Ohio House lawmakers sent the state budget to the Senate by a 60-39 vote Wednesday afternoon, following two months of testimony and negotiations.
The GOP-majority chamber’s final version of House Bill 96 totals about $30.1 billion in fiscal year 2026 and about $31 billion in fiscal year 2027, excluding federal funding, according to Office of Budget and Management (OBM) documents.
“This is the most consequential budget that I’ve been in and this is now my 17th year in the General Assembly,” House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima) said Wednesday morning. “It does more things on more fronts than any budget that I’ve ever been involved in.”
No Democrats voted for HB 96, in committee or on the floor. Several members were shot down when they offered floor amendments. “It is consequential in that it will be extremely damaging,” Minority Leader Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington) said Wednesday morning.
Five members of the GOP caucus broke with their colleagues and voted against the budget, too, including Reps. Levi Dean (R-Xenia), Ron Ferguson (R-Wintersville), Jennifer Gross (R-West Chester), Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) and Michelle Teska (R-Clearcreek Twp.).
Gov. Mike DeWine asked legislators in February to boost taxes on cigarettes to fund a child tax credit, on cannabis as the state looks to direct tax revenue back to itself, and on sports gambling to fund major and minor league professional sports construction.
House lawmakers have, however, rejected those requests in their version.
“We have removed every proposed tax increase on Ohioans, warded off numerous requests for fee increases, reined in burdensome regulations,” Rep. Brian Stewart (R-Ashville) said.
Their budget overhauls funding to K-12 public schools while increasing money put toward private school vouchers, including by establishing an educational savings account, according to analysis documents.
One of the biggest additions to HB 96 is legislators’ creation of a ceiling on how much money public school districts could potentially carry over each year. Under it, if a district carryover balance exceeds 30%, county budget commissions would have to lower the taxes levied on homeowners for the following tax year, according to OBM.
Instead of hiking the sports betting tax on operators as DeWine asked, lawmakers put in a requested package of $600 million in 30-year bonds so the owners of the Cleveland Browns, the Haslam family, could build a domed stadium in suburban Brook Park.
A slim majority of members voted to amend the budget on the House floor Wednesday, increasing the required cash the Haslams have to fork over to secure the bonds in case their revenue figures fall short. The Haslams offered $38.25 million, saying that would generate just under $150 million over 30 years. HB 96 would now ask them for $50 million.
Rep. Sean Brennan (Parma) tried to introduce an amendment pulling that provision out of the budget entirely but was blocked procedurally from doing so. The deal, Brennan said, puts other potential worthy sources of state money at a disadvantage.
“They share their heart-wrenching stories and have to grovel for pennies from the Statehouse,” he said.
Some backlash led House lawmakers to increase its allocation to libraries statewide Tuesday, at $490 million in fiscal year 2026 and $500 million in fiscal year 2027, according to analysis documents. Still, HB 96 modifies how libraries are funded in the long term, moving from a set percentage going to Ohio’s Public Library Fund, as used in prior budgets, to a line item.
Among other last-minute tweaks, the budget provides a pay increase for justices and judges, among other local public officials, and makes it so that county coroners are no longer elected. It also:
- Adds language to the Ohio Revised Code “recognizing only two sexes”
- Bars government buildings from flying flags that are not the official state, American or POW/MIA flag
- Disallows Medicaid funds from going toward diversity, equity, and inclusion
- Establishes personal income tax deductions, at $750 or less, for Ohioans who donate to “pregnancy resource centers,” which often advocate against abortions
- Gets rid of the Ohio Elections Commission starting in January 2026
- Hikes motor vehicle registration fees
- Includes a provision requiring age verification for online porn, among others
HB 96 now heads to the Senate. That chamber is targeting a June 12 floor vote, according to Sen. Jerry Cirino (R-Kirtland), with a June 30 deadline.
