State lays out plan to boost economy

The plan will target specific industries with hopes of creating jobs.

COLUMBUS (AP) — Lawmakers have agreed on and sent to Gov. Ted Strickland a $1.57 billion plan designed to improve Ohio’s sagging economy.

Ohio’s effort to stimulate the economy won’t put extra money in the pockets of taxpayers like the widely publicized federal plan. Instead, Ohio has chosen to spend state money on targeted industries such as advanced energy and biomedical research in the hopes that it will lead to job creation.

Below are some questions and answers about the plan, such as how it was crafted, how the money will be spent, and what kind of effect it will have.

Q. Where did the idea for the plan come from?

A. Strickland, a Democrat, proposed a similar plan in his February State of the State address. Republican legislative leaders objected to it, saying that it called for too much new borrowing by the state to finance it.

The two sides soon came together on a slightly more modest plan that largely resembles Strickland’s original proposal but calls for less debt backed by state taxpayer revenue.

Strickland and lawmakers agreed to spend money on industries they believe will drive the economy this century and provide decent-paying jobs.

Q. How will the money be spent?

A. The plans calls for $50 million for the development of bioproducts such as polymers and plastics; $100 million to the biomedical industry; $150 million on advanced energy such as solar and wind power; $100 million to support businesses that distribute products; $400 million to local infrastructure projects such as roads and bridges; $200 million to preserve farmland and greenspace; $200 million to clean up brownfields; $120 million for historic preservation; and $250 million to create more internships and co-ops with Ohio businesses for students.

Q. What is the most important part of the plan?

A. It depends on who you ask. But many lawmakers said they are most excited about boosting the local internships that are available to Ohio students. They believe it will help reverse a so-called brain-drain phenomenon, in which many of Ohio’s college students leave the state after graduating.

Q. Will Strickland sign the bill?

A. Yes. But he says he will veto a restriction added by the Senate that would prevent any of the $100 million in biomedical funding from going toward research on cloned human embryos. Some believe that state money shouldn’t be involved in any research that destroys human embryos, while others, such as Strickland, believe that such a restriction will severely limit promising research on debilitating diseases such as cancer and Parkinson’s.

Strickland also disagrees with the Senate’s decision to spend money from the state’s rainy-day fund instead of diverting money from the Ohio Turnpike, as the governor has proposed. He hasn’t decided whether he will veto that portion.

Q. What kind of impact will it have, and when will its effects be felt?

A. Strickland says it will create at least 57,000 new jobs. But that figure is based on economic modeling that can only provide estimates, not definitive results.

The money will be spent over five years, meaning that it could take several years before every dollar has a chance to trickle down from state coffers to the potential creation of a job.

Q. How does the state spending fit in with existing state policy and goals?

A. The governor recently signed into law an energy bill that calls for utilities to meet yearly benchmarks for the use of advanced energy sources. The spending in the economic plan on advanced energy will, theoretically, help make sure those technologies are mature enough to meet those benchmarks. Ohio has high hopes that its agriculture sector can be increasingly applied to producing high-tech polymers and plastics. And the infrastructure spending — while modest compared to the state’s needs — will help make improvements, or provide alternatives, to things like roads and bridges showing wear and tear.