COLUMBUS, Ohio — More information is being released about what will not be included in the state's new two-year budget. Before signing off in the middle of the night Thursday, Gov. Mike DeWine got rid of more than a dozen parts of the plan.
DeWine called the budget a "historic budget that invests in Ohio, particularly in our children and their future."
He said the fact that it was bipartisan is significant while still recognizing that there were winners and losers. DeWine also praised the process for getting done and in the manner in which it did amidst the pandemic.
"What this budget speaks to is what pulls us together," DeWine said at a press conference Thursday.
The governor touted the new $74 billion biennial budget which includes $250 million for broadband expansion grants, a 3% income tax cut across the board and the Fair School Funding Plan that makes the way Ohio funds schools constitutional.
"I congratulate those that worked so very, very hard on it for so long,” DeWine said. “We also have in the budget additional opportunities for families that want to exercise their choice and I think that is good.”
Ohio Republican Party Chair Bob Paduchik called the budget, "The most conservative budget in Ohio legislative history."
However, the governor did veto 14 items from the budget mainly passed by the Republican supermajority.
Among them, he took out a part that would have given businesses that failed to follow proper COVID-19 protocols a pass from any penalties. DeWine also got rid of a provision that would’ve given Republicans the sole ability to intervene in redistricting-related lawsuits.
"My veto power should be done carefully, and if it's a close call, I should defer to the state legislature," said DeWine.
Which is what he said he did on reproductive rights when he left in a provision that includes a “medical practitioner conscience clause.” Doctors are allowed to refuse to treat patients who do not align with their moral or religious beliefs.
The governor and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted pushed back when I asked about voting rights group's concerns about voter suppression. They stem from part of the budget that now bans local boards of elections from working with or accepting money from a regular citizen to help with voter registration and education.
"Ohio's a very transparent state when it comes to this,” Husted said. “It has nothing to do with voter suppression. That's an absurd thing to say that this would create any voter suppression in the state of Ohio. We're tired of those false claims.”
A spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party said the governor "sold out working Ohioans to placate extreme members of his own party and statehouse special interests."
Sen. Vernon Sykes, D-Akron, said he was also disappointed the governor did not veto the voting rights portion of the budget because he has witnessed voter suppression long before this budget was signed.
"We do have a good system for elections in Ohio. We just want to protect it and promote it and to try to improve it," said Sykes.
In the end, DeWine said he agrees with what was in the budget. He even joked about protestors saying he has probably seen more protestors than any governor ever has and he is sure he will see more in the coming days.