Ohio Supreme Court upholds state's transfer of welfare funds

Cuyahoga County, which brought the suit, did not have any legal standing.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- The Ohio Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the state's transfer of 60 million from federal welfare programs to balance Ohio's budget five years ago.
The court's unanimous decision found that Cuyahoga County, which sued over the transfer, did not have legal standing to challenge the shift of the money from Ohio's human services agency.
The county sued over the 2001 decision to move the money on behalf of all 88 counties, saying the shift was an illegal transfer of dollars needed to help former welfare recipients out of poverty.
The administration of Gov. Bob Taft argued that the money transferred from the Department of Job and Family Services was reimbursement from the government for earlier welfare-related expenditures and could be used for other purposes.
The state likened the scenario to being reimbursed for out-of-pocket travel expenses, then using that reimbursement for other purposes.
The Supreme Court said Cuyahoga County didn't show it had any right to those specific funds, which would have come on top of federal welfare dollars it was guaranteed to receive.
Although the county hoped that the state would cover its expenses above the base amount of welfare funds, "the state was under no duty to provide such funds," wrote Justice Judith Ann Lanzinger.
The decision overturned an earlier appeals court ruling that sided with the county.