Senate Finalizes State Operating Budget

COLUMBUS—The Ohio Senate passed the final version of House Bill 96 today, which is also known as the state operating budget bill, to provide state operations for the next two years.
 
The budget bill includes $5 million for pediatric cancer research, a $650 million increase for K-12 public schools, and $1.4 billion in relief from income tax cuts.
 
“I was proud to vote ‘yes’ on this operating budget”, Schaffer said.  “We are giving kids with cancer a fighting chance and giving them hope where there hasn’t been before.”
 
“Currently federal cancer research funding is 32 times more for adult cancers than for childhood cancers,” Schaffer said.  “The State of Ohio has made a bold stand today to provide new opportunities for childhood cancer research that may not have received funding before,” he said.
 
Additionally, Schaffer voted to provide mechanisms for significant property tax cuts by giving county commissioners the authority to double the homestead property tax exemption and owner-occupied property tax exemption.
 
The bill also eliminates the ability for local governments to levy replacement and substitute property taxes and gives county budget commissions greater authority to reduce the amount of dollars that can be collected by property taxes.
 
“These new mechanisms allow for more local input and control on providing much needed property tax relief to Ohio’s hard-working families and seniors on the brink of losing their homes,” Schaffer said. “This budget makes great strides toward addressing unchecked and out of control increases in property taxes.”

House Bill 96 phases in a 2.75% flat income tax starting on January 1, 2026, and maintains that individuals who make less than $26,050 will continue to pay zero state income taxes.

Senator Schaffer also secured and defended critical funding for local organizations in his district, including $350,000 for the Buckeye Lake Region Corporation to support community development in Fairfield, Licking, and Perry counties, and $700,000 for the Fairfield County Workforce Center.

The final operating budget also includes numerous provisions amended into the bill by Senator Schaffer to improve the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (formerly food stamps) and Medicaid.  Schaffer secured eight reforms, including: 

Require Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) to create a customer service hotline to lock and unlock an electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card that has been lost or stolen.
Require ODJFS to update its computer systems with case worker tracking and auditing software that is used to determine eligibility for public assistance benefits.
Require County Departments of Job and Family Services to provide case work training about improper benefit determinations.
Require ODJFS to monitor SNAP EBT balances of over $5,000 to make sure benefits are being used properly.
Prohibits ODJFS from seeking a waiver from work requirements that apply to able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDS).
Require ODJFS to notify the General Assembly when implementing a federal option.
Require ODJFS to notify the General Assembly of any public assistance waiver or state plan amendment 30 days before it is submitted.
Requires Ohio Department of Medicaid to report payment errors and confirmed cases of intentional violations to the General Assembly.
"I am pleased that my colleagues agreed to these much-needed changes to the SNAP and Medicaid programs in Ohio,” Schaffer said. “These reforms will provide greater transparency in these programs and will continue to reduce fraud, waste, and abuse of tax dollars.”

Schaffer was successful in securing amendments supporting expanded appropriations for the Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine and protecting the tax exemption on portable grain bins and field tile for agricultural production.

Additional provisions successfully added to the budget bill by Schaffer include defending $165 million over the next two years into the H2Ohio program to protect water quality and require local governments to develop cybersecurity plans to ward off the problems of cyber-attacks.

House Bill 96 now heads to Governor DeWine’s desk for his final consideration ahead of the July 1st constitutional deadline.

###