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The State of Ohio

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Gov. Mike DeWine signs the budget but sets a record with his vetoes. Though he signed it late at night, reaction from opponents - including some of his fellow Republicans - came early. And one of the loudest critics of the Browns stadium plan speaks out. Cuyahoga Co. Exec. Chris Ronayne sits for an extended interview.

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00:00:39	Governor Mike DeWine signs
00:00:39	the budget and sets a recent
00:00:41	record with his vetoes, though
00:00:41	he signed it late at night.
00:00:45	Reaction from opponents,
00:00:46	including some of his fellow
00:00:46	Republicans, came early.
00:00:49	And one of the loudest critics
00:00:49	of the Brown Stadium plan
00:00:52	speaks out.
00:00:53	That's this
00:00:53	week in the state of Ohio.
00:01:14	Welcome to the state of Ohio.
00:01:16	I'm Karen Kasler.
00:01:17	Governor Mike DeWine
00:01:17	signed the two year
00:01:19	state budget just minutes
00:01:19	before the June 30th deadline.
00:01:23	The budget would spend
00:01:23	$60 billion in state funds,
00:01:26	includes
00:01:26	a 2.75% flat income tax,
00:01:29	and creates a sports
00:01:29	and cultural facilities
00:01:32	fund with $1.7 billion
00:01:32	in unclaimed funds,
00:01:36	with $600 million
00:01:36	of that earmarked
00:01:38	for a grant to the Cleveland
00:01:39	Browns Dome Stadium
00:01:39	development in Brook Park.
00:01:43	But before signing the budget,
00:01:43	DeWine made clear his
00:01:46	concern about several budget
00:01:46	items, issuing 67 vetoes,
00:01:50	the largest number
00:01:51	since Governor Ted Strickland
00:01:51	vetoed 61 items in 2009.
00:01:55	My Statehouse
00:01:55	News Bureau colleague,
00:01:56	Joe Ingles is here
00:01:56	with details on that.
00:01:58	Well, Karen,
00:01:58	perhaps the biggest veto
00:02:00	was a proposal
00:02:00	to allow school districts
00:02:03	to carry over a maximum of 40%
00:02:03	of their operating budgets
00:02:07	from the property tax
00:02:08	they collect from voter
00:02:08	approved levies.
00:02:11	The rest would be refunded
00:02:11	to taxpayers,
00:02:14	which Republican lawmakers
00:02:14	described
00:02:16	as immediate
00:02:16	property tax relief. The
00:02:21	provisions in this budget
00:02:23	would put an undue,
00:02:23	very abrupt,
00:02:26	great significant problem for
00:02:26	our local school districts.
00:02:31	Public school officials had
00:02:31	pushed hard against this idea,
00:02:35	saying
00:02:35	it could throw districts
00:02:37	into financial chaos
00:02:37	and lead to more levies.
00:02:40	DeWine
00:02:40	appointed a working group
00:02:42	to look at other ways
00:02:42	to reduce property taxes.
00:02:46	The budget
00:02:46	passed by Republican lawmakers
00:02:46	cut funding for libraries
00:02:50	and changed the library
00:02:50	funding formula going forward.
00:02:54	DeWine didn't
00:02:55	veto that, but struck
00:02:55	a section requiring libraries
00:02:59	to limit access to material
00:02:59	related to sexual orientation
00:03:04	and gender identity
00:03:04	to people over 18.
00:03:08	DeWine
00:03:08	called that restriction vague.
00:03:11	No one wants, their child
00:03:11	to have,
00:03:16	you know, a book,
00:03:16	or something
00:03:19	that is inappropriate,
00:03:19	something that is obscene.
00:03:22	But I just felt that the
00:03:22	language simply just did not,
00:03:26	did not work.
00:03:28	You know, because it goes
00:03:28	really to doesn't just say,
00:03:31	but it goes to content
00:03:31	and it goes to
00:03:35	material content within
00:03:35	any kind of book.
00:03:37	I just don't think it works
00:03:37	very well.
00:03:39	LGBTQ
00:03:39	advocates had asked for that
00:03:42	veto along with the libraries,
00:03:42	and had requested
00:03:45	a veto of a provision banning
00:03:45	state funds going to use
00:03:49	homeless shelters
00:03:49	that help trans kids.
00:03:52	DeWine struck that,
00:03:52	along with a provision
00:03:55	that could have ended
00:03:55	continuous Medicaid coverage
00:03:58	for some kids under four
00:04:00	by requiring annual
00:04:00	eligibility reviews.
00:04:04	DeWine also vetoed
00:04:04	the creation of educational
00:04:07	savings accounts
00:04:09	that would have allowed
00:04:10	students in non
00:04:10	chartered nonpublic schools.
00:04:13	Most of which are religious,
00:04:13	to get taxpayer paid vouchers.
00:04:18	But DeWine left intact
00:04:18	the 2.5% flat income tax,
00:04:23	which largely benefits people
00:04:23	making over six figures.
00:04:27	He said when he unveiled
00:04:27	his budget in February
00:04:30	that he didn't think the
00:04:30	income tax cuts were needed.
00:04:35	I've been
00:04:35	governor for six years,
00:04:37	and I've been involved.
00:04:39	Lieutenant
00:04:39	Governor Houston, former
00:04:41	lieutenant Governor Husted
00:04:42	and I have been involved
00:04:42	in talking to many,
00:04:46	many companies
00:04:46	about coming to Ohio.
00:04:49	There is not one company
00:04:52	that said to us,
00:04:53	we can't come to Ohio because
00:04:53	your taxes are too high.
00:04:57	We've been able to cut
00:04:57	taxes now.
00:05:00	Working with the legislature
00:05:00	over a number of years.
00:05:04	We are now
00:05:04	extremely competitive.
00:05:07	DeWine
00:05:07	also had said he wanted a tax
00:05:10	cut for working families
00:05:10	and had included in his budget
00:05:14	a $1,000 child tax credit
00:05:17	funded by a cigaret
00:05:17	tax increase,
00:05:19	which Republicans
00:05:19	stripped out.
00:05:21	DeWine was asked why he didn't
00:05:21	strike the flat income tax.
00:05:27	The answer is I can count,
00:05:30	meaning I can count votes
00:05:30	in the General Assembly.
00:05:32	The 67 vetoes make up
00:05:32	the largest number of vetoes
00:05:37	DeWine has issued at one time,
00:05:37	as governor,
00:05:40	while more than the 44 vetoes
00:05:40	in the previous budget.
00:05:45	Joe Ingles,
00:05:45	Statehouse News Bureau.
00:05:48	some of those vetoes set off
00:05:48	Republican lawmakers
00:05:51	who are saying
00:05:51	they want to come back
00:05:51	for an override session soon,
00:05:55	even before the legislature
00:05:55	reconvene after the summer.
00:05:58	My statehouse news bureau
00:05:58	colleague, Sarah Donaldson,
00:06:00	looks at the chances
00:06:00	of a session
00:06:02	to reverse some of what DeWine
00:06:02	vetoed.
00:06:05	The early morning
00:06:05	veto messages
00:06:06	left some state lawmakers
00:06:08	rallying online and offline
00:06:08	for an override session.
00:06:12	They wanted to set a 40% limit
00:06:12	for how much money
00:06:15	public school districts
00:06:15	could possibly carry over year
00:06:17	to year, before county budget
00:06:17	commissions issued refunds.
00:06:21	The final legislative budget
00:06:21	also enabled those
00:06:23	commissioners,
00:06:23	the authority to lower levies,
00:06:26	and included certain levies
00:06:27	in the calculation
00:06:27	of the 20 mill floor,
00:06:29	including emergency
00:06:29	and substitute levies.
00:06:32	DeWine shot each item down.
00:06:35	Know everybody has a
00:06:35	turn to make a move.
00:06:37	I made my move.
00:06:37	My move was to veto things
00:06:39	that I thought were not good
00:06:39	for the state of Ohio.
00:06:42	And the legislature
00:06:42	now has can do what they do.
00:06:45	You know,
00:06:46	I obviously
00:06:47	I think that my vetoes
00:06:49	were valid, but,
00:06:50	you know, we'll see what
00:06:50	the legislature wants to do.
00:06:53	He said he worries
00:06:53	it would have been
00:06:54	too much for schools
00:06:54	to adjust to at once.
00:06:57	He instead suggested
00:06:57	a state task force.
00:06:59	But the Ohio General Assembly
00:06:59	has already convened
00:07:02	a committee on property
00:07:02	tax proposals.
00:07:05	You know, we do have Ohioans
00:07:05	who are hurting,
00:07:08	and that's very, very clear.
00:07:10	Freshman
00:07:10	Republican Representative
00:07:11	David
00:07:11	Thomas told us he believes
00:07:13	property owners are clamoring
00:07:13	for relief.
00:07:16	In all honesty,
00:07:17	we I thought we need to go
00:07:17	much further in the budget.
00:07:21	We still have a lot of work
00:07:21	to go.
00:07:23	Which is why he's advocating
00:07:25	his colleagues convene
00:07:25	soon to overturn the vetoes.
00:07:28	So if we don't do this before
00:07:28	October, what that means is
00:07:31	these reforms
00:07:31	will not be effective
00:07:33	for our January property
00:07:33	tax bills.
00:07:35	So I'm urging we need to do
00:07:35	this over the summer
00:07:38	as soon as possible.
00:07:40	Calling lawmakers back
00:07:40	could be a big ask, since most
00:07:43	are in their districts
00:07:43	for the summer.
00:07:45	Neither chamber has a floor
00:07:47	session
00:07:47	scheduled before October.
00:07:49	And since this budget
00:07:49	and every budget before
00:07:51	it was voted on as one package
00:07:51	rather than in parts,
00:07:55	there may not be broad
00:07:55	consensus.
00:07:57	Still, in a statement,
00:07:57	a spokesperson for House
00:07:59	Speaker Matt Huffman wrote
00:07:59	that, quote,
00:08:01	our caucus is mindful
00:08:01	of the urgency
00:08:03	many Ohioans are feeling.
00:08:05	While a spokesperson
00:08:05	for Senate President Rob
00:08:07	Macaulay wrote,
00:08:08	the legislature, quote, needs
00:08:08	to strongly consider acting.
00:08:12	It all comes with the citizen
00:08:12	led effort to abolish
00:08:14	property taxes altogether
00:08:14	via the state constitution.
00:08:18	That won't be on the ballot
00:08:18	until fall 2026
00:08:21	at the earliest,
00:08:21	but if it passed,
00:08:25	it would have
00:08:25	major ramifications
00:08:26	for local governments
00:08:26	and the state government.
00:08:29	So vetoes now.
00:08:31	And that's just handcuffing.
00:08:33	I think our efforts to try
00:08:33	and say we're going to attack
00:08:36	this,
00:08:36	we're going to make it right.
00:08:38	In seven years,
00:08:38	lawmakers have overridden
00:08:41	three of DeWine's vetoes,
00:08:42	only one of which
00:08:42	was in the budget.
00:08:45	Veto overrides need a 3/5
00:08:45	majority in each chamber.
00:08:49	Sarah Donaldson,
00:08:49	Statehouse News Bureau.
00:08:53	there's no Democrat in either
00:08:53	the House or the Senate
00:08:55	supported the budget.
00:08:57	It seems unlikely
00:08:58	they would support
00:08:58	any veto overrides
00:09:00	when or if an override session
00:09:00	is scheduled.
00:09:03	The budget
00:09:03	also includes a provision
00:09:05	that DeWine had put into his
00:09:06	initial spending plan,
00:09:07	so it was unlikely
00:09:07	that he would veto it.
00:09:10	Trigger language
00:09:11	that would end health
00:09:11	care coverage for Ohioans
00:09:13	in the Medicaid expansion
00:09:13	population,
00:09:15	which is 761,756 Ohioans
00:09:15	as of this month.
00:09:20	If the federal
00:09:21	match for Medicaid expansion
00:09:21	drops below 90% of the bill
00:09:25	that President Trump wants
00:09:26	Republicans in Congress
00:09:26	to pass
00:09:28	would drop the rate
00:09:29	to the regular matching rates
00:09:29	of the 40 states that adopted
00:09:32	Medicaid expansion,
00:09:32	which in Ohio is 65%.
00:09:36	I talked to Ohio
00:09:36	Medicaid
00:09:36	Director Maureen Corcoran
00:09:38	about that section
00:09:38	of the budget in March.
00:09:41	if they drop it by 5%.
00:09:43	So if they go
00:09:43	from just 90% to 85%,
00:09:47	that would cost the state
00:09:47	about $380 million.
00:09:51	And if they went all the way
00:09:53	down to 65, you're right,
00:09:53	our our regular amount,
00:09:57	then they'd be dropping it
00:09:57	by five times that.
00:10:01	So we're up,
00:10:01	you know, up near $2 billion.
00:10:05	And so the discussion
00:10:05	that we've been having with
00:10:07	the legislature
00:10:07	is really around.
00:10:10	Look, we need a clear
00:10:14	so that if this happens there
00:10:14	trigger
00:10:17	can be additional conversation
00:10:17	with the General Assembly.
00:10:21	They they would have to act.
00:10:23	They control the purse.
00:10:25	They would have to.
00:10:26	And you,
00:10:27	you know,
00:10:27	you know, from
00:10:28	other situations
00:10:28	we've had in the state of Ohio
00:10:30	where there's been crisis and,
00:10:33	you know, people
00:10:33	have had to come together
00:10:34	in the General Assembly.
00:10:36	So, you know, without knowing
00:10:36	exactly what might happen,
00:10:40	you know,
00:10:40	the our view is we need
00:10:40	a clear kind of trigger
00:10:45	and then there will need
00:10:45	to be more discussion.
00:10:48	But the other thing
00:10:48	I've cautioned in,
00:10:50	in some of the hearings is,
00:10:51	you know, nothing like this
00:10:51	occurs overnight.
00:10:55	Okay.
00:10:55	So it's not
00:10:56	that you're going to show up
00:10:56	at the hospital the next day
00:10:59	and not have coverage.
00:11:00	You know,
00:11:00	it all takes guidance
00:11:02	from the federal government
00:11:02	to tell you,
00:11:04	you know, what you have to do.
00:11:04	And all that.
00:11:06	So we don't know how
00:11:06	much time, but there would be,
00:11:10	you know, some back and forth
00:11:12	in some time
00:11:12	that would be needed before
00:11:15	any kind of terminations
00:11:15	of individuals would occur.
00:11:19	The budget
00:11:19	language also says at the end
00:11:21	of the budget cycle,
00:11:21	the remaining Medicaid
00:11:23	expansion
00:11:23	funds are transferred
00:11:25	to either the state's
00:11:25	rainy day fund or the fund
00:11:28	to supplement
00:11:28	the state's sales tax holiday.
00:11:31	One of the most vocal critics
00:11:31	of the $600 million grant
00:11:34	to the Cleveland Browns
00:11:34	for a Dome Stadium
00:11:36	development in Brook
00:11:36	Park, says he feels lawmakers
00:11:39	have done an end
00:11:39	run around him
00:11:40	and other local officials
00:11:40	across the state.
00:11:43	The Haslam Sports Group
00:11:43	made the argument to lawmakers
00:11:46	that the Dome Stadium
00:11:46	and surrounding retail
00:11:48	and housing will generate
00:11:48	hundreds
00:11:50	of millions of dollars
00:11:50	in tax revenue
00:11:52	on what will be a year
00:11:53	round, multibillion
00:11:53	dollar facility
00:11:55	and the only domed stadium
00:11:55	in Ohio.
00:11:58	But for Cuyahoga County
00:11:58	Executive Chris Ronayne, it's
00:12:01	not just the $600
00:12:01	million grant for the Browns
00:12:03	to move 12 miles
00:12:03	outside of downtown Cleveland.
00:12:07	It's a last minute change in
00:12:07	state law that passed in 1996
00:12:11	that ban teams that play
00:12:11	in publicly funded stadium
00:12:14	for moving,
00:12:15	as art model
00:12:15	did when he owned the Browns
00:12:17	and move them to Baltimore,
00:12:17	Maryland.
00:12:19	Ronayne says
00:12:19	these things together
00:12:21	are a blow
00:12:21	to officials and leaders
00:12:23	in communities
00:12:23	across the state.
00:12:25	this is a difficult day
00:12:25	for localities in Ohio.
00:12:28	You know, our communities,
00:12:29	look for partnerships
00:12:31	with their state
00:12:31	representatives and senators.
00:12:33	And, we look for that
00:12:33	both from, you know, the state
00:12:37	and also
00:12:37	the federal government.
00:12:38	And right now, we're feeling
00:12:38	very alone.
00:12:40	We're feeling like a lot of,
00:12:41	the budget impacts
00:12:41	from the state of Ohio
00:12:43	are going to end up
00:12:44	on the shoulders of counties
00:12:44	and our 88 counties
00:12:46	throughout Ohio,
00:12:46	and certainly our communities
00:12:48	within them, you name it,
00:12:48	we're paying for it.
00:12:51	And, for us,
00:12:52	you know, a
00:12:52	great irony in this here
00:12:54	up in Cleveland
00:12:55	is the large shell out
00:12:55	of a large amount of funds,
00:12:58	out of unclaimed funds
00:12:58	to have them sports group
00:13:00	to build the Browns
00:13:00	Stadium out in Brook Park.
00:13:02	And we've looked at that
00:13:02	locally as a boondoggle.
00:13:04	But if I was another citizen
00:13:04	in another county of Ohio,
00:13:07	I would be rather upset
00:13:09	with my legislature
00:13:09	for ushering that one through.
00:13:11	I mean, it seemed, done,
00:13:11	you know, in a way that wasn't
00:13:15	ultimately a conversation
00:13:15	with the electorate.
00:13:17	It certainly was done in a way
00:13:17	that,
00:13:19	seemed to end run the local,
00:13:19	voice like mine,
00:13:23	the mayor of the city
00:13:23	of Cleveland and others,
00:13:25	and it
00:13:25	seemed done in a way that,
00:13:28	just happened more or less,
00:13:30	just a conversation
00:13:30	of a few of vying for a few
00:13:32	to benefit just one.
00:13:34	And that's
00:13:34	how some sports group,
00:13:35	I mean, we feel that, long
00:13:37	we've seen this as the,
00:13:37	kind of stripping away of Bill
00:13:40	and Betty Buckeyes
00:13:40	dollars, literally.
00:13:42	They're unclaimed funds
00:13:42	to give to Jimmy
00:13:44	and Dee Haslam,
00:13:44	who already have
00:13:45	a whole lot of dollars
00:13:45	to build a stadium
00:13:47	that frankly,
00:13:47	we in the region of Cuyahoga
00:13:50	County
00:13:51	have opposed because we think
00:13:51	that there's a better way,
00:13:54	and that way is to
00:13:54	stay downtown like they did it
00:13:56	pay Corfield with the Bengals
00:13:56	in downtown Cincinnati
00:13:58	and not have to double down
00:13:58	on new infrastructure,
00:14:01	not have to disrupt Ohio's,
00:14:01	largest airport,
00:14:04	busiest airport.
00:14:05	And, for us,
00:14:05	we think that this is a day
00:14:08	where we're seeing legislators
00:14:08	who seem, for the moment,
00:14:11	to not be listening
00:14:12	to their locals
00:14:12	and their local partners,
00:14:14	not everybody,
00:14:14	but those in leadership.
00:14:16	And we
00:14:16	need a better partnership.
00:14:19	And leaders also
00:14:19	added in, kind of something
00:14:22	that might have been
00:14:22	a surprise
00:14:23	change, the model law,
00:14:23	which is the law that keeps
00:14:27	professional teams
00:14:27	who are playing
00:14:29	in publicly funded stadiums
00:14:29	from moving out of state.
00:14:32	They said that
00:14:32	this just clarifies
00:14:33	and says that moving is about
00:14:35	not moving out of state,
00:14:35	but moving.
00:14:36	You can move within a county.
00:14:38	Do you feel the settles,
00:14:38	the lawsuits
00:14:41	that are still out there
00:14:41	over this move?
00:14:43	Well,
00:14:43	I think this is a tragicomedy
00:14:45	in Ohio and emphasize comedy.
00:14:47	I mean, you know,
00:14:47	it must be nice
00:14:47	to be a defendant
00:14:49	like some sports group
00:14:49	in a, local case
00:14:52	at the Court of Common
00:14:52	Pleas, to be a defendant
00:14:56	and to decide in the under
00:14:56	the cover of night
00:14:58	to go down to the legislature
00:15:00	to get the law
00:15:01	that you're actually fighting
00:15:02	in context in the local courts
00:15:02	with and get it changed.
00:15:05	Must be nice.
00:15:06	We in Ohio,
00:15:06	if we all had that, privilege
00:15:08	to be able
00:15:09	to move out from a court case
00:15:09	that we're in involved
00:15:11	in as a defendant
00:15:11	and go to the legislature
00:15:13	and say, hey, change
00:15:13	the law for me, would you?
00:15:15	It seems to be what happened,
00:15:15	you know, and, again,
00:15:17	for us, it's just another move
00:15:17	that seems to end run.
00:15:21	Good local process.
00:15:22	And, frankly, overall,
00:15:22	you know, the institutions
00:15:25	that embody our,
00:15:25	our democracy here, which is,
00:15:28	you know, our courts,
00:15:28	I mean, it's simply
00:15:30	something that just end run,
00:15:30	a local case.
00:15:32	It's live and active and,
00:15:32	Judge Loren Moore's courtroom.
00:15:36	This is a law
00:15:37	that really affects the big
00:15:37	cities, because this is where
00:15:39	the professional sports
00:15:39	teams are.
00:15:41	I mean, it's it's illogical
00:15:41	from the get go.
00:15:43	Look, we know it was designed
00:15:43	specifically to help Jimmy.
00:15:47	And he has a move,
00:15:47	the Browns to Brook Park.
00:15:49	But now everybody suffers.
00:15:51	If I'm in Hamilton County
00:15:52	and I've got to re-up
00:15:52	on a lease with the Cincinnati
00:15:54	Reds, hey,
00:15:54	maybe they go to Toledo to,
00:15:56	become the City of Cincinnati
00:15:56	Reds and Toledo.
00:15:58	Maybe the Mud Hens say, hey,
00:16:00	we want to be in Sandusky,
00:16:00	you know, and maybe,
00:16:03	out in the,
00:16:03	you know, you name it, maybe,
00:16:05	maybe any one of our major
00:16:05	sports and minor sports teams,
00:16:09	now are in play
00:16:09	under this new model law.
00:16:12	And it's a race to the bottom.
00:16:14	It's a race to communities
00:16:15	sort of fighting against one
00:16:15	another rather than the state
00:16:17	really understanding
00:16:17	that it's big cities matter.
00:16:20	And really to me
00:16:20	it's anti anti city.
00:16:23	It's anti urban.
00:16:24	It's it's anti community
00:16:26	in terms
00:16:26	of what we're trying to do.
00:16:27	I mean people do enjoy
00:16:29	finding their way
00:16:30	to the downtowns to discover
00:16:30	what's downtown.
00:16:32	And you know, whether that's
00:16:34	you know, in Cincinnati
00:16:34	with the Bengals and the Reds
00:16:36	or whether that's here
00:16:37	in Cleveland
00:16:37	with the Cavaliers
00:16:39	and the Guardians and the
00:16:39	Browns, and we're losing one.
00:16:41	But this law was designed
00:16:41	to accommodate one.
00:16:44	But it has this, you know,
00:16:44	impact is a attendant impact
00:16:48	that actually hits.
00:16:49	Every community is going to
00:16:49	put them in the same problem
00:16:51	we've been in in Northeast
00:16:51	Ohio,
00:16:53	which is in this race
00:16:53	to the bottom over poaching.
00:16:56	And you know, who can create
00:16:56	the best deal for the owner
00:16:58	and frankly, the worst deal
00:16:58	for their, electorate.
00:17:02	And in that race
00:17:02	to the bottom,
00:17:03	maybe lose a team
00:17:03	or gain a team,
00:17:04	but nobody wins because it's
00:17:04	poaching from one of the next.
00:17:08	What is
00:17:08	about to do with the syntax?
00:17:10	Again, this is a, bill
00:17:10	that came down from on high
00:17:14	to us, exactly opposite
00:17:14	of what we had requested.
00:17:17	I think we're in an era
00:17:17	where local government,
00:17:20	local control, home rule
00:17:20	authority is being bypassed
00:17:24	and preempted
00:17:24	by the legislature
00:17:26	from on high to say,
00:17:26	we know better than you.
00:17:28	So what do they do
00:17:28	in the case of Cleveland,
00:17:30	where we have the Guardians,
00:17:30	the Cavs and the Browns?
00:17:33	And we really need
00:17:33	in those first two cases
00:17:35	to attend to facilities
00:17:35	that are older than the Browns
00:17:39	Stadium, than Huntington Bank
00:17:39	field.
00:17:40	The day that the Browns are
00:17:40	now, we've got two facilities
00:17:43	housing the Cleveland
00:17:43	Cavaliers
00:17:45	and the Cleveland Guardians
00:17:45	that are older than the Browns
00:17:48	facility, that the Browns are
00:17:49	all of a sudden
00:17:49	leaving to go to Brook Park.
00:17:50	So those two facilities,
00:17:50	we asked the legislature
00:17:53	to help us adjust
00:17:53	what was voted on
00:17:56	by the electorate of Cuyahoga
00:17:56	County back in 1990,
00:17:58	which was to help support
00:17:58	the gateway model.
00:18:00	And folks and fans from around
00:18:00	Ohio know this.
00:18:03	or a, Guardians game.
00:18:03	You come up to see a Cavs game
00:18:06	You're in this beautiful
00:18:06	complex called gateway.
00:18:08	Well,
00:18:08	gateway is getting old now.
00:18:09	It was built in the mid
00:18:09	90s and 30 years later.
00:18:12	We need some improvement.
00:18:14	So we asked the legislature
00:18:14	to give us
00:18:15	at the Cuyahoga County
00:18:15	the local option
00:18:18	to levy a adjustment to the
00:18:18	original sin tax from 1990.
00:18:22	And we asked for it
00:18:22	for these two teams.
00:18:25	And here came the Cleveland
00:18:25	Browns and run us
00:18:28	and got themselves
00:18:28	linked in to the bill.
00:18:30	And then what came down
00:18:30	from on high
00:18:32	is not what we asked for
00:18:32	in terms of the dollars
00:18:34	needed in capacity
00:18:34	to actually get the job done.
00:18:38	So they carved out half
00:18:38	as much as we actually needed,
00:18:41	added a team
00:18:41	which diluted further the the
00:18:44	the opportunity,
00:18:46	to work with voters
00:18:46	to get our two facilities
00:18:48	at the Cavs
00:18:48	and the guards, fix
00:18:50	they put the Browns in the mix
00:18:51	and then they prescribe
00:18:51	that it shall only be
00:18:53	those three teams,
00:18:53	which puts us out of,
00:18:56	the ability to sort of court
00:18:56	other teams in through
00:18:58	that financial, opportunity,
00:18:58	like a soccer team.
00:19:02	So it's a triple loss for us.
00:19:04	And we're going to have to
00:19:04	go back to the drawing board.
00:19:05	It is not worth us putting on
00:19:05	the ballot what they enabled.
00:19:09	The $600
00:19:09	million grant in this budget
00:19:11	is only half the public money
00:19:11	for housing,
00:19:12	so we're hoping for the hasn't
00:19:12	said in the statement today,
00:19:15	this premier facility
00:19:16	will anchor a major lifestyle
00:19:18	and entertainment development,
00:19:18	and will be a catalyst
00:19:20	for one of Northeast
00:19:20	Ohio's largest economic
00:19:22	development projects ever,
00:19:23	and something
00:19:23	our community will be proud of
00:19:25	and can
00:19:25	enjoy for years to come.
00:19:27	Is it a done deal
00:19:27	that this is going to be built
00:19:30	as the plan?
00:19:31	It's not just going to be
00:19:31	a dome stadium, it's
00:19:33	going to be a dome stadium
00:19:33	and housing and retail.
00:19:36	Do do we know
00:19:36	what the final project
00:19:39	is going to look like?
00:19:40	Well, we say that
00:19:40	it has some sports group.
00:19:42	If you're so confident
00:19:42	about the statement
00:19:43	you just read off
00:19:43	that they gave to you,
00:19:45	then pay for it,
00:19:46	pay for it, pay for it
00:19:46	out of your own pocket.
00:19:48	Don't fleece
00:19:48	the public on a deal
00:19:48	that we've deemed, too risky
00:19:52	that the Legislative Service
00:19:53	Commission of Ohio,
00:19:53	advised the legislature itself
00:19:56	is too risky.
00:19:57	That the Office of Budget
00:19:57	Management
00:19:58	advised the governor
00:19:58	in the legislature.
00:20:00	It's too risky.
00:20:01	And we're the only ones
00:20:01	who apparently are taking
00:20:02	the advice of a fiscal analyst
00:20:02	that it's too risky.
00:20:05	So what I say to ASM
00:20:05	sports Group,
00:20:06	if you're going to do it,
00:20:06	pay for it out of pocket.
00:20:08	But frankly,
00:20:08	we hope you don't.
00:20:10	We hope you come back
00:20:10	to downtown Cleveland,
00:20:12	to a place
00:20:12	that has the infrastructure
00:20:14	to support sports,
00:20:15	has the appeal of three sports
00:20:15	teams within walking
00:20:18	distance of one another,
00:20:18	which is a national model
00:20:20	that cities like Detroit
00:20:20	looked at
00:20:22	when they brought the Pistons
00:20:22	and the Lions back downtown.
00:20:24	We were the national model,
00:20:25	and now we're walking away
00:20:25	from our own national model.
00:20:27	But as the Browns
00:20:27	walk away to Brook
00:20:29	Park has them,
00:20:29	sports is going to have to
00:20:31	pull out of their own pocket
00:20:31	the balance of the funding.
00:20:33	But it gets worse
00:20:33	because we have Ohio's busiest
00:20:36	airport across the street
00:20:36	and on State Route 237.
00:20:40	It's going to be a massive,
00:20:41	a logjam on any given Sunday
00:20:41	day or any concert night
00:20:45	or any big event
00:20:45	when 75,000 people are trying
00:20:48	to get in and out
00:20:48	of a stadium facility
00:20:48	on the same road
00:20:50	where people are trying
00:20:50	to get into the airport
00:20:52	and out of the airport,
00:20:53	we've got a problem, Houston,
00:20:53	and it's right here
00:20:55	in Cleveland,
00:20:55	Ohio, at Hopkins Airport.
00:20:57	Are you planning on
00:20:57	going to this Sports
00:20:59	and Cultural Facilities
00:21:00	Fund with that $350 million
00:21:00	request that you would had
00:21:03	for the Browns
00:21:03	Stadium in downtown?
00:21:05	Not at this time.
00:21:06	I mean, what I see is our Cavs
00:21:06	and our guards got bypassed
00:21:08	by the legislature
00:21:08	in this cycle,
00:21:10	and we need to help them.
00:21:11	So for my money,
00:21:11	I'm really looking
00:21:13	to help our Cavs and guards,
00:21:14	get their facilities
00:21:14	refurbished.
00:21:16	Not to mention
00:21:17	look we need some help
00:21:17	from the legislature,
00:21:19	on some local sports
00:21:19	facilities for our local kids.
00:21:22	And, you know, things
00:21:22	of that nature.
00:21:23	Now, that might be something
00:21:24	that we can talk
00:21:24	to the legislature about,
00:21:26	drawing through
00:21:26	some of those funds.
00:21:27	But I think
00:21:27	at the end of the day,
00:21:29	this was a really, really
00:21:29	curious, cycle in the budget,
00:21:34	you know, has, sports
00:21:34	went to the legislature
00:21:37	and basically
00:21:37	the legislative leaders said,
00:21:39	whatever we can find for you,
00:21:39	we're going to find for you.
00:21:41	So they found our unclaimed
00:21:41	funds.
00:21:43	And, you know, to me,
00:21:44	that was a very curious source
00:21:44	to find,
00:21:46	because it's the people's
00:21:46	money.
00:21:47	It's not Jimmy and he has
00:21:47	some money, but they found it.
00:21:49	They offered it.
00:21:50	Now they got a half a loaf.
00:21:51	But the idea has been half
00:21:51	baked from the beginning.
00:21:54	And I'm saying to them,
00:21:54	if you want to finish this
00:21:55	loaf, you've got to come up
00:21:55	with the money.
00:21:57	Money for your other side
00:21:57	of the loaf,
00:21:59	you know, look,
00:21:59	but don't do it.
00:22:00	Stay in downtown Cleveland,
00:22:00	where you'll have,
00:22:03	a chorus of people who say
00:22:03	thanks for coming back,
00:22:06	be a part of something
00:22:06	bigger than you.
00:22:07	Instead,
00:22:07	we're going to be dealing
00:22:08	with decades of infrastructure
00:22:08	investments necessary
00:22:11	to make the airport whole.
00:22:12	Who is the unintended?
00:22:14	Or maybe they didn't care.
00:22:16	It has them sports group.
00:22:17	But the real victim in
00:22:17	this is the airport
00:22:20	operations itself at Cleveland
00:22:20	Hopkins Airport.
00:22:22	Not to mention,
00:22:22	I mean, I don't think this is
00:22:24	well thought out
00:22:24	for our communities locally.
00:22:26	I mean, you've got safety
00:22:26	operations issues.
00:22:28	You know,
00:22:28	any given Sunday,
00:22:28	it takes 100 police officers
00:22:30	demand
00:22:30	a football game in the NFL.
00:22:32	Well, city of Cleveland
00:22:32	has IT infrastructure
00:22:34	with over 1100 officers.
00:22:35	City of Brook
00:22:35	Park has 35 officers.
00:22:37	You know, you do the math.
00:22:38	How are you going
00:22:38	to actually services.
00:22:40	And this would be true
00:22:41	if a team left any major city
00:22:41	to go to any other place.
00:22:44	And that's
00:22:45	what the model law and it's
00:22:45	now new configuration presents
00:22:48	is the opportunity
00:22:48	for any city in Ohio
00:22:50	to poach
00:22:50	another city from Ohio,
00:22:52	but not have thought
00:22:52	through the operations,
00:22:53	logistics, safety
00:22:53	and infrastructure needs.
00:22:55	And it's a race to the bottom
00:22:55	that's going to cost
00:22:57	Ohio taxpayers
00:22:57	for a long time.
00:22:59	Thank Jimmy.
00:22:59	And he has an Ohio for that.
00:23:01	You can thank them
00:23:01	for getting what they want.
00:23:03	And the rest of us
00:23:03	got you know,
00:23:04	what is the relationship
00:23:04	between you and the Browns
00:23:07	completely broken here. Is
00:23:07	there any room for compromise?
00:23:11	What's that look like now?
00:23:12	Look, I mean, I'm
00:23:13	a I'm a Browns fan,
00:23:13	and the players sense
00:23:16	I want to see our Cleveland
00:23:16	Browns do well.
00:23:17	I'll always
00:23:17	be rooting for them.
00:23:19	But as far as the narrative
00:23:19	goes from has sports group.
00:23:22	It has been won repeated
00:23:22	miss statement after the next.
00:23:28	This is not economic
00:23:28	development.
00:23:29	It's economic extraction.
00:23:31	It's poaching of jobs
00:23:31	from one place to the next.
00:23:33	It's not additive
00:23:33	to their point.
00:23:35	It's taking away
00:23:35	from the strength of downtown
00:23:37	by placing in a very
00:23:37	vulnerable market housing,
00:23:41	office, work, office
00:23:41	space and hotel space
00:23:44	that's already downtown.
00:23:45	And it's struggling downtown
00:23:45	just to stay viable downtown.
00:23:48	You know, I always referenced
00:23:48	my favorite little restaurant
00:23:50	down in the flats,
00:23:50	the Flat Iron Cafe,
00:23:52	where at that cafe that
00:23:52	shuttles, families to games.
00:23:56	Be it the Guardians of Cavs
00:23:56	or the Browns
00:23:58	and in their in their Flat
00:23:58	iron cafe.
00:24:00	I appreciate the sign in there
00:24:00	that says please Haslam,
00:24:03	don't make us shuttle
00:24:03	our fans to Brook Park.
00:24:06	These are restaurants and bars
00:24:07	that have invested in downtown
00:24:09	being a part of the visitor
00:24:09	infrastructure of downtown,
00:24:11	and they've seen now
00:24:11	a major anchor
00:24:13	turned their back on them
00:24:13	and walk away from them
00:24:15	just for parking gains
00:24:17	and a sea of surface
00:24:17	parking around the stadium.
00:24:19	And to your question
00:24:19	about what happens next
00:24:21	with the development,
00:24:22	I don't know if it all happens
00:24:22	the way that they've said,
00:24:24	you know,
00:24:24	what our analysts have said
00:24:26	and again, what LSC and OPM
00:24:26	have said is that it's risky.
00:24:29	I don't know if they pull off
00:24:30	the housing
00:24:30	that they're promoting.
00:24:32	I don't know if people want to
00:24:33	be on a balcony watching a 747
00:24:33	go over their head.
00:24:36	They can't hear one another
00:24:37	and they're barbecuing out,
00:24:37	with, you know, jet fumes,
00:24:41	spewing in the air.
00:24:41	I don't know
00:24:41	if that's the place
00:24:42	where people are going
00:24:42	to spend
00:24:44	top of market dollars to live.
00:24:46	I don't know
00:24:46	if they're going to get,
00:24:47	all the,
00:24:47	you know, retail activity
00:24:49	that they say
00:24:49	they're going to get, again,
00:24:52	this is a, environment
00:24:53	where we're trying to support
00:24:53	what's working.
00:24:55	And this to us
00:24:55	is just a dilution of that
00:24:57	sum game at best.
00:24:57	and really a zero
00:25:00	Just before the budget
00:25:00	was signed, the Haslam Sports
00:25:03	Group completed its purchase
00:25:03	of 176 acres that used to be
00:25:07	the Ford Motor Company site
00:25:07	in Brook Park for $76 million.
00:25:11	The lease on Huntington Bank
00:25:12	Field in downtown
00:25:12	Cleveland expires in 2028.
00:25:16	And that is it for this week
00:25:16	for my colleagues
00:25:18	at the Statehouse News
00:25:18	Bureau of Ohio Public Media.
00:25:20	Thanks for watching.
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Note : Transcripts are compiled from uncorrected captions