COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The wellness and opportunities of Ohio‘s children drive a state budget proposal that features offering a $2,500 child tax deduction, expanding school vouchers, investing in mental health and spending $2.5 billion to organize large sites for economic development, Gov. Mike DeWine said Tuesday in his State-of-the-State address.
DeWine, a Republican starting his second term, told the GOP-dominated Legislature his upcoming budget plan would extend efforts to implement a fairer, more reliable school funding formula, something already incorporated into the previous budget.
The governor also proposed making a recent Department of Children and Youth Services focused on kid’s physical and mental health, in addition to foster care. He said the two-year state operating budget also would supply quality childcare for 15,000 more children and repeal the state sales tax on critical infant supplies, reminiscent of diapers, wipes and cribs.
Moreover, DeWine wants to supply $300 million in one-time funding for capital improvements and equipment for profession tech education — an investment Democrats welcomed — and $5,000 a yr incentive to students in the highest 5% of their highschool classes to stay within the state for school.
“We would like our youngsters to grow, to learn and ultimately live and work right here within the state of Ohio,” DeWine said. “And we all know that the changes we now have announced today will help them try this. Keeping our young people in Ohio has never been more necessary, as we create jobs faster than we will fill them.”
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He called for creating an Our Ohio Future Fund that may spend $2.5 billion to organize economic investment sites throughout the state, in search of for each Ohioan to be inside “commuting distance” of such locations.
DeWine asked the Legislature to support creating the State of Ohio Motion for Resiliency Network, or SOAR Network, to conduct a multi-year study on Ohioans’ mental health. The network would come with counselors, social staff, psychologists, nurses and more to find out probably the most effective interventions and discover recent ways to treat mental illness and addiction.
“We’ll do these items because they keep Ohioans working and our state thriving,” he said. “But we can even do them since it is just the appropriate thing to do.”
He also desires to fund an updated 911 system for emergency calls and allot $40 million a yr to training law enforcement officers on topics reminiscent of de-escalation, use of force and crisis intervention for individuals with mental illnesses. Each provisions received a bipartisan standing ovation.
DeWine called the budget proposal “fiscally sound, spending one-time money on one-time expenditures.”
Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima, said there are plenty of budget details to look at but he’s mostly “delighted” by the proposal, especially provisions geared toward making it easier to have or adopt children.
He has concerns, nevertheless, about proposals that rely upon one-time funding from sources just like the American Rescue Plan Act.
“What this implies is that the state government can be liable for paying these items into the longer term, probably, and if the state doesn’t have the cash to pay for those things, then there must be a cut some place,” Huffman said.
Democratic lawmakers and teachers unions raised concerns about how DeWine’s plans would affect public schools if he succeeds in expanding eligibility for the college voucher program, often called EdChoice.
He also proposed a further $3,000 each to assist economically disadvantaged students attend public charter schools, and doubling the per-pupil facilities funding for those schools from $500 to $1,000.
Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio, of Lakewood, and House Minority Leader Allison Russo, of Upper Arlington, said they’re enthusiastic about DeWine’s concentrate on improving health of moms and youngsters but think the budget should include funding to support reproductive health care and protections for youngsters against gun violence.
“We all know the priorities that Governor DeWine laid out today show the potential for a vibrant future and what is feasible for Ohio,” Russo said. “But to realize these goals and to make them a reality, Ohio must put money into its most precious resource that may lead the state forward, and that’s its people.”
Associated Press reporter Julie Carr Smyth contributed to this report.
Samantha Hendrickson is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
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