COLUMBUS, Ohio — House and Senate state lawmakers have begun negotiating a budget for the 2023 and 2024 fiscal years. They convened their first conference committee Thursday morning with the hope of finalizing a budget by next Friday's deadline.

What You Need To Know

  • Conference committee officially began letting lawmakers negotiate details of the state's operating budget 

  • House Speaker Jason Stephens, R-Kitts, previously said he expects the negotiation process to be long
  • However, Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima, expects the budget negotiations to be smooth and decided by the deadline

  • The final operating budget is due June 30

Kim Murnieks, the director of the Ohio Office of Budget and Management, testified in front of conference committee members about the current status of Ohio's economy. She said Ohio's projected tax revenues are on the rise and Medicaid spending is low.

Murnieks told lawmakers the labor market grew in March and April, however, she warned them the good times are not predicted to last and that inflation remains persistent. Murnieks wants lawmakers to consider Ohio on a global level as they negotiate the final version of the budget. 

Meanwhile, House Speaker Jason Stephens, R-Kitts, said both the House and Senate budgets have some similarities regarding tax cuts and school funding. He said the goal for conference committee is to agree on the best ways to use the money that's in the state's general fund.

Stephens said there are three areas they need to negotiate: income taxes, spending, and policy. Stephens also mentioned the importance of allocating enough money to child care, Medicaid, and food banks. 

The budget is over 8,000 pages long, and lawmakers need to carefully sort through the pages and come up with a plan that lawmakers in both chambers see fit for the future of Ohio. 

"I'm optimistic that we will have a budget to vote on," Stephens said. "This is a two-year budget and worth several million or billions and billions of dollars. I think it's important that we get the details right and be able to do the best we can." 

Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima, said he is hopeful that a budget decision will be made within the next week. 

"We have seen the Senate's priorities, and we think they should stay in to be part of the agreement," Huffman said. "There are things that we took out that the House wanted, and we understand that, you know, we're not going to get to 50 votes in the House without doing some of the things that the House wants to do. And I'm sure that the Speaker and his team understand the same dynamic." 

Lawmakers have until June 30 to have a finalized version of the operating budget. However, at this point, it is unclear what would happen if lawmakers miss the deadline.

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