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DeWine Orders $390 Million Ohio Budget Cut, But Adds Money For Education
By: Jo Ingles | Statehouse News Bureau
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (Statehouse News) — Blaming the pandemic for negatively impacting state revenue, Gov. Mike DeWine has ordered budget cuts, but also restored some of the money that was cut from K-12 and higher ed last year.
Gov. Mike DeWine said when he made three quarters of a billion dollars in cuts to Medicaid and education last year, he thought the budget would be worse off than it is now.
Revenues have been coming in over estimates lately – in December, tax receipts were more than $64 million over estimates, but total tax receipts are down 10%.
With this Executive Order, DeWine is finalizing current year budget reductions of $390 million across all agencies. But he’s also putting an additional $160 million into K-12 education and $100 million into higher ed.
DeWine has said he expects to tap the $2.7 billion in the state’s rainy day fund because of the pandemic, but has also said he wants to hold off as long as possible. He’s also said he won’t consider a tax increase, though the liberal-leaning think tank Policy Matters Ohio has suggested a tax on corporate profits.