The cruelest budget bill I've ever seen

Just a few days left to demand better from your state legislators
by Rachel Coyle
June 22, 2025
Question mark over Statehouse

This article first appeared on Rachel Coyle's Substack.

A budget is a moral document. It shows us your priorities.

For example, Ohio’s budget can fund programs that support children and families — or it can fund tax cuts for billionaires. It just depends on who our state considers important.

Right now, Ohio’s priorities should sicken us all.

  

I’ve never seen a state budget that so brazenly guts critical programs and services to fund handouts for Republican political donors. And we only have a few days left to shame some conscience into our Statehouse supermajority.

OHIO BUDGET BASICS:

  • Ohio’s budget process happens every two years. Legislators spend a few months deciding how your tax dollars will be spent for the NEXT two years.

  • We have reached the final days of Ohio’s 2025 budget process, but there’s still time to make an impact.

  • Ohio’s operating budget bill has already passed the state House AND Senate, but the two chambers didn’t agree on each other changes. That means the budget bill has gone to a “conference committee.”

    • Six legislators (three from the House and three from the Senate) work through any budget item where there are differences between the two chambers.

    • Anything can be added or removed during conference committee

  • After conference committee, the budget will go to Governor DeWine. The governor has a lot of power here. He can remove (veto) ANY item from the 5,600-page budget bill. He just can’t ADD anything.

  

WHAT’S IN OHIO’S BUDGET BILL:
I’ll repeat — this is the cruelest state budget I’ve ever seen. Here are just a few of the most devastating items that we need REMOVED from Ohio’s budget bill. Many of these items alone would lead to revolution in a functioning political system:

  

WHAT’S NOT IN OHIO’S BUDGET BILL:
Here are some items that Republicans have refused to add to our state budget bill, despite thousands of requests from advocacy organizations and engaged citizens. We must demand that these items be added into the budget during conference committee:

  • The bipartisan Fair School Funding Plan, which took years to develop

  • Stable funding for libraries — The budget fails to include a set percentage of funding for Ohio’s public libraries. This means they will have no way to plan for the future and could be defunded at any time.

  • Real property tax relief that won’t devastate our schools and communities, like the property tax circuit breaker described here and here

  • A refundable income tax credit for parents with children up to age 6 (proposed by Governor DeWine)

  • Children’s Hunger Alliance (CHA) funding — The budget currently guts CHA funding by about 1/3

  • More funding for food banks— The budget currently funds food banks at 2019 levels(!)

  • The LeadSafe Home Fund Program — The budget fully defunds lead poisoning prevention efforts. Children’s Defense Fund warns this could cause “devastating, irreversible harm to children”

  

ANGRY? CHANNEL IT INTO ACTION:

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1.) Check out this longer list of state budget items and actions to take: bit.ly/OhioBudget2025

2.) Contact the Republican legislators listed below. Each of them has the power to make changes to the budget bill right now. And each of them must be held accountable if they refuse.

Sample Script:
Hello. My name is [NAME], and I am an Ohio voter.
If the state budget bill passes in its current form, [LEGISLATOR]’s [reputation/image/legacy/etc] will never recover.
[LEGISLATOR] has the power to improve some of the most [cruel/harmful/damaging/expensive/etc] pieces of the state budget bill.
I am especially worried about [PICK A BUDGET ISSUE].
This item must be [ADDED/REMOVED] from the bill.
I am also extremely worried about [PICK A BUDGET ISSUE].
This item must be [ADDED/REMOVED] from the bill.
Will [LEGISLATOR] help make this happen before passing the budget out of conference committee?
I will be sharing your response with my networks and urging more people to contact you.

Senate Finance Chair — Jerry Cirino:

Senate Finance Vice Chair — Brian Chavez:

House Finance Chair — Brian Stewart:

House Finance Vice Chair — Mike Dovilla:

Senate President — Rob McColley:

House Speaker — Matt Huffman:

If this budget bill doesn’t radically change during conference committee, every politician who helps pass it should be publicly berated to the point they’re forced to move out of state.

Let’s hope they’re all visited by three ghosts over the next few days.