Gov. John Kasich is likely to propose a new tax structure for Ohio’s banks that would provide relief for community banks but close loopholes for larger financial institutions, sources tell The Dispatch.
Kasich also could propose legislation on Wednesday that would allow Cleveland schools to divorce tenure from staffing decisions — a potential steppingstone for changing education policy statewide and a component of the failed Senate Bill 5.
In addition, the Republican governor will officially unveil his plan to cut the state’s income tax and pay for it with new taxes on shale drilling. He’ll also roll out his statewide energy policy — which would regulate shale drilling, expand what’s considered a renewable energy source and set aside $30 million for clean-coal research.
Kasich’s presentation is being billed as his mid-biennium review. Governors typically introduce a re-appropriations bill in the middle of the state’s two-year budget cycle to make minor spending adjustments.
But what Kasich will deliver is another dish of policy-driven initiatives to transform state government, along the lines of those passed with the state’s $55.8 billion budget in June.
Rep. Ron Amstutz, chairman of the House Finance Committee, said some corrections and policy changes will pass before the summer break.
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