Ohio Senate president sends letter to governor on VLTs at horse-racing tracks

COLUMBUS — The head of the Ohio Senate says it’s time to repeal language included in the state’s biennial budget related to video lottery terminals at horse-racing tracks.

Senate President Bill Harris, a Republican from Ashland, made known his stance on the issue in a letter to Gov. Ted Strickland days after the governor abandoned his plans to place slots at racetracks.

Strickland instead is now backing a plan to freeze the state income tax rate at 2008 levels, though Ohio employers have been withholding taxes from workers’ paychecks at a reduced level.

“While I am willing to work in earnest with you over the next few weeks to ensure stable funding for education, the legal and financial uncertainty in which Ohio schools find themselves today is a direct result of your unwillingness to put the video lottery terminal question before Ohio voters in the first place,” Harris wrote.

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