Budget bill seeks dramatic changes

COLUMBUS

If you’ve spent any time listening to Gov. John Kasich over the past six years (or longer), you’ve no doubt heard him talk about his time in Congress.

Specifically, the governor has offered ample comments about his work to balance the federal budget – how he, for years, offered his own national spending plan, how few people were interested in his plan early on and how he eventually became one of the chief architects of the balanced budget during Bill Clinton’s presidency.

I’m not going to quibble with you about those points, whether you agree with Kasich or not. My main point here is that Kasich went against the grain while he was in Congress, offering his own budget and pushing his ideas until others got on board.

Flash forward to this month, at the Ohio Statehouse, and consider state Rep. John Becker, a Republican from the Cincinnati area who is taking a page out of Kasich’s congressional playbook.

‘BECKER BUDGET’

A few days ago, Becker offered sponsor testimony on his House Bill 257, which he’s calling the “Becker Budget.”

He recapped Kasich’s budget work in Congress for members of the Ohio House’s Finance Committee in offering his initial comments on the package of law changes, which he intended for consideration as part of the final negotiations on last year’s biennial budget bill.

He didn’t get any traction then, but, like Kasich, it looks like he will continue to push his own budget moving forward.

“At this point, you can consider it a preview of the ‘Becker Budget’ for next year, the 132nd General Assembly,” he said.

HB 257 has quite a list of policy proposals, including:

Reducing income tax rates proportionally, phasing them out over five years.

Slowing spending across state government.

Eliminating Kasich’s Medicaid expansion.

Eliminating Ohio’s “marriage penalty,” a provision in the state’s tax code that Becker said he hates the most – the setup effectively blocks married residents from filing separate state returns, thus costing them more out of pocket.

Allowing Kasich’s proposed increases in taxes on oil and gas produced via fracking to take effect but only for fuels produced from public lands. The bill includes language requiring half of the resulting revenues to be deposited into an endowment fund that couldn’t be tapped until 2025.

Prohibiting double dipping of public employees, who retire to take advantage of pension payments.

Requiring state health officials to ensure public funds are not being used to perform or promote elective abortions.

There’s more.

“No one can accuse you of not thinking big,” Rep. Ryan Smith, chairman of the House’s Finance Committee, said after Becker’s sponsor testimony on the bill.

The bill isn’t going anywhere during the waning days of this general assembly.

It probably won’t gain traction in the next session, either.

But, as Becker says, “The principles are timeless.”

Meaning we’ll probably see similar bills from him in the future, whether he gains any early supporters or not.

Marc Kovac is The Vindicator’s Statehouse correspondent. Email him at mkovac@dixcom.com or on Twitter at OhioCapitalBlog.