Draft legislation would add a $600 million in state-backed bonds into the state budget, to help fund a new domed stadium and development for the Cleveland Browns in Brook Park. And it would shoot down a proposal Gov. Mike DeWine had for future sports facilities requests.
In his first comments about the draft amendment since it was obtained by the Statehouse News Bureau over the weekend, DeWine stopped short of threatening a veto. But he was clear about his preference.
At a forum at the Columbus Metropolitan Club led by the Statehouse News Bureau's Jo Ingles, DeWine was asked if he would veto the amendment. It would add the $600 million bond package to the budget and would eliminate his proposed sports facilities fund, paid for by doubling the tax on sports gambling operators, who are mostly located out of state.
"If you look at the next 10 to 20 years, there's going to be a lot of demand on the state budget for this. I don't think we can afford to continue to go into the general fund of our budget and take this money," DeWine said.
The Haslam Sports Group has estimated the bonds would cost the state around $40 million a year, but that the development would generate $1.3 billion more in tax revenue than the state's obligation. There has been no publicly released independent analysis of that estimate.
DeWine instead pivoted to promoting his sports facilities fund, paid for by a 40% tax on sports gambling operators.
"It's not going to change the gaming experience one way or the other in the state of Ohio. We have some states that are at 51%," DeWine said. "So we won't be the lowest, but we certainly will not be the highest if we double that. This is money that's on the table, and we should be taking it to put into things that are productive and helpful for the people of the state of Ohio. And again, this will permanently solve our problem."
But when pressed to announce if he planned a veto, DeWine only said there’s time to negotiate.
“We haven't seen the House budget yet, let alone the Senate. And then there's a thing called a conference committee. And then there's some discussions that might occur between the speaker and the Senate president and the governor," DeWine said. "We've got a long way to go.”
In a session with reporters after the forum, DeWine was asked again about a veto.
“I have every hope that the legislature will see the wisdom of creating a fund and getting the money for that fund from the people who make the most money from it, and that is these out-of-state gaming companies," DeWine said.
The House budget is set to come out on Tuesday.
