Majority Republicans in the Ohio Senate have passed the chamber's version of the next two year state budget. The measure now goes to a conference committee to work out differences with the version approved by the Ohio House. Ohio Public Radio's Karen Kasler reports.
Democratic Senator Cecil Thomas said he couldn’t support the continued shift toward sales taxes and away from income taxes, but also “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.”
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.
