State Budget Moves to Conference Committee; Contacts Needed by June 27

On June 19, the Senate Finance Committee accepted an omnibus amendment to House Bill (HB) 166 and made their final changes to the state budget bill before unanimously reporting it out of committee. The omnibus amendment covered many changes, including a provision that would delay the Presidential Primary in Ohio to the third Tuesday in March after the first Monday (March 17 in 2020). The language setting the PLF at 1.7% for FY20-21 remains a part of the bill. A comparison document of the “As Passed by Senate” version of the state budget is available from the Legislative Services Commission (LSC).

 

LSC Comparison Document (PDF, 700+ pages)

 

On June 20, the full Senate met and unanimously approved the bill by a vote of 33-0, sending it back to the House for a concurrence vote. The House then voted to not concur by a vote of 1-89, sending it to conference committee. Each chamber named their conferees. The following members will serve on the HB 166 conference committee for the state budget: Sens. Matt  Dolan (R-Chagrin Falls), Dave Burke (R-Marysville), and Sean O’Brien (D-Cortland) and Reps. Scott Oelslager (R-North Canton), Jim Butler (R-Dayton) and Jack Cera (D-Bellaire).

 

Thank you to every one who has passed a resolution thanking the Ohio Senate for increasing the PLF and encouraging the Ohio House and the Governor to keep the provision in the final bill through conference committee! A sample resolution is available on the OLC website.

 

CALL TO ACTION – Contacts needed by June 27

This is the final stretch of the budget process. The Conference Committee is scheduled to meet next week to work out the differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill. A significant amount of work will take place in the next few days as the state budget must be finalized by June 30th.

It is crucial that the House and Senate Leadership and Conference Committee members hear from public libraries over the next few days. Contact information is available on the OLC website. Encourage these legislators to keep the Public Library Fund (PLF) at 1.7% of the State’s General Revenue Fund (GRF). Due to the short time frame, contacts need to be made by email or phone.

 

NOW, more than ever, library directors, fiscal officers and Board members should contact:
Urge them to:
  • Make public libraries a priority in the final bill.
  • Keep the Public Library Fund (PLF) at 1.7% of the State’s General Revenue Fund (GRF).

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