Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, House Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) and others joined DeWine to celebrate passage of the biennial package, which took months of negotiations. Kimberly Murnieks, the state budget director, said previously it’s likely the largest in state history.
“The vast majority of public policy decisions are really driven through the budget process. Policy is made and policy is carried out through our budgets,” DeWine said moments before he put pen to paper.
He lauded the bipartisan effort that brought House Bill 2 to him and highlighted the money now flowing to mental health resources, the state parks system, and public safety—from jails and juvenile centers to highways.
The appropriations also include $717 million in one-time community projects funds, coming from excess money.Of those, nearly $20 million would go to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton between House and Senate allocations. In Columbus, most notably, John Glenn Columbus International Airport is slated for $7.5 million and TRC Inc.—a mobility testing partnership between Honda and Ohio State University—for $24 million.The biggest line item, by far, is the $46 million in the House and Senate proposals for renovations to the Duke Energy Convention Center in downtown Cincinnati. That project is poised to cost $200 million total, meaning the state would be footing nearly a quarter of the bill.Smaller budget lines pepper the 200-page bill, too.
“For the folks in Vinton County, which is our smallest county, who live in Wilkesville, there’s $35,000 for the Wilkesville outdoor warning siren,” Stephens said. “Now if you live in Wilkesville and there’s a tornado coming, this is going to be a great investment for the safety of the community.”
Rep. Jay Edwards (R-Nelsonville), chair of the finance committee, said Friday those investments could attract workers to different communities across the state. “Based off that local park or that pickleball court, which we have a lot of pickleball courts, or that art museum or that music hall, those are tools in the tool belt,” Edwards said.
With DeWine’s signature, House Bill 2 went into effect immediately.