Latest news with #OhioCapitalJournal
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Can they do that? Ohio Senators propose novel, if questionable, Browns stadium funding plan
Sen. Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland, discussing the Senate's budget proposal alongside Senate President Rob McColley. (Photo by Nick Evans, Ohio Capital Journal.) Ohio Republicans largely agree that shelling out $600 million to fund a new Cleveland Browns stadium is a good idea. They just disagree on how to pay for it. Gov. Mike DeWine proposed increasing the taxes on gambling and Ohio House lawmakers favored issuing state bonds. State senators thought way outside the box. Every state oversees unclaimed funds — think old security deposits, uncashed checks, or even bank accounts. The state acts as a custodian for that money, holding it until the rightful owner comes forward to claim it. According to the Ohio Department of Commerce, state officials are sitting on $4.8 billion in unclaimed funds. State senators are now eyeing that money for stadium funding. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The Ohio Senate's budget, approved Wednesday, would redefine all unclaimed funds that passed into state custody prior to 2016 as 'abandoned.' That money would then 'escheat' — a legal term for transferring ownership — to the state. 'What this does is it takes idle money and puts it to work to create jobs, to create incremental taxes, and that's why we're so excited about this project,' Senate budget chief Sen. Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland, said at a press conference introducing the idea earlier this month. Ohio officials would use a newly created fund, estimated at $1.7 billion, to put up the $600 million the Browns need while maintaining a nest egg for future sports and cultural facilities. The Browns would pay its share back through tax revenue generated by the project. The team would also put up $100 million in case that tax revenue falls short. Going forward, any unclaimed funds would move to the new stadium fund if no one claimed them within 10 years. Cirino emphasized companies often spend several years attempting to return funds before money ever gets transferred to the state's custody. Ohio Senate President Rob McColley added, 'If you look at the $600 million amount, I believe all of those are at least 18 years or older. So, they've been sitting in the fund for some time.' The alternatives, Cirino agued, aren't particularly attractive. Raising taxes, even on gambling, is a nonstarter in his caucus. And borrowing money, even if the team pays back every penny, would carry substantial costs. Over 25 years, those bonds would carry $400 million in debt servicing, Cirino said, 'and the debt service would be paid out of the general fund.' The plan's supporters are quick to emphasize the safeguards. Anyone whose property gets rolled over in that first sweep to the stadium fund will have a ten-year grace period — extending to January 1, 2036 — in which they can still claim their money. The Senate budget also appropriates an additional $1 million annually to support more outreach to the owners of unclaimed funds. 'Any property that belongs to anybody, rightfully and legitimately, we want them to get what they have coming to them,' Cirino said in an interview. 'And we're not suggesting anything to the contrary. We're just simply setting a time period here, that is, we think, reasonable.' In Ohio, the state Department of Commerce oversees unclaimed funds, but in many other states that's the state treasurer's job. And the National Association of State Treasurers is unequivocal about how unclaimed property programs should run. 'We actually have official policy stating that we believe that state unclaimed property programs should make these funds available to their owners in perpetuity,' NAST Executive Director Shaun Snyder explained. The group's policy statement raises concerns about potential legal challenges and emphasizes a state taking custody of unclaimed property isn't the same as taking ownership of it. At their heart, Snyder argued, unclaimed funds programs are built on trust. 'You get that trust by telling people, 'Look, if you lose your property, you will be able to claim it. We will keep it for you and protect it for you,'' he explained. 'When states decide to essentially add in a cut-off of some kind, that can undermine that process.' Snyder noted there are just four states with policies that escheat unclaimed funds to the state after a specific period of time. Two of them, Arizona and Indiana, wait much longer than Ohio proposes, only transferring funds to the state after 25 years. Hawaii and Rhode Island set the cut off at 10 years, but only for small amounts — less than $100 in Hawaii and less than $50 in Rhode Island. Like Snyder, the Urban Institute's Lucy Dadayan argued that 'redirecting these funds for public projects, even after a long dormancy period, risks undermining public trust and confidence in government.' She also raised doubts about the sustainability of the idea. If the stadium funding plan raises awareness, more people could come forward with claims and reduce the amount of money flowing to the stadium fund. 'Well, it's definitely outside-the-box,' University of Chicago Professor Justin Marlowe said of the proposal. Marlowe heads up the school's Center for Municipal Finance and explained he hasn't heard of any other state using unclaimed quite like Ohio is considering. One of the virtues of that approach, he said, is it provides the necessary upfront costs without raising taxes or borrowing a lot of money. 'I suppose that's a tradeoff that's worth making if you're willing to get over the conceptual leap of using unclaimed property to this effect,' he said. 'I get what they're trying to solve for, and this is definitely a creative way to solve for that, for better or for worse.' But Marlowe raised some notable concerns. His center runs a podcast, he said, and they've spoken with about 15 state treasurers. All of them have a story about reconnecting people with long-lost property. 'That's not a 10-year arc, that's a several decades long arc,' he said. 'And so, it does kind of raise that question of, is 10 years the right timeframe? Because no one's ever really done this, I don't think there's any right or wrong answer. That's kind of a policy choice, but it does seem short.' Marlowe added the systematic transfer of citizens' property raises legal complications that aren't easy to answer. The Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution prohibits the government from taking private property without 'just compensation.' Ohio's Constitution carries similar requirements and puts the onus on the state to show that taking was necessary and for public use. Additionally, the escheatment program could raise due process questions. 'I'm sure they can write the law in a way to insulate them from a lot of that, but at some level, these are not statutory questions. These are much broader, constitutional — almost philosophical — questions,' he said. 'Which might be why no one has done this to date, right?' In testimony submitted to the Ohio Senate Finance Committee, the City of Cleveland set aside questions about the source of the money and argued that the new Browns stadium would harm their lakefront redevelopment efforts. 'Public funds — whether from the General Revenue Fund or the unclaimed property fund — should be used to strengthen cities, not undermine them,' the city argued. Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne wasn't bashful about criticizing the unclaimed property idea though. 'This is not robbing Peter to pay Paul,' he argued. 'This is robbing Bob and Betty Buckeye to pay (Browns owners) Jimmy and Dee Haslam.' Cirino bristled at that characterization. 'That's a load of garbage, okay? We're not stealing any money from anybody,' he insisted. 'I found his comments about the Senate quite insulting as a matter of fact.' He noted lawmakers have dipped into unclaimed funds 'at least a dozen times previously.' A Legislative Service Commission memo shared with Ohio Capital Journal notes lawmakers have authorized $1.2 billion in cash transfers out of the fund and used it to capitalize the state's mortgage insurance and housing development funds. However, that money is subject to recall if it's needed to pay the rightful owners of unclaimed funds. The proposal got support from the Ohio Business Roundtable. In a letter to the Senate Finance Committee, the group's President and CEO Pat Tiberi argued it's a 'strategic and fiscally responsible approach' to funding venues. 'A statewide fund ensures Ohio is positioned to proactively support these capital-intensive projects as a means of regional growth and long-term economic competitiveness — not just for a single city or franchise, but for the benefit of all regions,' Tiberi wrote. 'Importantly,' he added, 'the Senate's proposal avoids placing new tax burdens on Ohioans, taking general revenue funds or increasing the state's debt obligations.' Like Cirino, Tiberi emphasized the plan would put 'idle' resources to more productive use. Follow Ohio Capital Journal Reporter Nick Evans on X or on Bluesky. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
National, Ohio Republican budgets prioritize corporate welfare and donor handouts over Ohio families
The Ohio Statehouse. (Photo by David DeWitt, Ohio Capital Journal.) Budget bills being shepherded through Congress and the Ohio Statehouse by Republican majorities are a reflection of priorities. Not mine and maybe not yours, but they are an explicit manifesto of the 'values' most prized by the controlling party. The federal budget bill and the one being hammered out in Ohio both put a premium on corporate welfare, as opposed to social safety nets, and the continued prosperity of fat cats who write big campaign checks, as opposed to everyone else. Federal lawmakers — more fearful of upsetting their Dear Leader than screwing their constituents out of healthcare and food aid — are doubling-down to enact a $2.4 trillion-dollar operating budget with unpaid tax cuts that disproportionately benefit the ultra-wealthy and corporations while millions go hungry and lose medical insurance. Besides the moral depravity of kicking the working-class poor to the curb to reward multi-millionaires and billionaires with lavish tax breaks, this deficit-ballooning monstrosity is predicted to explode the national debt to more than $50 trillion within ten years. The so-called deficit hawks who howl about paid-for spending budgets that increase revenue, reduce federal deficits, and reverse the unsustainable trajectory of today's roughly $29 trillion in public debt, will ram through the Trump's country club giveaway to the rich. They will vote for what the felon-in-chief (corruptly enriching himself on an epic scale) values above all else — money and power — while bankrupting the country, leaving 11 million Americans uninsured, and forcing countless families to ration meals. Trump supporters will lose what keeps them afloat, but what matters to the congressional invertebrates who represent them is only what matters to their amoral god king. They will spurn the many who struggle to survive to indulge the few who luxuriate in multiple homes and on super yachts. While sparse food banks turn away seniors on the edge of poverty and mothers desperate to stave off their children's hunger, the richest Americans will walk away richer, thanks to one party that prioritizes the interests of zillionaires and modern-day robber barons to maintain political dominance. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Ohio Republicans are using the same playbook as their federal counterparts to hand the wealthiest Ohioans a billion-dollar handout by lowering the state income tax on those making six figures plus with a single flat rate for everybody. But less than 3% of this tax cut would go to the bottom 80% of working Ohioans, according to Policy Matters Ohio. A tax expert with the nonpartisan research group testified that the other 97% 'goes to Ohioans in the top 20% of earners, making at least $139,000' while the top 1% alone (with an average income of over $1.7 million) rakes in 40% of the tax cut benefits. So much for equity in a regressive tax code proposal that eliminates graduated brackets for the gated community to pay a higher share of its considerable income. Who cares if Ohio's general revenue fund takes a 1.1 billion hit in lost revenue as a result? State lawmakers' rational for their fiscally irresponsible tax cuts to the mega-rich is identical to the one congressional Republicans offer for the bulk of their tax cuts going to the richest households and greediest corporations. It's the old, punctured 'trickle-down theory' that pretends fat cats with fatter wallets ignite economic growth. Proof to the contrary is abundant. So is evidence that subsidizing billionaire owners of sports teams with public money to build multi-billion-dollar stadiums is a bad bet for taxpayers. But that hasn't stopped leading Republicans in the Ohio Senate and Ohio House from bending over backward to accommodate Jimmy and Dee Haslams' ask for $600 million to take the Browns out of a perfectly good stadium on the lakefront and plop a new one into a working-class suburb right next to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. The pols bow to the Haslams as deep-pocketed Republican donors and are committed to finding some way to finance the couple's private interests with public funds. But the party that engineered gerrymandered supermajorities in the legislature and exerts absolute rule in Ohio insists the state can't find any extra money for food banks (reeling from deep funding cuts under the Trump regime) and has unified around slashing food bank funding by nearly 25% despite rising demand across Ohio. Republicans also argue that fully funding public education in the state — under a bipartisan spending formula that came closest to meeting long ignored constitutional obligations — is not sustainable under a tight budget. But swelling state investments in a voucher boondoggle predicted to cost $1.25 billion by 2027, according to the Columbus Dispatch, to offset tuition costs for affluent families who can afford the private schools their darlings already attend is sustainable?? Statehouse Republicans blame budget constraints for cutbacks on opioid recovery programs, public libraries, public transit, safe drinking water initiatives, continued Medicaid coverage for kids up to age 3, and even no-cost breakfast and lunch for all Ohio students. They punted on property tax relief with clawbacks from fiscally responsible school districts yet managed to remove all elected members of the state education board in the Ohio House budget bill. But cash for brand new stadiums, a billion-dollar tax cut for the wealthy, and an open government spigot for expanded private school vouchers? Those are GOP priorities that value money and power above all else.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ohio House Minority Leader Allison Russo stepping down from leadership role at the end of June
Ohio House Minority Leader Allison Russo. (Photo by Nick Evans, Ohio Capital Journal.) Ohio House Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, is stepping down from her leadership role at the end of the month. Russo has served as minority leader since January 2022 and she will continue to serve as state representative until her term ends on Dec. 31, 2026. She made the announcement to her caucus Thursday morning. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX 'Serving as the Ohio House Minority leader for the last three and a half years has been an incredible honor,' she said in a statement. 'It has been one of the most challenging yet rewarding positions I've had the privilege to hold.' Russo was first elected as state representative in November 2018, flipping a previously held Republican seat. She worked in health policy for more than 20 years before entering politics. Russo ran for Congress in 2021, but lost to U.S. Rep. Mike Carey 58% to 42%. 'Every strong leader knows the importance of a thoughtful transition,' she said in a statement. 'At the beginning of this session, I communicated to members that I wanted to remain in leadership through the important state operating budget negotiations.' Heading into the legislative summer break and the rest of the General Assembly session, however, she said it 'is important that I give the next leadership team ample time to thoughtfully and carefully plan how to navigate our caucus priorities after this budget cycle and to continue building our effort to pick up more seats for Democrats in the Ohio House in 2026.' Russo also said she wants to focus on her family, policy work and serving her district. 'My son just graduated high school, and I look forward to spending the summer with him and my family preparing to send him off to college,' said Russo, who has three children. 'Any decisions regarding my political future, will come at a later time.' Russo is term-limited in the House and has been tight-lipped about her future plans. During her time as minority leader, Russo has been forced to navigate a Republican supermajority. 'Over the last few years, my colleagues and I have stood strong in the face of attacks on our most basic rights and values, and despite tough odds we were successful in standing up for all Ohioans,' Russo said. Ohio Democrats secured a couple of major victories in 2023 — voting down an effort that would have made it harder to pass constitutional amendments, and voting to enshrine abortion and reproductive rights in the state's constitution. Russo's announcement comes the same month Ohio Democratic Party Chair Liz Walters announced her plan to step down. So far, Dr. Amy Acton is the only Democratic candidate who has announced they are running for governor in 2026. Republican Vivek Ramaswamy is running for governor and Ohio Lieutenant Governor Jim Tressel is considering running. Ohio Supreme Court Judge Jennifer Brunner is the only Democrat in statewide office in Ohio. Follow Capital Journal Reporter Megan Henry on Bluesky. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Many unaware of threats to Ohio Medicaid, advocates say
Dozens gathered at the Ohio Capitol to protect Medicaid benefits. (Photo by Marty Schladen, Ohio Capital Journal.) As threats build to Medicaid, the federal-state health program for the poor, even many Ohioans who stand to be affected don't know it, advocates said Saturday. Dozens gathered on the west lawn of the Ohio Statehouse to raise awareness that a massive spending bill passed by Republicans in Congress could end up ending health care for more than 750,000 Ohioans. 'People say, 'Oh, I'm not on Medicaid,'' said Bria Bennett of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative. 'But when they hear Caresource (Ohio's biggest Medicaid managed-care provider), they say 'Oh yeah, my kids are on Caresource.' That's a problem everywhere. People are so focused on 'How am I getting to work? Is my car going to get me to work? Is my uniform clean for work?' They're worried about all those things that trying to dip into the policy things that our politicians talk about is difficult.' The U.S. House-passed Republican reconciliation budget — President Donald Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill' — would hand out $4.6 trillion in tax cuts over 10 years. The University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School estimated that 70% of the benefit would go to the richest 10% of Americans. Republicans, such as Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, have denied that the budget would cut health benefits for Americans. But then she undermined her own argument by saying 'We all are going to die.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Parts of the bill, including a strict new work requirement, led the independent, nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office to conclude that it would cost about 10 million Americans their health insurance. That's nearly half of the 24.6 million Americans who are covered under the Medicaid expansion that was passed as part of the 2010 Affordable Care Act. Most Medicaid recipients have jobs, and a 2018 assessment in Ohio said that health coverage made it easier for those people to seek and keep employment. Meanwhile, work requirements have been shown to be ineffective for anything other than hassling people off of the system. Researchers at Harvard University and the Urban Institute found that Arkansas's work requirement did nothing to boost employment in the state. The federal government covers 90% of the cost of the Medicaid expansion. In Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine proposed that if a significant portion of that funding were eliminated, the state would cut those people off — ending health coverage for 770,000 Ohioans. That's nearly 7% of the state. It might come as a surprise for many, but 26% of Ohioans are on Medicaid, and low-income residents are so numerous that 30% of households make 200% or less of the federal poverty level. Bennett of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative said it's jargon like that that obscures the dire reality in which millions of Ohioans live. 'I don't know what 200% of whatever is,' she said. 'That's just a number to me. We're trying to make things relatable because people don't necessarily know that it affects them.' For the record, for a family of four 200% of the federal poverty level is $62,400 a year. Bennett said such households would be devastated if they lost Medicaid benefits. 'I know folks who have four-plus kids. Because of what they make, all of their kids are on Medicaid,' she said. 'If that's taken away, there are no more doctor's appointments. There's no more dentist's appointments.' And, she said, those life-saving services shouldn't be axed to pad the pockets of the wealthy in an era of exploding income inequality. 'We should not be giving tax breaks to the wealthy when the poorest and most vulnerable of us cannot even afford health care,' Bennett said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ohio Statehouse leaders appoint financial tech exec to teacher pension fund before influential vote
The entrance to the Ohio State Teachers Retirement System headquarters in Columbus. (Photo by Marty Schladen, Ohio Capital Journal.) Ohio Statehouse Republican leaders have appointed a financial tech executive to the retired teachers' pension fund ahead of the vote for a new executive director. Lynn Beal has been appointed to STRS Ohio by House Speaker Matt Huffman, R-Lima, and Senate President Rob McColley, R-Napoleon. Beal is the vice president and head of implementation and customer success at Upstart, an AI platform that 'partners with banks and credit unions to provide consumer loans,' according to her LinkedIn profile. Having previously working at JP Morgan, she specializes in data science, analytics and insights. Askedwhy he chose Beal, McColley said she presents what he wants to see in a board member. 'When we look into an awful lot of what's happening with any board, really, not just the pension boards, it's important for us to understand what's going on because oftentimes we're the insurer of last resort,' McColley said. 'We've got to know what's going on with all of this stuff, to understand the decisions that the board is making, and frankly, as I pointed out before, it's not easy to find people who want to do this, and so we're thankful that people are willing to step up.' This position has remained vacant since Claudia Herrington finished her term in the winter. The decision comes at a time when lawmakers are going back and forth with STRS board members. In emails obtained by News 5, McColley, Huffman, Gov. Mike DeWine and Treasurer Robert Sprague asked the board not to move forward yet on a new director. 'We respectfully request that the Board hold on scheduling the vote for the new executive director until the June 11-13, 2025 meetings,' the leaders said in a joint letter on May 8. 'This will ensure that the legislative leaders can make their appointment and that individuals can have time to become acclimated before further leadership decisions are made.' This comes after a year of controversy in which elected educators are accused of participating in a $65 billion corruption scheme. The board chair denies all allegations, and some retired educators are accusing the Statehouse Republicans of trying to stop transparency. The board did not select an executive director during its last meeting, but it may make a decision in its upcoming meeting in June. The finalists are Steven Toole, former head of the North Carolina Retirement Systems and Greg Samoryski, the head of Iowa Public Employees' Retirement System. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
