Eye on the Statehouse has been delving into testimony provided to the House Finance and Appropriations Committee over the last several weeks. Witnesses include everyone from Budget Director Pari Sabety to a legion of school administrators, local officials, parents, and an assortment of bureaucrats. The one overriding theme? We need more tax dollars.
From March [...]

On Saturday, the House Finance and Appropriations Committee heard testimony on the House Republican changes to the governor’s budget. In all, 17 representatives from various special interests offered their opinion on the modified budget proposal. Committee members held firm on some measures and gave in on others. The full committee then unanimously [...]

Every Friday, Eye on the Statehouse will announce its “Fiscal Pistol.” It’s our way of recognizing an individual who, during the course of the week, demonstrated prudence in spending the people’s money.
This week’s Fiscal Pistol is House Finance and Appropriations Committee Chairman Matthew Dolan (R-Novelty) for slicing a considerable amount of money from the state’s [...]

Each Friday, Eye on the Statehouse will announce its “Porker of the Week.” It’s our way of calling attention to a particularly big or wasteful spender.
This week’s Porker is the Ohio House of Representatives, whose members dumped an astounding 800 budget amendments onto the House Finance and Appropriation Committee (most arriving this week). The [...]

Tucked into the proposed state budget is a $450,000 allocation for ballet. The Ohio Cultural Facilities Commission is asking for $250,000 for the Columbus-based BalletMet and $200,000 for the Cincinnati Ballet.
Legislators looking for areas to cut may consider a pas de bourrée couru towards the Cultural and Sports Facilities Fund.
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Yesterday, House Republican leaders released a summary of their changes to Governor Ted Strickland’s proposed budget. The document is available here in PDF format.
Of note, Republican lawmakers cut $800 million out of the budget bill now totaling $52.1 billion.
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Rutherford B. Hayes was a fine president from the great state of Ohio. In fact, he is one of seven former presidents from our state. Yet curiously, his presidential center is singled out for special appropriations from the General Assembly.
Broken up into two allocations in the gargantuan budget bill, the Hayes Presidential Center [...]

Every Friday, Eye on the Statehouse will announce its “Fiscal Pistol.” It’s our way of recognizing an individual who, during the course of the week, demonstrated prudence in spending the people’s money.
This week’s Pistol is Representative Steve Dyer (D-Green) for his attempt to bring more transparency to the legislative process.
Rep. Dyer’s H.B. 147 would [...]

Each Friday, Eye on the Statehouse will announce its “Porker of the Week.” It’s our way of calling attention to a particularly big or wasteful spender.
This week’s “Porker” is the Cincinnati police department for believing that money grows on trees.
In a recent Cincinnati Enquirer article, the police department bragged about its newest purchase: a [...]

Every Friday, Eye on the Statehouse will announce its “Fiscal Pistol.” It’s our way of recognizing an individual who, during the course of the week, demonstrated prudence in spending the people’s money.
This week’s Fiscal Pistol goes to Rep. Mark D. Wagoner (R-Toledo). During a House Finance and Appropriations Subcommittee on Human Services meeting, Rep. [...]