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Ohio Statehouse Update: Governor Kasich Signs Biennial Budget Bill, Issues Veto Statement
On Sunday evening, Governor John Kasich signed House Bill 59, the state's two-year, $62 billion budget into law, just in time for the beginning of the new state fiscal year on July 1, 2013.
The Governor exercised his line-item veto power on 22 items in the bill, covering the following topics:
- a provision that would have exempted the owners of spider monkeys from the Dangerous Wild Animal laws;
- a mandate regarding school district expenditures of gifted state formula funds;
- a provision permitting chiropractors to assess and clear student athletes with potential concussions;
- a re-testing exemption for teachers in community schools primarily comprised of students with disabilities;
- a provision restricting municipalities' ability to utilize buffer zones of grass, trees and other vegetation to protect water sources from chemical runoffs;
- changes related to school district local share agreements for building projects;
- an exemption for therapeutic wilderness camps from certain health and safety regulations;
- a modification to the payment methodology for nursing homes;
- an increase in Medicaid reimbursement rates for one Ohio Medicaid provider;
- a provision prohibiting the state from extending Medicaid coverage to individuals under 65 years of age, not pregnant, not eligible for other coverage, and whose income does not exceed 133% of the poverty line;
- provisions pertaining to the collection of Ohio sales tax on internet sales to Ohio residents;
- a provision exempting aerospace research and development equipment from Ohio sales tax;
- a provision eliminating the requirement that a taxpayer receive a federal New Markets tax credit in order to qualify for the state New Markets tax credit;
- an increase in the amount that a taxpayer may claim for the Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit from $5 million to $10 million per year;
- a provision exempting investment metal coins and bullion from Ohio sales tax;
- a $10 million capital appropriation for a Treasury Management System;
- several provisions related to a dental health pilot program that would have mandated certain coverage by insurance companies and tax deductions for providers;
- an earmark related to state workforce development funds;
- an earmark for the purchase of commercial truck cargo inspection equipment;
- an earmark of Thomas Edison grant program funding for certain Edison Centers;
- a provision pertaining to the authority of gas utilities to recover the cost of cleaning up contaminated areas; and
- a provision requiring an $8 million fund transfer from the Board of Regents Economic Development Programs Fund to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services for a new workforce training pilot program.
Click here to view a copy of the Governor's Veto Message for H.B. 59.
Click here to view a copy of the Veto Boxed Text language in H.B. 59.
Click here to view a full copy of H.B. 59, as Enrolled and Delivered to the Governor.