Callender, General Assembly Approve State Budget Bill

COLUMBUS – Today, State Rep. Jamie Callender (R-Concord) and the General Assembly passed House Bill 110, the state’s two-year operating budget for Fiscal Years 2022-2023. The legislation highlights include a new school funding reform plan, tax relief, jobs and economic support, and several other initiatives.

“This has been a long process but the result is one of great benefit to Lake County and the surrounding region,” Callender said. “Budgets can be contentious, especially when the House and Senate have competing priorities, but I am proud of the work that we have done and the important local funding that we protected.”   

Several provisions providing funding to Lake County initiatives were passed by the House then eliminated or significantly reduced in the Senate version. These include $300,000 for the Lake County Emergency Management Center, two years of expanded support for the Perry Joint Fire District, and four years of increased support for Perry Local Schools.  All of these were included in the state’s budget bill, because of Rep. Callender’s hard work with the budget conference committee.

Other important budget measures included in House Bill 110 to benefit Lake County include:

• $320,000 to the Educational Service Center for the Western Reserve to support STEM initiatives for middle school students in counties affiliated with the Alliance for Working Together.
• Language permitting a special improvement district to fund projects for erosion abatement along waters within a watershed district.

The school funding reform plan included in the bill is the result of more than three years of work by educators and policymakers. The Fair School Funding Plan is predictable, sustainable and transparent. Callender also introduced the Fair School Funding Plan legislation for this General Assembly under House Bill 1. 

Additionally, the budget bill provides targeted investments supporting Ohio jobs, businesses, and workers. This portion of the bill focuses on expanding procurement law to give preference to American and Ohio products. The legislation also focuses on workforce development by convening a committee to study workforce training for Ohioans and adding several programs to support employment opportunities.

House Bill 110 includes a series of provisions benefiting law enforcement, firefighters, and public safety officers. Some of the initiatives include security grants, school safety grants, body cameras, law enforcement training investment, firefighter grants, and funding for the Ohio Cyber Reserve.

The bill also includes a three percent, across-the-board reduction in the personal income rate. The tax reform plan simplifies the state’s tax code by compressing the number of tax brackets, from five brackets to four brackets, and zeroing out income tax obligations for workers earning less than $25,000 per year. Overall, these and other tax changes in the budget allows Ohioans to keep about $2 billion more of their earnings over the next two years.

The budget plan, formally known as House Bill 110, now heads to the governor for further action.