Smith Condemns Senate Budget

Today, state Senator Kent Smith (D-Euclid) issued the following statement after the Ohio Senate voted to pass their version of House Bill 33, the state operating budget.

“The Senate’s version of the budget is easily the worst of the three so far in the budget process,” said Smith. “It expands on policies designed to give money back to the wealthy and well-connected while including radical legislation that has not been passed by both chambers.

“Briefly, the expansion of vouchers is so vast and far-reaching, it may cost $1 billion by the end of the two-year budget. Additionally, the budget doesn’t do nearly enough to make college affordable or feed hungry Ohioans from school kids to seniors, nor does it fully fund the August 8 special election. It's so bad, I am actually hopeful that the budget conference committee will make substantial improvements in H.B. 33. It would be difficult for them to make it any worse.”

As passed by the Senate, House Bill 33 expands vouchers, slashes funding for social services, and cuts taxes in a way that disproportionately and unfairly benefits Ohio’s wealthiest residents. Additionally, it contains a number of controversial policy provisions, including:

• Senate Bill 1, which would transfer almost all the powers of the state Board of Education, comprised primarily of elected members, to a new executive agency;
• Senate Bills 83 and 117, which would dictate what may be taught in Ohio’s institutions of higher education and infringe on the collective bargaining rights of their faculty; and
• Senate Bill 21, which would allow the Senate President and House Speaker to hire outside legal counsel for whatever reason at any cost.

“Since 2005, Ohio has shifted money away from working-class families and towards the wealthy and well-connected through tax cuts and special interest giveaways,” said Smith. “As a result, the wealthiest 1% of Ohio households are taking home, on average, over $50,000 every year in tax breaks. The consolidation of tax brackets will do the most for those that have the most. This will make country club memberships more affordable, but they will not feed hungry children or senior citizens. It’s the same failed policy that the GOP has been advocating for a generation.”

House Bill 33 now heads to the Ohio House. If the House does not concur with the Senate’s changes, the bill will go to the conference committee.