Lawmakers need to unite on budget

It’s far from perfect, but the latest version of the state’s biennium budget presents a more level-headed approach than the one Gov. John Kasich offered.

Still, the Ohio House budget, a $63.7 billion two-year spending plan that has moved to the Ohio Senate for consideration, can be called a mixed bag.

On one hand, one-third to one-half of the school districts in the state would lose funding under the proposal, as Marc Kovac, who covers the Statehouse for GateHouse Ohio Media, reported . ...

On the other hand, it eliminates Kasich’s proposed taxshifting, which again would have lowered the state income tax in favor of a higher sales tax; provides additional funding to fight the heroin and opioid epidemic; and removes another Kasich-backed proposal: centralizing the collection of municipal income taxes.

We applaud those moves. With revised tax projections forcing legislators to cut $800 million in spending, now is not the time for another change in the state’s tax structure.

By the same token, as the national leader in the number of overdose deaths from heroin and other opioids, lawmakers need to invest more in treatment and recovery options . ...

Lawmakers need to come together, deal with the revenue shortfall and put forth a commonsense budget that addresses the state’s needs without pushing off today’s issues on tomorrow’s taxpayers.

Read the full editorial from the Canton Repository at bit. ly/2pUDcG6