OHIO Dems again call for the removal of budget director

Democrats have questioned the timing of the revelation of the shortfall.
By JEFF ORTEGA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
COLUMBUS -- For the second time in a year, Democrats in the Legislature are calling for the ouster of state Budget Director Tom Johnson amid reports the state faces a $200 million shortfall in the fiscal year that ends June 30.
"We don't know if it's intentional or incompetence. Either way, it's bad," Democratic state Sen. Eric Fingerhut of Cleveland said Wednesday. Fingerhut is also the ranking minority member of the Senate Finance Committee.
"The concern in many ways was the timing," said Senate Minority Leader Gregory L. DiDonato, a New Philadelphia Democrat.
Reason for shortfall
According to Republican Gov. Bob Taft's Office of Budget and Management, which Johnson heads, the state is facing the shortfall primarily because of lower-than-expected personal income tax receipts and lower earnings on investments.
The revelations came Tuesday, the same day the Senate Finance Committee overwhelmingly approved a bipartisan two-year, $49.2 billion state budget proposal.
Senate leaders have planned a vote today on the state budget proposal, which must be in place by July 1.
Minority Democrats said they fear the announcement of the shortfall could have been intentional and they said they would fight to ensure that the provisions they got into the budget bill would remain.
"We will insist that the agreement we have reached be the substance," Fingerhut said.
Changes to bill
Among the changes made to the bill in finance committee:
UThe addition of $29 million over the next two-year budget period to fully fund the PASSPORT program that helps senior citizens stay in their homes longer.
UThe addition of changes that would allow more low-income Ohioans in a state program that provides health care to their children.
UThe addition of changes that would expand food-stamp eligibility to adults aged 18-49 in counties with unemployment rates of 10 percent or higher.
Senate Democrats questioned why the shortfall was revealed Tuesday when Democratic senators have been in near-constant budget negotiations with majority Republicans and the governor's office for weeks.
"They watch this daily," DiDonato said of economic forecasting data.
Through a spokesman, Johnson declined to comment.
But Tim Keen, the assistant state budget director, said the office produced the shortfall estimate as soon as it was known.
"The timing of this revenue announcement is directly attributable to the close of the month and the distribution of actual May revenues," Keen said.
Keen directed all other questions to Taft's office.
Taft's view
Taft's spokesman, Orest Holubec, said Taft still has confidence in Johnson.
"The problem is not solely Tom Johnson," Holubec said. Holubec said the Taft administration also relies on a Council of Economic Advisers consisting of some of the top economists in the state for financial data.
"They have been off in the past," Holubec said.
Taft thinks Johnson is doing a "fine job" under difficult economic circumstances, Holubec said.
Top Republican legislative leaders are also standing by Johnson.
"I support Tom Johnson," said Senate President Doug White, R-Manchester. "There's no bull's-eye out there when studying the economy and measuring the economy. It's very fluid and dynamic and I understand the fickleness of that effort," White said.
"I feel pretty confident that Tom does a very capable job as budget director," said House Speaker Larry Householder, R-Glenford.
The current two-year $44 billion state budget that ends this month has seen three corrective measures, the most recent one passed by the Legislature earlier this year to plug an estimated $720 million shortfall.
That measure relied on budget cuts, state savings, and an acceleration of sales-tax collections to close the budget gap.
An earlier call
Democrats called for Johnson's resignation in early February over that estimated shortfall.
Taft administration officials said they will take care of the current $200 million shortfall administratively.
Keen, the assistant state budget director, said the news of the shortfall doesn't bode well for the new state budget.
The House approved its version of the state budget in April. If the Senate approves its version today, the matter will likely have to go before a committee of lawmakers from both bodies to iron out differences between the proposals.