Senator Antonio Votes In Support of State Budget
June 28, 2021
Nickie J. Antonio News
Today, state Senator Nickie J. Antonio (D-Lakewood) voted in favor of House Bill 110, the state operating budget for fiscal years 2022-2023.
“While this budget is far from perfect, we made important investments throughout our state to form the foundation for Ohio’s recovery from a global pandemic,” Antonio said. “This budget supports small and women-owned businesses, maternal and infant healthcare, quality early child care, a Fair School Funding Formula for K-12 education, and gets Ohioans back to work.”
The Conference Committee made the following significant positive changes:
• Enacts Fair School Funding Plan
• Phases school districts out of control of academic distress commissions
• Maintains current law for unchartered municipal corporation force accounts that requires competitive bidding for highway projects
• Maintains municipal income tax law for tax year 2020, as enacted by H. B. 197 for work-from-home related provisions
• Expands Help Me Grow to kids until age five years old
• Maintains extension of Medicaid coverage of women postpartum for a year (currently 60 days)
• Allows Ohio to continue having flexibility in setting SNAP income and eligibility limits; removes Senate asset test requirements
• Maintains the requirement that a licensed child care center stays in Step Up to Quality to be eligible for public dollars
• Increases publicly funded child care at initial eligibility of 142% of the Federal Poverty Level for all families and 150% for families with children with disabilities
• Removed Senate provisions that required ODJFS to terminate federal pandemic unemployment assistance programs by September 4 and the prohibition that ODJFS enter into new agreements with Labor department for future assistance programs
• Appropriates $230 million in 2022 and $20 million in 2023 for broadband funding and removes the restrictions on local governmental entities as a broadband provider
• Appropriates $350 million for brownfield remediation
• Establishes Juneteenth as a legal holiday
• Designates May as Maternal Mortality Awareness Month
Senator Antonio also secured the inclusion of the following provisions:
• $500,000 per year for Birthing Beautiful Communities
• $500,000 per year for the Ohio Aerospace Institute’s Space Grant Consortium
• Public Library Fund raised to 1.7%
• Increased funding for the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center and Domestic Violence programs
• Increased funding for Cleveland’s Positive Education Program (PEP)
• Language enabling nearly 200 women-owned businesses and cosmetology practitioners to continue practicing laser hair removal
“Despite these positive provisions, I still have many concerns, specifically regarding included language that codifies discrimination by allowing medical service providers to deny healthcare. I call on Governor DeWine to line item veto this item that is contrary to the provision of healthcare, because healthcare should be a right, not a privilege,” said Antonio.
“While this budget is far from perfect, we made important investments throughout our state to form the foundation for Ohio’s recovery from a global pandemic,” Antonio said. “This budget supports small and women-owned businesses, maternal and infant healthcare, quality early child care, a Fair School Funding Formula for K-12 education, and gets Ohioans back to work.”
The Conference Committee made the following significant positive changes:
• Enacts Fair School Funding Plan
• Phases school districts out of control of academic distress commissions
• Maintains current law for unchartered municipal corporation force accounts that requires competitive bidding for highway projects
• Maintains municipal income tax law for tax year 2020, as enacted by H. B. 197 for work-from-home related provisions
• Expands Help Me Grow to kids until age five years old
• Maintains extension of Medicaid coverage of women postpartum for a year (currently 60 days)
• Allows Ohio to continue having flexibility in setting SNAP income and eligibility limits; removes Senate asset test requirements
• Maintains the requirement that a licensed child care center stays in Step Up to Quality to be eligible for public dollars
• Increases publicly funded child care at initial eligibility of 142% of the Federal Poverty Level for all families and 150% for families with children with disabilities
• Removed Senate provisions that required ODJFS to terminate federal pandemic unemployment assistance programs by September 4 and the prohibition that ODJFS enter into new agreements with Labor department for future assistance programs
• Appropriates $230 million in 2022 and $20 million in 2023 for broadband funding and removes the restrictions on local governmental entities as a broadband provider
• Appropriates $350 million for brownfield remediation
• Establishes Juneteenth as a legal holiday
• Designates May as Maternal Mortality Awareness Month
Senator Antonio also secured the inclusion of the following provisions:
• $500,000 per year for Birthing Beautiful Communities
• $500,000 per year for the Ohio Aerospace Institute’s Space Grant Consortium
• Public Library Fund raised to 1.7%
• Increased funding for the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center and Domestic Violence programs
• Increased funding for Cleveland’s Positive Education Program (PEP)
• Language enabling nearly 200 women-owned businesses and cosmetology practitioners to continue practicing laser hair removal
“Despite these positive provisions, I still have many concerns, specifically regarding included language that codifies discrimination by allowing medical service providers to deny healthcare. I call on Governor DeWine to line item veto this item that is contrary to the provision of healthcare, because healthcare should be a right, not a privilege,” said Antonio.