State Budget Update: Negotiated Bill Expected Midweek
The Conference Committee on HB 49 (state biennial budget bill for FY18-19) met on Thursday to formally begin working out the differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill. Members of the Conference Committee include: Rep. Ryan Smith (R-Bidwell), Rep. Scott Ryan (R-Newark), Rep. Jack Cera (D-Bellaire), Sen. Scott Oelslager (R-North Canton), Sen. Gayle Manning (R-North Ridgeville), and Sen. Mike Skindell (D-Cleveland).
The committee received updated state revenue projections from Office of Budget and Management (OBM) Director Tim Keen and the Legislative Service Commission (LSC). As anticipated, OBM reduced their projections for tax revenues coming into the state’s General Revenue Fund (GRF) by $934 million over the FY18-19 biennium. Specifically, they reduced their forecast by $437 million in FY18 and $497 million in FY19.
Based on the updated state revenue projections, if the PLF stays at 1.68% in the final version of the budget bill, it is estimated to generate the following:
- FY18 = $367.1 million
- FY19 = $377.8 million
FINAL CONTACTS NEEDED
A significant amount of work has been happening behind the scenes at the Statehouse over the past four days. If you have not had a chance to call or e-mail members of Leadership or members of the Conference Committee, please do so today or tomorrow. We are urging them to retain the current bill language that sets the PLF at 1.68% of the GRF.
The Conference Committee is expected to report their final changes by midweek. The budget must be passed and signed by the governor before the start of FY18 on Sat., July 1.
