Just in time, the final version of the state’s biennium budget is headed to the governor’s desk after a conference committee vote very early Thursday, following hours of delays and debate. There was also some action in this House this week aimed at this fall’s ballot – lawmakers have taken the first step to put onto before voters a constitutional amendment banning economic interests from writing amendments that benefit them exclusively. And this amendment could affect the marijuana legalization measure from ResponsibleOhio, which also may be on the November ballot. Just hours before the House vote, ResponsibleOhio’s Ian James blasted lawmakers for this action, but on the House floor, Democratic Rep. Mike Curtin of Columbus defended it. A conservative group wants the Ohio Supreme Court to decide whether Gov. John Kasich and the legislature illegally expanded gambling in Ohio by allowing Ohio’s seven horseracing tracks to become “racinos” with the installation of electronic slot machines. But the justices will have to answer another question first – whether the group has the legal authority to file the lawsuit in the first place.
State budget years are always tense times for local governments, and this year is no exception. In the budget that will, presumably, start next week, the House and Senate have proposed only a slight increase in the funding for this fiscal year. And there’s more bad news for local governments – there's no severance or fracking tax in the budget, and there are also proposals to shift some funding to law enforcement training and take back money that communities were getting from red light and traffic cameras. Sharing their thoughts are Kent Scarrett, director of communications for the Ohio Municipal League, which represents nearly a thousand Ohio cities and villages, and Matt DeTemple with the Ohio Township Association, representing Ohio’s more than 1,300 townships.