Ohio lawmakers are increasingly under the gun to pass a state budget before state government funding runs out at the end of the month.
Few, if any, are worried that a new two-year budget won’t be in place by June 30, when the current budget expires. But legislators are leaving themselves little time to resolve larger-than-usual disagreements over proposed tax changes, as well as likely disputes about education funding and a number of other issues.
Senate GOP leaders say they intend to pass their version of the budget around June 17. That would leave less than two weeks for a conference committee of House and Senate members to hammer out a final plan, pass it, and send it to Gov. John Kasich to review and consider any line-item vetoes.
State lawmakers typically take until around now to pass a budget plan. And with Republicans controlling both legislative houses and the governorship, casual observers might assume that, as in past years, policymakers would readily be able to find compromises and smooth over differences.
But Capitol Square veterans said this year is unusual, as the House and Senate appear ready to pass tax plans with a difference so fundamental – how to pay for income tax cuts – it could prove tough for the two chambers to reach a compromise.
In past years, legislative debates over income tax cuts centered on which other taxes should be increased to pay for them.
But this year, the House and Senate are disagreeing about whether there should be any offsetting tax increases at all.
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