Ohio Senators have passed their version of the two year state budget, which now goes to a conference committee to work out differences with the House version ahead of a June 30th deadline.
Democratic Sen. Cecil Thomas of Cincinnati said he couldn’t support the continued shift toward sales taxes and away from income taxes, but also said “we’re capable of investing our tax dollars more equitably to support the future of our children and the service and infrastructure relied on by all Ohioans.”
The budget also angered some Ohio mayor in cities that still use traffic cameras. Click the play button below to hear more details on that from Ohio Public Radio's Karen Kasler.
Republican Senate President Keith Faber said the budget isn’t perfect, but he said it’s pretty good. “If you don’t stop and look around at all the good things in this budget, you just might miss it,” Faber said.
The conference committee starts working immediately on the differences between the documents to come up with a budget to present to the governor, who can use his line-item veto power to strike what he doesn’t like. The budget must be signed by June 30.