Week in Review 7-7-25

Week in Review > Week in Review 7-7-25

Posted by Buckeye Association of School Administrators on July 10th, 2025

FY26-27 BUDGET

Attorney General Dave Yost late Friday sent a letter to Gov. Mike DeWine urging him to veto the provisions in the FY26-27 operating budget, HB96 (Stewart), regarding the use of “taxpayers’ unclaimed funds for the Browns’ Brook Park Stadium project.” Yost writes, “I don’t have a vote or a veto in the legislative process, but like every citizen, I have a voice. I oppose not only this funding mechanism but also its intent: billionaires should finance their own stadiums — full stop. Ohio taxpayers cannot be left on the sidelines while the wealthiest score with public money.”

Gov. Mike DeWine signed the FY26-27 biennial budget bill, HB96 (Stewart), late Monday and struck out language on 67 topics with line-item vetoes, the most of his governorship. Key policies surviving the veto process were the phase-in of a flat-rate income tax over the coming biennium, and the use of unclaimed funds money to finance a new Cleveland Browns stadium and seed a new funding pool for future stadium projects.

Among the most notable of his vetoes were those deleting property tax relief policies, including a carryover balance cap for school districts, authority for county budget commissions to reduce levy rates, abolition of certain levy types and inclusion of additional levies in calculation of the 20-mill floor for school funding. DeWine at a Tuesday news conference said lawmakers had developed “thoughtful” property tax proposals but ultimately the collective effect of them would have been too much for schools to withstand all at once. He pledged to establish a working group to address property tax concerns in the coming weeks.

DeWine expressed his support Tuesday for a policy to ban the use of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for sugar-sweetened beverages, notwithstanding his veto of related language in the new operating budget. In addition to signing HB96 late Monday, DeWine also signed an executive order setting up a workgroup on the topic and specifying the timeline for seeking a federal waiver to implement the ban. DeWine said Tuesday that budget language requiring pursuit of the waiver added “complexity” that might ultimately have delayed implementation. The workgroup includes cabinet officials, health and nutrition providers, retailers and beverage producers.

IT’S IN THE FY26-27 BUDGET

Medicaid, utility regulators and the justice system are in for some special scrutiny this biennium after the General Assembly outlined a few specific areas in which it wants Auditor Keith Faber to conduct performance audits. Included in HB96 (Stewart) are a combination performance and fiscal audit of Medicaid’s Next Generation managed care system; an audit of Medicaid aged, blind and disabled (ABD) enrollment similar to that proposed in HB356 (Dovilla); a combination performance and fiscal audit of the Ohio Judicial Conference; a performance audit of the indigent defense system; and a performance audit of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, including the Ohio Power Siting Board.

CHILDREN/FAMILIES

The Ohio Department of Children and Youth (DCY) recently revamped how its main telephone line directs callers to the service or office they need. Effective Monday, June 23, DCY updated operations of 844-234-KIDS (5437) to “clearly direct callers to Early Care and Education, Family Support, Community Engagement and other key divisions,” a memo from the department states.

The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) is looking for feedback on the Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant Program through their public comment survey HERE. The federal Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Services Block Grant Program is authorized under Title V of the Social Security Act to ensure the health and well-being of women, mothers, infants, children, including children with special health care needs, adolescents, and their families. ODH is the authorized Title V agency in Ohio. Title V initiatives play a leading role in improving maternal and child health, such as reducing infant mortality, increasing access to care, and improving coordinated care for children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN).

EDUCATION

National Life Group, a financial services company, is taking applications for supply grant awards for K-12 educators. Ten applicants will be selected for $500 grants for school supplies. Applicants can also be entered into the Lifechanger of the Year program, which provides additional recognition for educators and the chance to win prizes of up to $20,000 to share with their schools. The deadline to apply is Friday, Aug. 15. More information is HERE.

ELECTIONS 2026

Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel routinely declined to talk about his political future in the past few months, saying his focus was squarely on the state budget. With HB96 (Stewart) signed by Gov. Mike DeWine late Monday, Tressel was asked his plans for 2026, but he again demurred. “Well, you’re not going to get a headline from me here today. This is about the budget,” Tressel said.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton announced Tuesday the hiring of Phil Stein as campaign manager. Stein most recently served as a senior advisor to Virgina State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi during her successful campaign for the Democratic nomination for that state’s lieutenant governor. He has also worked on various winning campaigns, including U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids’ win in a historically red district, and Abby Finkenauer’s congressional win in 2018.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy announced Tuesday that his campaign has raised $9.7 million in the first four months of his bid. The campaign said the record-breaking sum was further bolstered by a late-June fundraising surge “that exceeded expectations.” Non-judicial statewide and legislative campaigns must report fundraising and spending totals for the first six months of this year by Thursday, July 31, as part of required semiannual filings.

Republican Ohio Senate candidate and former state Rep. Craig Riedel announced Tuesday that his campaign has raised more than $250,000 in the first three months of his campaign. Riedel’s announcement came ahead of the Thursday, July 31, semiannual campaign finance filings required of non-judicial statewide and legislative campaigns. Riedel, who is seeking the nomination for term-limited Senate President Rob McColley’s (R-Napoleon) seat, said the $250,000 total does not include any self-funding.

Ben Weber, a constitutional attorney, announced Tuesday that he will seek the Republican nomination for the 86th House District, a seat currently held by Rep. Tracy Richardson (R-Marysville), who is term-limited. Weber said he is running “to restore common sense, defend Ohio families, and fight radical left-wing policies.” He dubbed himself as a “strong original supporter of President Donald Trump and the America-First, Ohio-First movement.”

GOVERNOR

The governor signed the following bills, which all become effective in 90 days except for the ones noted:

– HB80 INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION BUDGET (STEWART) To make appropriations for the Industrial Commission for the biennium beginning July 1, 2025, and ending June 30, 2027, and to provide authorization and conditions for the operation of Commission programs. Eff. 7/1/25

– HB81 BWC BUDGET (STEWART) To make appropriations for the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation for the biennium beginning July 1, 2025, and ending June 30, 2027, to provide authorization and conditions for the operation of the Bureau’s programs, and to make changes to the Workers’ Compensation Law. Eff. 7/1/25

– HB96 OPERATING BUDGET (STEWART) To make operating appropriations for the biennium beginning July 1, 2025, and ending June 30, 2027, to levy taxes, and to provide authorization and conditions for the operation of state programs. Eff. 7/1/25

– HB50 ROAD DESIGNATION-PFC JOHN WAYNE RICHARD (KING) To designate a portion of State Route 47 in Darke County as the “PFC John Wayne Richard Memorial Highway.”

– HB64 HUNTING, FISHING LICENSE AGE DISCOUNTS (D. THOMAS-DEETER) To allow Ohio residents who are 65 and up, instead of 66 and up, to qualify for discounted hunting and fishing licenses and permits.

– HB65 DAY, WEEK DESIGNATIONS-AGRICULTURE (KLOPFENSTEIN-PETERSON) To make specified day and week designations relating to agriculture and to name this act the Agriculture Appreciation Act.

– SB6 MAKE CHANGES-BUILDING INSPECTIONS (ROEGNER) To make changes to the law relating to building inspections.

– SB27 DESIGNATE AMELOBLASTOMA AWARENESS DAY (JOHNSON) To designate March 20 as “Ameloblastoma Awareness Day.”

– SB39 REGARDING DISPLAY-VETERANS’ BENEFITS (JOHNSON-CRAIG) Regarding the creation and display of a poster containing information on benefits and services for veterans.

– SB100 EXCLUDE AGRICULTURAL NONPROFITS-INSURANCE REGULATIONS (MANCHESTER) To exclude nonprofit agricultural membership organizations from insurance regulations.

– SB114 PROHIBIT LAW ENFORCEMENT QUOTAS (PATTON) To prohibit law enforcement agencies from using quotas for arrests and citations.

– SB138 MODIFY ADAMH SERVICES LAWS (JOHNSON) To modify various laws regarding boards of alcohol, drug addiction, and mental health services and to impose penalties for not registering recovery housing residences.

– SB147 LAW CHANGES-WASTE MANAGEMENT (REINEKE) To make changes to the laws governing the transfer and disposal of solid waste and construction and demolition debris and to provide for new procedures governing a county’s withdrawal from a joint solid waste management district

HIGHER EDUCATION

Gov. Mike DeWine announced the appointment Monday of former state legislator and U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Tiberi to the Ohio State University (OSU) Board of Trustees. Tiberi has been president and CEO of the Ohio Business Roundtable since 2018. He previously represented Ohio in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2001-2018, following four terms in the Ohio House from 1993-2000, during which time he served as House Majority Leader.

WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

The week of Independence Day marks an important date for the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) and its 258,000 private employers, who saw a rate cut of 6 percent and an agency launch of the workplace Substance Use Prevention and Recovery (SUPR) program on Tuesday, July 1.