Cooperation pushed budget through

There are some differences from Gov. Strickland's budget.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Lawmakers of both parties said historic cooperation allowed the state's upcoming two-year spending plan to clear a key House committee Saturday night without a single objection.
"This is the smoothest budget I've seen so far," said state Rep. Jay Hottinger, a Republican on the 31-member House Finance Committee that cast a unanimous late-night vote for the 52.1 billion operating budget. "I think there's a healthy recognition by both sides and the administration that we need each other to get our goals accomplished."
In a state whose political landscape shifted significantly in last year's elections, ruling House Republicans and minority Democrats were able to strike a compromise that everyone can live with, said House Finance Chairman Matthew Dolan, a Republican from northeast Ohio.
Senior citizens tax cut
Among the key victories won by Democrats during final negotiations was to remove language in the bill that would have delayed implementation of Strickland's proposed property tax cut for senior citizens for two years or more.
"There was a spirit of cooperation in trying to work through some very difficult issues," said state Rep. Michael Skindell, the ranking Democrat on the budget-writing committee.
Dolan said the final House budget, scheduled for a House vote Tuesday, will not restore any of the cuts made to Strickland's proposed Medicaid expansion, however.
The House plan drops the governor's expansion of Medicaid health insurance to 25,000 parents of children under 19, and makes several other adjustments to his plans for nearly universal health care access in the state.
"We do recognize that was a priority for the governor, but he also realizes we are not interested in expanding government to the point we can't pay for it," Dolan said.
Strickland said in a statement that he would still like to revisit the health care issue, as the budget moves into the Senate.
"We have much work ahead of us, but I am hopeful as the core priorities of my budget have been preserved," the governor said.
Skindell said Democrats were given assurances that the GOP majority would continue to explore alternatives that would provide Medicaid access to more families as budget deliberations continue.
Some changes the House panel approved Saturday were: 5 million over two years in additional money for cervical and breast cancer screenings; 2 million in restored funding to help disabled Ohioans gain employment; and 60,000 a year for emergency services to military families.
Already, many of the priorities laid out in the House plan match Strickland's.
Other provisions
The House bill includes 587 million more than Strickland's already generous increase to higher education, bolsters money for public schools, and retains the governor's proposal to sell off Ohio's tobacco settlement share to pay for property tax breaks for seniors and the disabled on the first 25,000 of their homes.
The House didn't change its mind in key areas where its budget reverses the governor: reinstituting charter and voucher schools Strickland wanted to abolish, retaining abstinence-only sex education Strickland wanted to eliminate; and providing guaranteed funding to public colleges and universities rather than employing the compact Strickland had proposed tying their state payouts to meeting efficiency standards.
In a state where Republicans had ruled all branches of government for more than a dozen years, Strickland's win in November -- along with Democrats who won three other statewide offices -- marked an important political shift.
House Democrats also gained enough seats to bring themselves within four votes of majority Republicans. Skindell said that fact contributed to the new budget dynamics.
This budget was the state's first to be presented by a governor of one party to a Legislature controlled by another since 1971.
Tracy Sabetta, co-chairwoman of the Smoke Free Ohio group behind last year's statewide smoking ban, said she will continue to lobby against the sale of Ohio's tobacco proceeds as the budget moves on.
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