But like every recent budget, oddments are also tucked in this one (House Bill 96). Example, the budget creates a force of super General Assembly sergeants-at-arms – Swiss Guards with Glocks? – to provide security for Ohio’s 99 state representatives and 33 state senators. This, too: The budget authorizes Mike DeWine and any former Ohio governor (those now living: Democrats Richard F. Celeste and Ted Strickland; Republicans Nancy P. Hollister, Bob Taft and John R. Kasich) to officiate at (“solemnize”) weddings.
The final Senate vote on the budget was 23-10. Senate Republican supplied the 23 “yesses” votes, while the Senate’s nine Democrats (and Republican Sen. Louis W. Blessing III, of suburban Cincinnati, a leading Statehouse voice for property-tax reform to benefit Ohio homeowners) voted “no.”
The final House budget vote was 59-38, with 59 of the House’s 65 Republicans voting “yes.” Voting “no” were 33 of House’s Democrats, plus five Republicans: Reps. Scott Oelslager, of North Canton; Ron Ferguson, of the Wintersville; Tim Barhorst, of Fort Loramie, in western Ohio’s Shelby County; Levi Dean, of Xenia; and Michelle Teska, of Warren County’s Springboro. House members absent: Republican Rep. Diane Mullins, of Hamilton, and Democratic Rep. Terrence Upchurch, of Cleveland.
Unlike the federal budget, which presidents must sign as-is, or veto entirely, Ohio lets governors veto individual parts of budgets. It requires 60 Ohio House votes (of 99) and 20 Ohio Senate votes (of 33) to override a gubernatorial veto.
In a fantasy world, the legislature’s 132 members write budgets. In fact, the new budget was written by House Speaker Matt Huffman, of Lima, and lame-duck Senate President Rob McColley, of northwest Ohio’s Napoleon.
Among less-noted but bad moves GOP legislators made, which DeWine corrected: A bid by GOP senators to kill Ohio’s Percent for Arts program. It earmarks up to 1% of the cost of new or renovated state-funded buildings (in projects costing at least $4 million) to buy or commission original works of art for them. Some GOP state senators must think “art” is a four-letter word.
Also vetoed by DeWine was a GOP attempt to handcuff the power of eminent domain to acquire land for recreational trails. Trying to crimp trail development likely grew out of a Mahoning County battle over a failed attempt to acquire some former Erie Lackawanna Railway right of way for a trail.
DeWine, in vetoing the eminent domain ban, said it “would unnecessarily limit options for public projects to ensure adequate safety for bike riders ... According to the Ohio Department of Public Safety, since 2020, nearly 900 Ohio bicyclists were either killed or seriously injured in traffic crashes with automobiles. Therefore, [this] veto ... is in the public interest.”
Whether legislators will try overturning DeWine’s vetoes is unclear. Sure, maybe he should have gone much further. But at least Mike DeWine wants to move Ohio forward. That’s saying a lot at today’s Statehouse, where some people seem to long for a state run by old white guys who think Ohio, around, say, 1955, was just dandy. It was. For them.
Thomas Suddes is a former legislative reporter with The Plain Dealer in Cleveland and writes from Ohio University. You can reach him at tsuddes@gmail.com.
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