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Monday, July 13, 2009
Senate gives budget final OK, sends to Strickland
By a bipartisan 17-15 vote, the Senate on Monday, July 13, approved the $50.5 billion two-year state operating budget and sent it to Gov. Ted Strickland. The House earlier approved the budget 54-44.
Strickland is expected to sign the budget by Wednesday.
Five Republicans, all in leadership spots, joined the Senate’s 12 Democrats in approving the budget. Fifteen Republicans, including Jon Husted of Kettering, voted “no.”
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LaHood: Stimulus money is getting out there
What does Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood think of the ongoing sparring between House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-West Chester and the state’s department of transportation about how quickly transportation stimulus dollars are being spent?
“The idea that the money is not getting out in Ohio is just not accurate,” said LaHood, a Republican who last year called Boehner his leader, in an interview Monday, July 13. “Drive around the state. Talk to the Governor. Talk to the lady who runs the DOT there. Talk to people working there. Ohio’s getting the money.”
He said the state has “as strict a metric on their awarding of contracts” as any state, and that has “probably delayed them more than other states” but said he gave them credit “for wanting to do it right.”
LaHood said a meeting with Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland a few weeks back focused primarily on the state’s desire to get money for high-speed rail. “They want to make sure they’re in the game on high speed rail,” he said.
LaHood also downplayed his role in the state’s decision not to use seven percent of their $774 million in highway stimulus money for studies and planning. He said state officials “made that decision,” but also said the department has made it clear they were interested in seeing the stimulus money generate immediate jobs.
“We’d rather see people out on the roadways building roads,” he said. “Those are good paying jobs.”
An Ohio Department of Transportation spokesman told the Associated Press earlier this year that the decision not to use the money on studies was made at the request of federal transportation officials.
Boehner spokeswoman Jessica Towhey said the stimulus bill has done little to help the state. She said since the bill became law in February, Ohio has lost almost 80,000 jobs.
“Ohio was very nearly the last state to get the first 50 percent of its stimulus construction money obligated for construction projects, which is ridiculous,” she said. “As of late May, approximately, no contracts had been signed. Since that time, some contracts have been belatedly set in motion, but the entire process has been absurdly slow-moving.”
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Strickland gives go-ahead on video slots
Gov. Ted Strickland did his part in the great state gambling bargain on Monday, July 13 - issuing a directive to the Ohio Lottery to set up video slot machines at Ohio’s seven horse racing tracks. The slots are officially called Video Lottery Terminals - VLTs.
The House and Senate were expected to do their part later Monday by approving a $50.5 billion state budget with language implementing the video slots proposal.
Strickland expects the slots to bring in $933 million to the state over the next two years.
Here’s Strickland’s directive to the Ohio Lottery:
Directive to the Ohio Lottery
July 13, 2009
Implementing Video Lottery Terminals
Ohio is Facing Significant Economic Challenges. The national economic recession has caused many and substantial hardships for the people of Ohio. Many Ohioans rely on the health, safety and welfare services provided by the State. Declining employment and recessionary sales have led to declining tax revenues realized by the State, making it more and more challenging for the State to provide the educational, health and other services its people deserve. Without additional revenues, the State would be required to cut services even beyond the significant levels already undertaken and under consideration in current budget discussions.
The Implementation of Video Lottery Terminals (VLTs) is an Important Part of Ohio’s Balanced Budget Plan. The immediate implementation of VLTs by the Ohio Lottery is projected to generate approximately $933 million in net proceeds during the coming biennium. The dedication of that revenue to education programs is critical to our continued efforts to strengthen Ohio’s education system. Increased lottery revenues allow the state to dedicate scarce general revenue funds to critical programs benefiting the health, safety and welfare of Ohio’s citizens, avoiding devastating cuts to those programs.
Implementation of VLTs Should Only Be Undertaken With Strong Legal Footing. The Ohio Constitution authorizes the General Assembly to establish an agency of the State to manage lottery games to support education programs. The General Assembly has established the Ohio Lottery as that agency and has enacted various statutes authorizing the lottery to conduct and operate lottery games in accordance with the Constitution. The General Assembly has indicated to me its intent to pass legislation which would expressly acknowledge that the Ohio Lottery has the authority to implement VLTs under the existing laws of the State of Ohio and that the implementation of VLTs does not violate any provision of Ohio’s separate prohibitions on gambling activity.
The Lottery Director Should Immediately Take Steps to Implement VLTs. With an express acknowledgement of the General Assembly that the Ohio Lottery has the authority to implement VLTs, I believe that the Ohio Lottery can, and I direct the Lottery Director to, adopt rules regarding the implementation of VLTs and immediately take steps to implement VLTs in accordance with the following requirements unless and until they are modified or rejected by the General Assembly:
VLTs Should Only Operate At Licensed Racetrack Facilities. So as to limit the proliferation of gambling activity to locations in which the local community has expressed its support for such activity, the Lottery Director should assure that licenses to operate VLTs are issued only to those who will operate the VLTs at facilities operated by those already licensed to offer pari-mutuel betting.
VLTs Should Operate at Only Seven Racetrack Facilities at Any One Time. Again, in order to limit the proliferation of gambling in the state, the Lottery Director should assure that only seven licenses to operate VLTs are issued at any one time.
VLTs Licenses Shall Be Granted for a Minimum of Ten Years. To assure effective regulatory oversight regarding those licensed to operate VLTs, licenses should be granted for a minimum of ten years and should be transferred only in accordance with strictly established guidelines.
Strict Background Checks of Prospective VLT Licensees Shall Be Undertaken. Strict criminal and financial background checks of all prospective VLT licensees shall be undertaken prior to the issuance of any such licenses and only those meeting clearly articulated standards shall be granted such licenses.
VLTs Should Be Implemented Quickly, But Contracts Should Follow All Standard Bidding Requirements. The Lottery should use any existing contracts it has which would permit the rapid implementation of VLTs, but any Lottery Commission contract for services associated with the implementation of VLTs must be awarded by competitive bidding unless competitive bidding requirements are waived by the Controlling Board.
All VLT Profits Should Benefit Education Programs in Ohio. In order to comply with the constitutional requirement regarding the use of lottery net proceeds, all VLT net proceeds shall be deposited and utilized to benefit education programs in Ohio in the same manner as all other lottery net proceeds.
Absence of Implementing Legislation. If the implementing legislation described in Paragraph 3 is not enacted into law as part of or prior to the FY10-11 biennial budget law and such law is not signed into law by me within five days of the issuance of this Directive, the Directive shall then be deemed immediately null and void.
Ted Strickland, Governor
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Budget could force layoffs of 2,000-3,000 state employees
The new $50.5 billion state budget could result in layoffs for from 2,000 to 3,000 state employees, Rep. Vernon Sykes, D-Akron, told Dayton Daily News reporter Laura Bischoff.
Sykes is chairman of the House-Senate budget conference committee that approved the budget on Monday, July 13. The House and Senate planned to vote on the budget and send it to Gov. Ted Strickland to sign on Monday.
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Library cuts eased in proposed state budget - conference committee OKs budget
Public libraries still will be wounded but the wounds from state spending cuts won’t be as bad as they could have been in the new state budget approved on Monday, July 13, by a House-Senate conference committee.
The full House and Senate had floor sessions scheduled Monday to OK the budget and send it to Gov. Ted Strickland to sign.
The $50.5 billion two-year budget would reduce support to libraries by $84.3 million over two years. The budget-balancing plan introduced earlier by Gov. Ted Strickland called for cutting aid to libraries by $227.3 million over two years.
The goal is to get it to Strickland to sign before the current temporary budget expires Tuesday.
However, the Senate also was ready to pass another one-week temporary budget if Strickland doesn’t sign the new permanent budget before the temporary budget expires.
The proposed budget is balanced partly by $933 million projected to come from putting video slot machines at Ohio’s seven horse racing tracks.
The budget also will end a tuition freeze at Ohio’s public universities. They will be permitted to raise tuition by 3.5 percent each year, said Rep. Vernon Sykes, D-Akron, conference committee chairman.
The final version of the budget doesn’t include a plan to permit drilling for oil and gas at state parks that the Senate included in its version of the budget.
