House’s budget cuts power of Kasich
A seven-member board known by few outside Capitol Square suddenly would get more powerful under the twoyear budget that the Ohio House passed on Tuesday.
The House voted 58-37 to approve the $63.7 billion budget, sending it to the Senate.
Among the hundreds of amendments added to the bill, the Republican majority backed one that would increase the oversight power of the seven-member Controlling Board, including the ability to block funding for Gov. John Kasich’s pet Medicaid expansion, which covers about 715,000 low-income adults.
Senate Minority Leader Kenny Yuko, D-Richmond Heights, said the changes
could “gut” Medicaid expansion and undermine the state’s battle against drugs.
“That’s unconscionable,” he said.
Kasich, who can strike items from the budget with a line-item veto, also doesn’t like the amendment.
“Creating bureaucratic barriers to that health coverage for the 700,000 Ohioans who’ve gained it recently is troubling,” said Kasich spokeswoman Emmalee Kalmbach.
The Controlling Board also would be given additional power to oversee state information-technology contracts and advertising spending by state offices.
The board consists of six legislators — three from each chamber — and the board president appointed by the governor. Legislative leaders can replace members when necessary.
That happened in 2013, when Kasich went through the Controlling Board to get Medicaid expansion approved after the full legislature had
declined to hold a vote. The speaker replaced both House Republicans on the board, allowing the appointment of an expansion supporter who helped the program pass.
Typically, state agencies and universities go to the board to seek approval of construction projects, grants, contracts and land purchases. Most requests are approved without public discussion.
The GOP-backed changes in the Controlling Board are in response to actions by state agencies and officeholders who, like 66 of the 99 House members, are Republican.
The effort to beef up oversight of informationaltechnology contracts came after a Dispatch investigation found that Department of Administrative Services officials overrode the concerns of purchasing analysts to award millions of dollars in no-bid contracts, frequently paying more than $200 an hour, including to a company employing former state IT executives.
The change to oversight of state advertising spending came after state Treasurer Josh Mandel, who wants to
challenge U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown in the 2018 election, spent almost $2 million in agency funds on ads that included him and Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer. Mandel avoided the Controlling Board by paying for the commercials in increments that were just under the $50,000 threshold.
By far, the biggest expansion of Controlling Board power comes from a requirement that the administration must ask every six months to spend Medicaid-expansion funds, which are largely federal.
“It is designed to give us a balance of power with the different branches of government,” said Rep. Ryan Smith, R-Bidwell, chairman of the House Finance Committee. “It’s important that we maintain constant communication in that space, while maintaining the controls we need.”
Under the bill, the Controlling Board cannot approve Medicaid-expansion funding if Congress lowers the federal share of the cost.
The bill also says the board must see progress in the state’s effort to obtain waivers exempting Ohio from
health-insurance mandates and allowing Ohio to charge a $20 monthly premium to adults who are above the federal poverty rate. The board also would need to see ongoing enforcement of the law requiring health-care providers to give patients cost estimates — a law that hospitals are suing to block.
Tuesday’s budget vote came just before the release of a preliminary state tax revenue total for April. Sources said the figure could come in about $160 million below estimates. Revenue estimates for the new budget, which begins July 1, already were revised downward by $800 million, and Smith said the House has taken care of $630 million in offsetting cuts.
“This budget is balanced,” said Speaker Cliff Rosenberger, R-Clarksville. “This is a process. Come conference committee (in June), we’ll have different numbers and still have a balanced budget.”
Rep. Jim Hughes, R-Upper Arlington, was among 12 Republicans who voted against the bill. He said his amendment to get Upper Arlington, Olentangy and 20 other school districts at least as much state per-pupil state funding as Ohio’s private schools receive was not included by GOP leaders in the revamped budget. Based on an analysis by the Legislative Service Commission, Hughes said, for every dollar that Upper Arlington residents pay per pupil, the state pays 19 cents, the fourthlowest ratio in the state.
“This puts an unfair burden on the taxpayers of Upper Arlington,” Hughes said. “Wellington (a private school in the suburb) gets twice as much as Arlington from the state.”
Other key budget provisions include $171 million to help battle the opioid-addiction crisis, a revised formula to lower the taxable value of farmland, and the removal of tuition caps from universities that implement a four-year tuition guarantee.
“This budget violates the oath we took to uphold the Ohio Constitution, and because it’s not balanced, all budget items are at risk,” said Rep. David Leland, D-Columbus.