Larry Mumper

One of the major highlights of the current legislative session was the near-unanimous passage of the state budget bill. Fortunately, the Governor, who is a Democrat, was supportive of continuing Republican-passed tax reforms, which lowered income taxes for all Ohioans and made Ohio business tax rates more competitive with other states. The bill also cut property taxes for seniors and froze tuition rates for students attending all state colleges and universities.

The budget bill was an example of how well government can operate when elected officials are able to put aside partisan differences and work together for the good of the state. It appears the good will in Columbus will continue thanks to a recently announced agreement between the Governor and legislative leaders that we will pass a $1.57 billion job stimulus package in hopes of giving a boost to the state's slowing economy.

This past February during his State of the State address, Governor Strickland proposed a $1.7 billion bond package, which he called "Building Ohio Jobs." While we were naturally supportive of passing a jobs bill, at the same time, we were leery of how it was financed and the implications such a package would have on the state treasury in the long run.  Under the Governor's original proposal, the state would invest $1.7 billion into certain sectors of the economy to be paid for by state-issued bonds -- in other words, borrowing the money and backing it with state General Revenue Funds (GRF). The problem for Republicans in the legislature was that after having paid off a significant amount of state bonds in the last budget - a fiscally responsible move which afforded the state the ability to provide property tax relief for senior citizens -- we did not want to run up the debt again. More bonds would mean higher debt service costs and in our view, would not only have limited our ability to fund other priorities, but would have made it extremely difficult for the state to continue to fund the property tax cut.

Wanting to preserve the good points of the Governor's plan, while finding a way to achieve the same goals at a lower long-term cost to the state, the leaders developed a job stimulus plan that would involve less state borrowing and would have the added benefit of getting the money out the door faster. On April 2nd, Governor Ted Strickland, Senate President Bill Harris, and Speaker of the House Jon Husted formally announced their agreement on a new $1.57 billion economic stimulus package that we hope to pass in the near future.

This package seeks to improve Ohio's economy by investing in growing industries and in areas that have a proven track record of creating jobs. For example, $50 million would be invested in bio-based products in an effort to increase the production of polymers, plastics, and other essential materials made from Ohio-grown crops. Likewise, $100 million is slated for investments to enhance life-saving technology by expanding Ohio's role in the field of bio-medical research and $150 million would be invested to further the production and use of advanced energy in Ohio, such as wind, solar, clean coal, and bio-fuels.

In addition to these investments, the jobs stimulus package will make strategic investments in our state's infrastructure. The package asks that voters reauthorize the $400 million Clean Ohio Program, which supports the preservation of green space and farmland, while helping communities clean up and revitalize brownfields, which are abandoned industrial sites, for redevelopment.

Additionally, $400 million would be invested directly into Ohio's infrastructure to support roads, bridges, sewers and water systems across the state and $100 million would be invested to spur growth in the logistics industry, which involves the movement and distribution of products. An investment of $120 million would allow the state to extend a popular tax credit program that supports projects to revitalize historically significant buildings. While the Clean Ohio portion would have to go before the voters and involves the issuance of bonds, the majority of the other investments, which rely on existing funding streams and mechanisms, allow the state to get the money out the door up to a year faster than had we adopted the Governor's original proposal, thereby meeting the definition of a true stimulus package.

In the process of forming the economic stimulus package, legislative leaders recognized that while the availability of good jobs is essential to the state's economy, being able to fill these jobs with an educated, highly-qualified workforce is equally important.  For this reason, negotiations among the leaders led to the inclusion of $250 million for workforce development.  Specifically, these funds will link Ohio college students with internships and cooperative education programs in the state while they are working toward their degrees. Making professional connections between students and Ohio employers will increase the likelihood that, after graduating, these students will pursue their careers in Ohio. That is good news for families and good news for the state's overall economic future.

The bipartisan economic stimulus package is expected to be introduced in the near future and we in the General Assembly will be working diligently to iron-out the necessary details in the weeks to come. I encourage you to follow our progress as we seek to give a needed boost to our struggling economy.