all of these other programs
00:18:36	that support people in need.
00:18:41	Let's
00:18:41	talk about the other side,
00:18:42	people who are not in need.
00:18:44	You've got $600 million
00:18:44	in this budget that did stand.
00:18:47	It was not vetoed.
00:18:48	That goes to a grant
00:18:50	for the Cleveland Browns
00:18:50	Dome Stadium in Brook Park.
00:18:53	And as part of the $1.7
00:18:53	billion
00:18:55	in this cultural
00:18:55	and sports facilities
00:18:57	fund that came from unclaimed
00:18:57	funds.
00:19:00	Two former two
00:19:00	Democratic former lawmakers,
00:19:02	Jeffrey Crossman and Mark
00:19:03	Dann, say
00:19:04	they're suing
00:19:05	the state over this,
00:19:05	saying the state does
00:19:06	not have the authority
00:19:06	to take ownership
00:19:08	of those unclaimed funds.
00:19:09	How confident are you
00:19:09	that the state can survive
00:19:13	this lawsuit,
00:19:13	that you have the authority
00:19:15	to do what the budget does?
00:19:16	Well, look, we've done
00:19:16	a lot of legal research.
00:19:19	As we were working on
00:19:19	in planning on this project
00:19:23	and this approach
00:19:23	to financing,
00:19:24	not just the Browns project,
00:19:24	but other development
00:19:27	projects in the future.
00:19:29	Look, I'll tell you what.
00:19:31	And you compare
00:19:32	the governor's approach,
00:19:33	which was to double taxes
00:19:33	on gambling.
00:19:35	We don't like to raise taxes
00:19:35	in our caucus.
00:19:37	Certainly, the House plan,
00:19:37	which was to borrow
00:19:41	through bonding and pay $400
00:19:41	million over
00:19:44	25 years in debt service
00:19:44	out of the general fund.
00:19:48	I would add, that was not
00:19:48	a viable approach.
00:19:51	So we looked around
00:19:51	for another way to do it,
00:19:54	in ways that wouldn't be,
00:19:54	you know, strict.
00:19:56	That certainly would never
00:19:56	jeopardize the state's,
00:20:00	status, from a bond rating
00:20:00	standpoint, a triple AA,
00:20:04	and and we looked and
00:20:04	we found all this lazy money.
00:20:08	We have $4.8 billion sitting
00:20:08	in unclaimed funds right now.
00:20:12	And keep in mind, Karen,
00:20:12	that those funds,
00:20:15	by the time
00:20:15	they get to the state,
00:20:17	they have already resided in
00:20:17	banks or insurance companies
00:20:21	or credit card companies
00:20:21	or any number of places
00:20:24	for a number of years,
00:20:24	five years, ten years,
00:20:27	sometimes,
00:20:27	sometimes even longer,
00:20:28	where they have sought to try
00:20:28	to find the rightful owners,
00:20:32	right. And unsuccessfully.
00:20:33	And then they hand it
00:20:33	over to the state.
00:20:35	And we are now going to have
00:20:35	a ten year time period
00:20:38	before the actual legal term,
00:20:38	called a shipment,
00:20:42	takes place, when the state
00:20:42	actually takes possession.
00:20:46	And keep in mind, too.
00:20:47	Every year we take in
00:20:49	between 2 and $300 million
00:20:49	more of unclaimed funds.
00:20:53	So that is going
00:20:53	to be perpetuated.
00:20:56	And it is not going to put
00:20:56	in jeopardy anybody's
00:20:59	rightful claim to funding that
00:20:59	they're, that they're due,
00:21:03	if they do it
00:21:03	within the time period
00:21:05	that we're,
00:21:05	we're talking about here.
00:21:07	We talked a little bit
00:21:08	before about, the funding
00:21:08	for people in need.
00:21:11	And I gotta ask that
00:21:11	there's folks who feel like
00:21:14	this is a bad
00:21:14	look for the state
00:21:16	that there are a lot of people
00:21:16	who are struggling
00:21:19	with, property taxes
00:21:19	and that sort of thing.
00:21:21	But then the state has offered
00:21:22	$600 million to billionaires,
00:21:22	one of whom just went
00:21:25	and bought a $25
00:21:25	million mansion in Florida.
00:21:29	That that.
00:21:29	Do you feel like there's a bad
00:21:31	look here, potentially,
00:21:31	that you have to defend?
00:21:33	Well, if the look is is
00:21:33	is a balanced look,
00:21:36	I don't think it's a bad look.
00:21:37	I mean,
00:21:38	first of all, we're not giving
00:21:38	$600 million to anybody,
00:21:41	okay?
00:21:42	We are we are putting to work
00:21:42	$600 million
00:21:45	that is sitting in
00:21:45	unclaimed funds doing nothing.
00:21:48	And we have a schedule
00:21:48	that's in the bill
00:21:52	with with the,
00:21:52	the Haslam Sports Group
00:21:54	and their
00:21:54	this particular project case
00:21:57	where we are going to be paid
00:21:57	back with incremental taxes
00:22:01	that we are not getting today
00:22:01	from both the payroll taxes
00:22:05	in the construction phase,
00:22:05	as well as with sales taxes.
00:22:09	And,
00:22:09	commercial activity taxes.
00:22:13	Through the course of
00:22:13	the years, we will get our 600
00:22:17	million back
00:22:17	plus interest, over 16 years,
00:22:22	according to the plan
00:22:22	that we have.
00:22:23	And that money coming in
00:22:25	is going to go
00:22:25	into the general fund
00:22:28	so that we can fund
00:22:29	other projects
00:22:30	and other support services
00:22:30	that are so important
00:22:33	to people in need.
00:22:34	So this is really
00:22:35	if you if you
00:22:35	if the look is very narrow
00:22:39	and it's like, well,
00:22:39	you gave money here
00:22:40	and you're not doing it here,
00:22:42	we have to look at it
00:22:42	from the standpoint
00:22:44	that it's creating
00:22:44	an economic environment
00:22:46	in an economic output
00:22:46	that enables us to do
00:22:50	these other things that are so
00:22:50	important for those in need.
00:22:54	And finally,
00:22:54	the budget overall,
00:22:56	you've got advocates
00:22:56	for a variety of groups saying
00:22:58	it doesn't fully fund
00:22:58	the their school funding plan.
00:23:00	It cuts funding to the H2O
00:23:00	Ohio Clean Water Program,
00:23:04	cuts funding for affordable
00:23:04	child
00:23:06	care for libraries,
00:23:06	among others.
00:23:07	Criticisms
00:23:08	you had said on the floor
00:23:08	in the Senate
00:23:10	when you were introducing
00:23:10	the budget,
00:23:12	that it clearly displays
00:23:12	the Senate's intent
00:23:14	to support families, children
00:23:14	life, economic growth
00:23:17	and the delivery of health
00:23:17	care services and education.
00:23:19	You've got people
00:23:19	who say that they feel
00:23:21	the budget doesn't do that.
00:23:21	They have.
00:23:23	They questioned
00:23:23	the truth of that statement.
00:23:25	Well,
00:23:25	I believe that statement,
00:23:27	and I believe it to be true.
00:23:28	And I think the problem
00:23:28	that the Democrats
00:23:30	and other critics
00:23:31	have of the budget is
00:23:31	I would have to use the quote,
00:23:34	it's never enough
00:23:34	to some of these people.
00:23:37	In some cases,
00:23:37	we have not made cuts.
00:23:39	We've reduced
00:23:39	the rate of growth.
00:23:42	In the case of libraries,
00:23:42	for example,
00:23:45	you know, we we,
00:23:45	we made a couple of changes.
00:23:47	We're still giving
00:23:49	the libraries close
00:23:49	to $1 billion every two years.
00:23:52	We have made a change
00:23:52	structurally,
00:23:55	that it's not automatic
00:23:55	as a percentage of revenue,
00:23:59	that every two years
00:23:59	they've got to, along
00:24:01	with everybody else, come to,
00:24:01	come to the legislature
00:24:05	and make a case for whatever
00:24:05	funding appropriation
00:24:08	they would like to get.
00:24:09	I don't think that's asking
00:24:09	too much, for libraries
00:24:12	who have, many of whom
00:24:15	I think engaged in mission
00:24:15	creep, meaning
00:24:19	they're starting to provide
00:24:19	lots of services
00:24:21	to the communities
00:24:22	that are not traditional
00:24:22	library functions.
00:24:25	And if the communities
00:24:25	want those, that's fine.
00:24:27	The community should pay
00:24:27	for those things.
00:24:29	But I think the accusations
00:24:29	that that we went light
00:24:33	on so many important,
00:24:35	services to our citizens,
00:24:35	I think it's it's unwarranted.
00:24:39	Serino added that he's pleased
00:24:41	with what he's
00:24:41	hearing from state university
00:24:43	presidents
00:24:43	about their compliance
00:24:45	with Senate Bill one, the law
00:24:45	he sponsored
00:24:47	that went into effect
00:24:47	last month,
00:24:49	banning most mandatory
00:24:50	diversity
00:24:50	training and faculty strikes.
00:24:53	Among other changes,
00:24:54	volunteers
00:24:54	led by some faculty members
00:24:56	from Youngstown State
00:24:56	University, gathered
00:24:59	around 195,000 signatures
00:24:59	to try to repeal the law,
00:25:02	but that is
00:25:02	well short of the 248,000
00:25:05	signatures
00:25:06	they needed to bring the law
00:25:07	to voters and block it
00:25:07	from taking effect.
00:25:10	And that is it for this week
00:25:10	for my colleagues
00:25:12	at the Statehouse News
00:25:12	Bureau of Ohio Public Media.
00:25:13	Thanks for watching.
00:25:15	Please check out our website
00:25:15	at state newsource.
00:25:17	Org or find us online by
00:25:17	searching State of Ohio Show.
00:25:20	You can stay in the know
00:25:20	by registering
00:25:22	for Ohio State House
00:25:22	alerts through this QR code,
00:25:25	or by texting state news
00:25:25	to this number.
00:25:28	You can also hear more from us
00:25:29	on our podcast,
00:25:29	The Ohio State House scoop.
00:25:31	Look for it
00:25:31	every Monday morning
00:25:33	you get your podcasts.
00:25:33	wherever
00:25:35	And please join us again next
00:25:35	time for the state of Ohio.
00:26:06	Support
00:26:06	for the Statehouse News Bureau
00:26:08	comes from Medical Mutual,
00:26:09	dedicated to the health
00:26:09	and well-being of Ohioans,
00:26:12	offering health insurance
00:26:12	plans, as well as dental,
00:26:15	vision and wellness programs
00:26:15	to help people
00:26:17	achieve their goals
00:26:17	and remain healthy.
00:26:19	More at Med mutual.com.
00:26:21	The law offices of Porter,
00:26:21	right, Morris and Arthur LLP.
00:26:24	Porter Wright is dedicated
00:26:24	to bringing inspired legal
00:26:27	outcomes to the Ohio business
00:26:27	community.
00:26:30	More at porterwright.com.
00:26:31	Porter Wright
00:26:31	inspired Every day
00:26:34	in Ohio Education Association,
00:26:34	representing 120,000
00:26:37	educators who are united
00:26:37	in their mission
00:26:39	to create the excellent
00:26:39	public schools.
00:26:41	Every child
00:26:41	deserves more at OHEA.org.

Note : Transcripts are compiled from uncorrected captions