Senator Schaffer Announces Additional State Funding for COVID-19 Front-Line Efforts

COLUMBUS—State Senator Tim Schaffer (R-Lancaster) announced today that the State Controlling Board released $1.2 million in funds for various projects at Zane State College in Zanesville. An additional $90.4 million in funding was also released today to the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) and Department of Health (ODH) to support efforts combating the COVID-19 pandemic. “I am excited to see Zane State College continue to grow and improve its facilities,” said Schaffer. “This project will bring much needed renovations that will allow students to thrive in an improved learning environment.” A portion of the released funds will go toward the purchase of $433,579 in furniture and $139,609 in flooring for classrooms and other campus spaces. The remaining funds will be used for energy efficiency upgrades in three buildings across Zane State College’s main campus. Additionally, $137,746 will go toward the upgrade of the college's IT infrastructure including its email and internet systems, campus surveillance, wireless network access points, and telephone systems. Funding for these projects at Zane State College was secured in the State of Ohio capital budget in March of 2018. The $90.4 million in funding released today increased appropriations to ODOT and ODH for efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. These funds were received through the federal Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations (CPRSA) Act and Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act signed by President Trump in March 2020. “The funds released today provide critical resources to those on the front lines of the COVID-19 health crisis in our communities,” said Schaffer. ODOT will receive an additional $81.9 million in appropriations for fiscal year 2020 through the Ohio Rural Transit Program (RTP). More specifically, these funds will go to 37 rural public transit service providers to purchase personal protective equipment and cover lost revenue as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. ODH will receive $8.5 million in additional appropriations for fiscal year 2020 toward Public Health Emergency Preparedness fund. The funds are broken down toward the following purposes:

• $4.7 million toward local health departments for investigation,mitigation, monitoring, and containment

• $1.2 million toward COVID-19 specimen collection kits

• $1.2 million for medications related to COVID-19

• $1 million for preparedness efforts of hospitals and health care systems to handle any potential COVID- 19 case surges

• $186,000 for the state Special Pathogen Treatment Center at the MetroHealth Medical Center

The next State Controlling Board meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 27 at 12 p.m. For more information about the Controlling Board, click here.