Boozy ice cream, drug prevention taught in driver’s ed and a new mileage reimbursement for state lawmakers were among the additions made Tuesday to Ohio’s next two-year operating budget.
The House Finance Committee accepted more than 300 amendments to the budget bill, touching everything from taxes and health care to airport improvements and video poker machines. Several amendments put a total $170.6 million toward efforts fighting Ohio’s heroin and opioid crisis.
Gone are some of Gov. John Kasich’s biggest proposals: a $39 million tax cut; tax hikes on oil and gas drillers and tobacco, wine and beer and a $1.9 billion sales tax increase. Lawmakers kept many of Kasich’s proposals, including additional funding to prevent infant deaths and one-time funding to reduce the impact of the elimination of a sales tax on Medicaid managed care organizations.
More changes will be made early next week and the House plans to vote the bill out later next week. Then the Senate will review the bill and make many more changes.
The budget must clear both chambers by June 30.
Click here for a look at what’s in and what’s out of the state’s budget plan as of Tuesday.
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