Lawmakers have been on an extended spring break as they campaigned for office in yesterday's statewide primary election, and now head into the Easter Holiday. However, they are scheduled to return to Columbus the week of April 8th to resolve a number of issues before breaking for the summer. 

On February 7, the Ohio House of Representatives approved House Bill 2, an appropriations bill that includes $2 billion in capital budget funding. This included an allocation of $350 million in project-specific funding from the One Time Strategic Community Investment Fund, which has been dubbed the "super duper" fund. 

Internal Statehouse politics played a role in the selection of projects that are being funded. Opponents of the Speaker of the House generally did not see any projects funded in their districts. Prior to the bill being passed, the Senate President issued a statement saying that the Senate had not been consulted on the projects being funded in the bill, and that the Senate would not approve the spending plan without a thorough review of projects. 

Two weeks later, the Senate approved an amendment to House Bill 27, which included some overlaps in spending on capital projects that were included in House Bill 2, but did not include any project specific funding, and no appropriations from the "super duper" fund. A spokesperson for the House Speaker declared HB27 "dead on arrival," indicating that the House will not accept Senate changes. 

Senators are still soliciting recommendations for community projects, with a deadline of Monday, April 1 to submit requests for project funding. 

It is unusual to see this type of public acrimony over the passage of a capital spending bill. Furthermore, it raises questions about when, or if, an agreement can be reached on the capital budget spending plan.

It is also anticipated that the Senate Select Housing Committee will release its long-awaited findings by the end of March. This report is based on the series of hearings they held across the state over the fall and winter of 2023-24. There are also reports that a series of bills based upon those findings may be introduced around the report release date. Legislation may address issues ranging from development to zoning reform. 

Other issues which could be on the Spring agenda for lawmakers include implementing legislation resulting from the passage of State Issue 2 last November, as well as many of the pending bills related to property tax reform.

Lawmakers will only have 12 working days between April and June to accomplish this work, however. Governor DeWine is also scheduled to present the 2024 State of the State Address to lawmakers on Wednesday, April 10. This speech will limit the work that the Legislature will be able to complete in voting sessions that day.

Stay up to date on the work that the Legislature undertakes on our bill tracker on the GOPC website.