The following video offers State Senator Kevin Coughlin’s perspective on the $52.4 billion state budget. We encourage all legislators who have produced similar videos to send a link to Eye on the Statehouse.
The Buckeye Institute recently recognized Sen. Coughlin for his leadership on the special needs voucher provision passed by the Ohio House [...]

Each Friday, Eye on the Statehouse announces its “Porker of the Week.” It’s our way of calling attention to a particularly big or wasteful spender.
Over the next biennium, the state of Ohio will spend $52.37 billion, including millions of dollars in pork.
Ohioans, through the state budget, will continue to provide corporate welfare to [...]

The Associated Press is reporting the state budget could be completed by tomorrow.
Here is the story:

The Associated Press
6/26/2007, 5:34 p.m. EDT
State lawmakers make final budget push
By JOHN McCARTHY
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — State lawmakers put the finishing touches Tuesday on a budget bill that freezes college tuition, increases dollars for children’s health care and gives seniors [...]

Last week, Eye on the Statehouse drew attention to the Ohio Investment in Training Program (OITP), a corporate welfare program at the Ohio Department of Development (ODOD). Under the program, even Fortune 500 companies qualify for taxpayer funded reimbursement of up to 50 percent of their workforce development costs.
OITP is getting $24.8 million over [...]

Have you ever been on an airplane and heard the pilot say he is going to “make up some time” (i.e. fly faster) in getting you to your destination? One might think, “why not just fly faster the whole way and cut my flight time in half?” A similar thought comes to mind reading today’s [...]

Last week, Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner announced plans to test the security of electronic voting machines. However, state and county elections officials have already spent four years and hundreds of thousands of tax dollars on perhaps the most comprehensive voting machine security testing in the nation. It seems Brunner intends to [...]

On Friday, Eye on the Statehouse announces a “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 House Finance Committee Chairman Matt Dolan (R-Novelty) for urging spending cuts in order to close the budget’s $167 million [...]

Slipped into the Senate’s version of the state budget was $25,000 a year (SC-2464) for the Ohio Humanities Council, an entity that, until now, has not received state funding. The council will be funded under the Board of Regents. According to its own material, the council “encourages all Ohioans to explore the human story, to [...]

Over the next two years, Ohio will spend $24.8 million on the Department of Development’s “Investment in Training” program (OITP). Under the program, “OITP provides up to a 50 percent reimbursement to fund instructional costs, materials and training-related activities” for companies in Ohio.
OITP has an emphasis on manufacturing jobs, though this is not a [...]

Each Friday, Eye on the Statehouse announces its “Porker of the Week.” It’s our way of calling attention to a particularly big or wasteful spender.
This week’s Porkers are members of the Ohio Senate for their $40 million handout to Ohio’s powerful nursing home industry. As a result of their successful lobbying efforts, senators [...]