Gov. DeWine used his two-year state budget proposal to show support for kids and pro sports owners. The budget, of course, is much more than that, but those are a couple of highlights.
The governor fully funded the last phase of a $2 billion program in state assistance to public schools in Ohio. However, Matt Huffman, the new Speaker of the House, has said the state may not be able to afford it, and the current legislature should not be responsible for something former lawmakers passed. So the governor and House speaker may have to have some difficult conversations about this.
The governor's budget also includes money to pay for the state's greatly expanded private school voucher program, which has ballooned to a cost of about $1 billion a year.
As for DeWine's support for professional sports teams and their owners, the governor wants to increase the taxes on legal sports gambling to pay for state assistance to teams that want to build or fix up their stadiums. The Browns are first up; they want to build a dome just outside of Cleveland. DeWine proposes doubling the gambling tax to 40%, up from the current 20%. The money would go toward youth sports and construction of professional sports facilities.
Currently, most of the gaming tax goes toward education, and that would not change. However, the extra tax money could generate up to nearly $200 million a year for the stadium fund and those youth sports programs.
This is far from a done deal. Even though it's coming from gamblers, it's still tax dollars, and giving tax dollars to billionaire owners of NFL teams is not an easy sell with voters or with lawmakers.
In other news, DeWine ordered state workers back to the office, much like Donald Trump did two weeks ago with federal workers. Statehouse watchers had to see that coming, and the move comes after Chase, AEP and Wendy's have all ordered their employees back to the office.
Our roundtable discussion covers President Trump’s immigration round-up, the move to end capital punishment in Ohio and a proposal to change Ohio’s fairly new voter-approved law legalizing recreational marijuana. Guests include USA Today Ohio Bureau Statehouse reporter Laura Bischoff, AP Politics and Government reporter Julie Carr Smyth, Republican strategist Bob Clegg and progressive activist Morgan Harper.
Snollygoster of the week
Former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy this week told the Wall Street Journal he plans to run for a second term as Ohio governor. Of course, he must first declare his candidacy for his first term and then win the race for governor. But he plans ahead.
There may be a method to that planning. By saying he would run for governor in 2030, he's saying he will not run for President in 2028, something his Republican opponent Dave Yost will use against him in an upcoming primary campaign for governor.
If you have a suggestion for our "Snollygoster of the Week" award, a question or a comment, send them to snollygoster@wosu.org.