Week in Review: July 28, 2024

BALLOT ISSUES

Campaigners in support of another redistricting amendment to the Ohio Constitution easily cleared the signature threshold for making the November ballot, Secretary of State Frank LaRose said Tuesday. The Citizens Not Politicians campaign, which is behind the amendment, turned in 731,306 signatures earlier this month. LaRose's office reported that county boards of elections determined 535,005 of them were valid, well beyond the required 413,487 -- a threshold equal to 10% of the votes cast in the most recent gubernatorial election. The amendment campaign also gathered signatures totaling at least 5% of votes cast in 58 of Ohio's 88 counties, exceeding the requirement to do so in 44 counties. The next step in the initiated constitutional amendment process is for the Ohio Ballot Board to determine the official title and ballot language for the amendment.

FY26-27 BUDGET

Detailed planning can begin in earnest for the upcoming biennial budget cycle after the Office of Budget and Management (OBM) published official guidance for FY26-27. As with the FY24-25 guidance issued in 2022, OBM's FY26-27 guidance asks agencies to focus on results to justify spending proposals. OBM is also rolling out a new portal for language requests agencies hope to see included in the executive proposal. The guidance asks agencies to couch their requests in terms of their relationships to the budget, given the Ohio Constitution's single subject rule. Agencies are also to use the language portal during deliberations on the FY26-27 budget next year to propose any necessary amendments as the legislative process progresses. A schedule for submission of requests is as follows:

- Friday, Sept. 13, Group 1 (licensing boards and commissions)

- Friday, Sept. 27, Group 2 (small- to mid-size agencies)

- Monday, Oct. 21, Group 3 (cabinet agencies and other executive agencies)

- Friday, Nov. 1, Group 4 (legislative, judicial and statewide elected agencies)

ECONOMY

The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) said Friday that Ohio's unemployment rate had risen to 4.4% in June, up from 4.2% in May, as nonagricultural wage and salary employment decreased by 2,300 over the month. ODFJS said the number of workers unemployed in Ohio in June was 254,000, up from 243,000 in May. The number of unemployed has increased 60,000 in the past 12 months from 194,000, while the unemployment rate has increased 1.1 percentage points from June 2023, when it was 3.3. percent. In June 2024, the labor force participation rate in Ohio was 62.1 percent, up from 61.9 percent in May 2024 and up from 61.9 percent in June 2023. During the same period, the national labor force participation rate was 62.6 percent, up from 62.5 percent in May 2024 and unchanged from 62.6 percent in June 2023. The U.S. unemployment rate for June 2024 was 4.1 percent, up from 4.0 percent in May 2024 and up from 3.6 percent in June 2023.

HOUSING/HOMELESSNESS

June home sales data from Ohio Realtors show sales activity dropping 10.3% year-over-year, with 11,972 sales last month versus 13,345 a year earlier. But the average price rose 5.8%, from $291,397 to $308,375. Home sales activity for the first half of 2024 is slightly ahead of the comparable period a year earlier, up 0.3%, with sales of 62,384 compared to 62,224 in the first six months of 2023. The average price for the period is up 7.5%, from $265,457 to $285,487.

TAXATION

While Ohio has a "competitive" state tax system, the Ohio Chamber of Commerce Research Foundation released a study Tuesday finding the local tax systems were the second-most burdensome among peer states and that business costs to comply with the local income tax are high, particularly due to remote and hybrid work trends which have continued since the pandemic. Ohio Chamber President and CEO Steve Stivers told Hannah News there needs to be a "comprehensive look" at local income and property taxes but they are not suggesting taking actions that would hurt local governments and schools which depend on that revenue. Instead, the review should be whether there is a "more efficient way to get those revenues and a more consistent way to administer that." He also said the tax study is part of an effort to find potential solutions and identify which are "politically achievable." Changes to the municipal tax process could save local governments money currently spent on administering the taxes, according to Stivers and Tom Zaino, a former Ohio tax commissioner and founder of Zaino, Hall & Farrin LLC.

TECHNOLOGY/AEROSPACE

Lt. Gov. Jon Husted announced Monday that over 100,000 credentials have now been awarded since the TechCred program began in late 2019, a "milestone" figure which includes credentials in the May round. The first round of the program closed on Oct. 31, 2019, with its results announced in December that year.

The Ohio Third Frontier Commission announced Tuesday it had approved nearly $1.8 million in grants to help with commercializing health, science and military technology as part of the Technology Validation and Start-up Fund (TVSF). The grants support activities such as market research and further prototyping so companies can raise funds and get the technology to the marketplace more quickly.