Ohio House Passes State Budget; Cuts Library Funding
The Ohio House passed the two-year state budget (Sub. HB 49) Tuesday and decided NOT to maintain the Public Library Fund (PLF) at the current level of 1.7% of the General Revenue Fund (GRF) as we requested.
The OLC would like to thank everyone for their hard work last week in reaching out to House members. Also, we would like to thank the following House members for separately sponsoring and submitting the amendment to set the PLF at 1.68% to minimize the cuts: Rep. Marlene Anielski (R-Walton Hills), Rep. Rick Perales (R-Beavercreek) and Rep. Rick Carfagna (R-Genoa Township).
Sub. HB 49 formally moves to the Senate for consideration where informal hearings have already begun. It is extremely important to note that we have only completed the House portion of the budget process. The Senate still has an opportunity to make its own revisions over the coming weeks, then Conference Committee, and then back to the governor for his signature and line-item vetoes.
Our next step is to refocus our efforts on the Ohio Senate. The OLC will hold a free webinar on Mon., May 8 at 12 p.m. to discuss OLC’s strategy moving forward. Michelle Francis, OLC Director of Government and Legal Services, will discuss how to reset our advocacy efforts to Protect the PLF in this extremely tight budget. The deadline to register for this webinar is Thurs., May 4. Learn more and register.
