Rep. Grim Says Operating Budget is a Blueprint for Ohio's Future That Puts People First

April 26, 2023

COLUMBUS – State Rep. Michele Grim (D-Toledo) today celebrates the passage of the bipartisan Operating Budget (HB 33) by the House of Representatives. The revised two-year budget bill outlines spending of $88 billion in state dollars, prioritizing improvements in public education funding and teacher pay, expansion of Medicaid coverage and other healthcare areas, expansion in childcare capacity and programs, and necessary funding for local government infrastructure projects.

“The budget passed by the House today represents a great step forward for the people of Ohio and of Lucas County. Through this budget, we are strengthening our public schools by continuing to fund the Fair School Funding formula. We are making our healthcare more accessible by expanding Medicaid coverage and ensuring our direct care providers receive a living wage. My amendment to ensure victims of sexual crimes have access to the status of their sexual assault examination kit will give survivors the information they deserve and prevent a backlog of untested kits. Ohio will have better jobs, wage growth and an economy that works for all of us when we invest in our greatest economic resource – people. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Senate to ensure this outlook is retained as the budget continues through the legislative process,” said Rep. Grim.

Key priorities for Lucas County and its surrounding area include:

$40 million for the Ohio Maritime Assistance Program to strengthen trade routes and infrastructure in Lake Erie
$50 million for Airports Development Grants, which will be used to upgrade commercial airports, including the Eugene F. Kranz Toledo Express Airport
Low-income housing tax credit
- Authorizes a nonrefundable state tax credit that piggybacks on the federal low-income housing tax credit for affordable housing projects.
- Limits the total amount of credits that may be reserved in a fiscal year to $500 million.
- Establishes requirements for the Tax Commissioner to prescribe a formula for uniformly valuing federal subsidized rental housing.
- An increased investment in low-income homes that will expand affordable housing access in Ohio.
$500,000 for the Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Logistics at Bowling Green State University
$150,000 to support the Jack Ford Urban Affairs Center at the University of Toledo
$200 million for the Local Jail Grants Fund to provide grants for county jail construction and renovation projects
$5 million to support lodging (through organizations like the Ronald McDonald House in Toledo) for children undergoing treatments for severe illnesses
$1 million to support the Ohio ProStart school culinary program and its affiliations, including Whitmer High School
$600,000 to support students at the University of Toledo and across the state who participate in the Washington Center Internship Program
$1 million for 4-H Camp Palmer, serving 250,000 individuals across 10 counties, including Lucas County

Democratic Caucus priorities in HB 33 include:

Sexual Assault Examination Kits

Defines the rights of victims regarding the results of a sexual assault examination kit, and requiring the Attorney General submit an annual summary report, requires the Attorney General compile a pamphlet that contains all constitutional provisions and statutes relative to victim’s rights in the form of a victim’s bill of rights

Primary and Secondary Education

Continues implementation of the Cupp-Patterson Fair School Funding Plan using FY 2022 per pupil data.
Requires ODE to determine performance measures for parents to view and compare chartered nonpublic schools that accept EdChoice vouchers and public schools.
Appropriates $83.5 million for literacy improvement grants.
Increases the base teacher salary 33% from $30k to $40k and adjusts the remainder of the teacher salary schedule accordingly.
Makes school meals free for anyone who currently qualifies for reduced priced breakfast or lunch.

Health and Human Services

Direct care services payment rates: Increased base payment rates to $17/hr for FY24 and $18/hr for FY25.
- Earmarks $47,086,175 in FY24 and $194,924,947 in FY25.
- Clarifies that direct care payment rate increases to $17/hr for FY24 and $18/hr for FY25 apply to community behavioral health services.
Medicaid Buy-In for Workers with Disabilities: extends coverage to workers with disabilities aged 65 and older.
Medicaid Coverage for pregnant women under 300% FPL, children aged 0 - 19 under 300% FPL, and children under age 19 adopted through private agencies (no income threshold).
Continuous Medicaid enrollment for children 0 – 3.
Doulas: Establishes a 5-year program in ODM to cover doula services.

Child Care

Child care eligibility increased from 142% FPL to 160% FPL – estimated cost of $101M/FY, serving +15,000 more children.
Increases appropriation to Early Childhood Education by $15M/FY.
Earmarks $15M/FY for Ohio Association of Foodbanks.

Higher Education

State Share of Instruction (SSI): Increases SSI 1.5% each year over current spending.
Ohio College Opportunity Grant (OCOG): $140M in FY24 and $175M in FY25 – a 25% yearly increase over current levels. Increases eligibility, but award amounts are likely to remain similar to current levels over the biennium.
Super RAPIDS: $100M in one-time FY24 funds to support collaborative projects among education and workforce-related entities for workforce development throughout the state.
Career-Technical Construction Program line item: $200M in FY24 for the Career-Technical Construction Program under the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission.
House Bill 9 (Lightbody, Manning): $5M in FY24 and $10M in FY25 for the Grow Your Own Teacher scholarship, and $25M in FY24 for the Teacher Loan Repayment Fund.

H2Ohio

Invests $307.2M over the biennium for H2Ohio, the state’s leading program in improving water quality.

Taxation

Excludes from gross receipts tax receipts provided to a business/taxpayer to compensate for lost business resulting from the train derailment of East Palestine from Norfolk Southern Railway.
Exempts sales of children’s diapers, creams and lotions, cribs, wipes, car seats, cribs, and strollers.
Homestead Exemption Indexed- Indexes the existing $25,000 homestead exemption amount to inflation, and maintains indexing for the income eligibility threshold. Does not increase the exemption amount or the income threshold.

LGF and PLF

Permanently increases share to 1.7% of GRF beginning in FY24.
Increase to the Public Library Fund share of GRF- Permanently, increases share to 1.7% of GRF (half from non-auto sales tax revenue and half from GRF kilowatt-hour tax revenue).
The increased share will provide the PLF with an additional $12 million in FY24 and $12.6 million in FY25.

The Operating Bill now heads to the Ohio Senate for consideration.