02/08/2025

House Bill 96 (Operating Budget)

Status: Pending in Senate Finance; Passed by House, 60-39 (April 9, 2025)

Description: CCAO’s top priorities for this budget cycle are bolstering Ohio’s child welfare system, reforming and fully funding the indigent defense system, supporting county jail construction and renovation, continuing the rollout of NG 9-1-1, and increasing access to child care. However, CCAO is monitoring many other areas in the budget to advance county interests. This page is split between the five priority areas and other budget items.

Priority Areas

Children Services

The Senate reduced the proposed funding levels for the State Child Protection Allocation (SCPA). In SFY 2025 (the current fiscal year), the SCPA is funded at $155 million. The Senate substitute bill funds the SCPA at $162 million in SFY 2026 and $170 million in SFY 2027. The House had proposed funding the SCPA at $180 million in SFY 2026 and $185 million in SFY 2027. These funds go directly to county public children services agencies for placement costs of children in foster care.

The Senate removed funding for regional child wellness campuses that would provide short-term crisis stabilization placements. The House had proposed funding the campuses at $19.75 million in SFY 2026 and $9.75 million in SFY 2027.

The Senate substitute bill maintains language that authorizes the Department of Children and Youth to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) to establish statewide rate cards for placement and care of children eligible for foster care maintenance payments. Providers would report to DCY the rates for various services provided, and counties would then pay those rates when placing.

Indigent Defense

The bill provides $218.4 million in SFY 2026 and $223.6 million in SFY 2027 for reimbursement for county indigent defense costs, a 15.4% increase in reimbursement funding from the current biennium. The table below, from the Ohio Public Defender (OPD), estimates potential reimbursement rate scenarios for this funding level.

The bill also requires the Auditor of State to conduct a performance audit of the indigent defense system to recommend system and delivery changes to increase the efficiency of the system. The audit's report must be issued to the General Assembly by August 1, 2026.

The bill caps reimbursement for appointed counsel costs at $75 per hour for general cases and $140 per hour for capital cases. CCAO and OPD oppose the cap since it disproportionately affects small, rural counties and provides negligible cost savings.

Finally, the budget contains new language that OPD believes will assist with maintaining a consistent reimbursement rate throughout the fiscal year. The language in HB 96 requires counties to submit an estimated indigent defense budget for the upcoming biennium by July 1, 2026. This information will allow OPD to submit a request for funding to cover projected indigent defense budgets from counties and provide them with an accurate projected cost of the overall system. There is no penalty for an inaccurate estimation or for failing to provide an estimate to OPD by the designated date.

Next Generation 9-1-1

The Senate maintained the executive budget proposal language that repeals the provision of law that would, beginning October 1, 2025, lower the Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG 9-1-1) access fee from $0.40 to $0.25. The Senate also maintained the increased user fee from the current level of $0.40 per month to $0.60 per month included in the House.

While the Senate did not increase the fee, counties will see more revenue due to a change in the distribution of revenue from the user fee to provide additional funding to counties. We are thankful that the Senate maintained the current user fee and support the increased percentage funding to counties.  

A comparison of the distribution in current law to the Senate version can be found below.

Child Care

Eligibility for publicly funded child care remains at 145% of the federal poverty level (FPL), which is current law. The Child Care Choice Voucher program will provide publicly funded child care to families up to 200% FPL through $100 million in each fiscal year.

The bill creates the Child Care Cred Program, which allows the cost of child care to be split between the employee, employer, and Department of Children and Youth. The program is funded at $10 million in SFY 2026. Under the program, costs would be split: 40% by the employee, 40% by the employer, and 20% by the Department of Children and Youth. The program is intended for families with an income of between 200% FPL and 400% FPL.

The bill also includes $3.2 million in SFY 2026 for the new Child Care Provider Recruitment and Mentorship Grant Program to help increase the number of licensed child care providers in Ohio and to assist recruited entities and individuals.

DCY is also implementing several federal child care requirements during this biennium, including:

• Capping parent co-pays at 7%;
• Paying providers by enrollment;
• Paying at the 50th percentile of the 2024 market rate; and
• Allowing families who are homeless to be eligible for publicly funded child care for twelve months.

County Jail Construction and Renovation

The Senate substitute bill maintained the reappropriation the $75 million for jail construction grants contained in HB 33 using the same funding formula utilized in that bill, and did not include any new funding for county jail projects.

The Governor's proposal included $154.9 million over the biennium for county jail projects derived from an excise tax on adult-use marijuana. The Senate maintained the removal of this appropriation from the House version and directed the revenue from the tax to the state general revenue fund.

The Senate removed language added by the House that requires the Department of Medicaid to submit an 1115 Waiver to allow for Medicaid coverage of a 30-day supply of medication, behavioral health, mental health, and substance abuse treatments for the incarcerated population.

We were disappointed to see the waiver removed in the Senate version and will work to have the waiver restored in conference committee. The waiver has been a longstanding priority for CCAO and will lessen the financial impact of healthcare in county jails on the county’s general revenue fund budget.

Other Budget Items

Other budget items are presented either by state agency/department or by subject area, and are presented in alphabetical order, starting with budget provisions that do not pertain to any specific agency or department, followed by the statewide elected offices. If you have any questions about provisions listed below, please contact policy@ccao.org.

County Provisions

County Coroner Recodification as Appointed

The budget recodifies the county coroner as a position appointed by the board of county commissioners instead of a position elected by voters. Current officeholders can complete their terms (coroners were elected in November, so their terms will end on January 7, 2029).

Aside from the shift to appointed status, the bill does not make many changes to county coroner law. The appointments will last for the same duration as elected terms (four years, beginning on the first Monday of January) and there is no change to the coroner compensation schedule (they are included in a provision discussed below providing county elected officials, and others, a pay raise).

One change that was made concerns who becomes an acting county commissioner when two commissioners are absent due to sickness or injury. Under current law, the county coroner becomes an acting commissioner (while retaining their duties as coroner) in such a situation. The bill replaces the coroner with the county auditor for this purpose.

Elected Official Compensation

The bill includes a raise for members of the judiciary, county elected officials, township elected officials, and members of county boards of elections of 5% per year through 2029 and, each year afterwards, a raise equal to the lesser of 3% or the rate of inflation as defined by the consumer price index.

Due to the constitutional prohibition on in-term compensation increases, county elected officials will not be able to receive the increased salary until their next term begins (for auditors and the January 1 seat on the board of county commissioners, that will be in 2027, and for the other row officers it will be in 2029). Judges are allowed to accept raises mid-term and board of elections members are not elected so both can receive the increased compensation upon the budget’s effective date.

If a vacancy occurs in a row office position and it is filled after the budget’s effective date, that individual can receive the adjusted salary.

CCAO is working with the Attorney General’s office regarding the supplement that county sheriffs and some county prosecutors receive and if that is also subject to the prohibition on in-term compensation increases.

The bill also changes the compensation that a county engineer can receive for contracting to provide services for county with a vacant engineer from 100% of the compensation that the elected engineer in that county would receive to between 80% and 100% of that compensation as determined by the Board of County Commissioners.

This is a CCAO-supported change that was intended to be included in the county engineer contracting language in House Bill 315 at the end of the 135th General Assembly but was accidentally omitted.

Commissioner Oversight of Bonuses

The bill limits the size of cash awards that county agencies can give to employees per calendar year for outstanding performance (a “bonus”) to 10% of their annual compensation. The board of county commissioners may, by written policy, authorize greater percentages.

County Elected Officials in Office

The bill requires that all county officers appear in their office at least once out of thirty consecutive days. If an officer fails to do so, their office is deemed vacant. Current law sets the time required for an office to be deemed vacant at 90 days and does not specifically require appearing in person at their primary office.

Political Subdivision Communications

The bill includes charter counties and municipalities to the same prohibitions that other political subdivisions have regarding the use of public funds in support of certain communications or staff time for certain activities. These prohibitions are in R.C. 9.03 and, among others, prohibit the use of public funds in support of candidates, political parties, illegal discrimination, levy or bond issues, and illegal activities.

Video Public Records

Allows county prosecutors to assess charges for preparing video public records in the same manner as state and local law enforcement.

Prohibits any of these entities from charging a fee for preparing a video record when the requester is a victim under Marsy’s Law (or their legal counsel or insurer).

Nonemergency Patient Transportation

Allows counties with a population of under 60,000 (instead of 40,000 as under current law) to operate a nonemergency medical transportation service. This change would allow an additional 21 counties to provide these services.

Attorney General

Law Enforcement Training

The Senate maintains an appropriation of $30 million in SFY 2026 and $35 million in SFY 2027 for law enforcement training through the General Revenue Fund.

Prosecution of Offenses Perpetrated in DRC Facilities

The Senate removed provisions that would have allowed the Attorney General to appoint a special prosecutor for the prosecution of offenses that occur in a facility operated by the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.

Public Records Law Changes

The bill retains new exemptions to Public Records Law that, for the purposes of counties, include the following:

• Exempts and defines “specific investigatory work products” as information assembled by law enforcement officials in connection with probable or pending criminal proceedings.
• Exempts a record created using an assistive device or application when the record is used, maintained, and accessible only to the individual creating the record or causing the record to be created.
• Exempts personal notes of a public official or public employee, or attorney acting in official capacity on behalf of a public official or employee, which were created for reference and convenience and are used, maintained, and accessible only to the individual creating the record.
• Upcoming items on an elected official’s public calendar. Past items on their calendar will remain public records.

Auditor of State

Audit Costs

The Senate retained the House increase in funding for the Auditor of State’ local audit cost support. The funding will allow the Auditor to limit hourly rate increases for audits charged to local governments to $1 per fiscal year ($41 per hour in SFY 2025 to $42 in SFY 2026 and $43 in SFY 2027).

Indigent Defense Audit

The Senate retains the appropriation of $500,000 for the Auditor to conduct a performance audit of the indigent defense system. The bill requires the Auditor to submit the report to the leadership of both caucuses of both chambers of the General Assembly by January 1, 2027.

Cybersecurity Programs

The bill requires the legislative authority of political subdivisions to adopt a cybersecurity program that meets certain requirements and prohibits political subdivisions from paying a ransom or complying with ransom demands after a ransomware attack until the legislative authority holds a public hearing in which it formally approves the payment or compliance. This language is substantially similar to language that the CCAO Board of Director formally supported at its May meeting.

Auditor of State Duties

The Senate included several changes to the scope of duties of the Auditor of State. These provisions are similar to House Bill 248. Provisions that relate to counties include the following:

• Makes books and records that are maintained by public officials and contracted out for electronic data processing or computer services subject to audit.
• Requires annual financial reports filed by public offices to include budgetary comparison information.
• Requires county auditors to retain documentation of required completed continuing education courses and requires the Auditor of State to audit these for compliance.
• Removes the Auditor of State from involvement in the process for counties to have sectional indexes made.
• Removes the requirement that the Auditor of State consult with the Department of Taxation when a political subdivision requests approval to create a new fund.

Secretary of State

Help America Vote Act (HAVA)

The budget largely eliminates funding from the federal HAVA appropriation item. The appropriation item has previously totaled about $5 million per year. The decrease is due to a lack of funding from the federal government.

Treasurer of State

County Recorder Modernization

The bill temporarily extends funding for county recorder modernization assistance by transferring funds from the Torrens Law Assurance Fund to a fund for this purpose. The increased funding for recorder modernization totals about $1.75 million. These funds are one-time funds to assist county recorders in complying with digitization requirements.

Investment Policies

The bill prohibits a number of investing authorities, including the investing authority of counties, from making an investment decision with the primary purpose of influencing environmental, social, personal, or ideological policy, unless expressly authorized by Ohio law. This is ban on the investment principal sometimes referred to as “ESG.” The bill does not outline an enforcement mechanism.

Department of Administrative Services

MARCS

The bill appropriates $10.5 million in each fiscal year to partially offset the MARCS subscriber fee paid by local governments.

Subcontractor Disqualification Prohibition

The bill prohibits public authorities (a broad term that includes counties) from, for subcontracts of construction managers at risk, integrated project contractors, and design build firms, disqualifying a bidder on the basis that the bidder has not complied with an affirmation action program or a diversity, equity, and inclusion program.

County policies to assist minority business enterprises in competitively bid contracts and set-aside programs for minority business enterprises or EDGE business enterprises are exempt from the above provision.

Madison County Land Conveyance

The Senate removed a provision that would have authorized DAS to convey DRC state-owned property in Madison County to Madison County via negotiated purchase agreement.

Department of Aging

Senior Community Services

The Senate funds the Senior Community Services line at $11.1 million in each state fiscal year after removing a House increase of $150,000 in each year. These funds are used to provide community-based services to assist seniors to live independently in their own homes and communities as long as possible and flow through the local Area Agencies on Aging through a population-based formula.

Department of Agriculture

Soil and Water Conservation Districts

The Senate retained the House increases in funding for state to local match in soil and water conservation districts by 17% over the biennium. The Senate also maintained $10.5 million in SFY 2026 and SFY 2027 to the Soil and Water Conservation District’s Special Fund.

The bill also keeps the House change to sunset a $0.50 per tire fee that is deposited into the Scrap Tire Management Fund on June 30, 2028. The Senate also sunsets the $0.50 per tire fee deposited into the Soil and Water Conservation District Assistance Fund on June 30, 2028. The House had the sunset till June 30, 2041. Both of these funds are projected to collect $4 million annually.

County and Independent Fair Support

The Senate retained an earmark of $380,000 in each fiscal year for county agricultural societies, that reimburses county and independent agricultural societies for expenses related to Junior Fair activities. The Senate also kept an earmark made by the House for $250,000 each fiscal year to support Future Farmers of America, urban agriculture, and agriculture literacy programs around the state.

The Senate removed an earmark of $500,000 for FY 2026 to support the construction of the Mercer County Fairgrounds Grand Events Center.

H2Ohio Funding

The Senate kept the House’s $120 million decrease to H2Ohio funding. However, the Senate moved around funding to increase the Department of Agriculture’s portion by $13 million each fiscal year. The Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Environmental Protection Agency will see a decrease in funding over the biennium. 

County Deputy Apiarists

The Senate bill removed language that would have allow a board of county commissioners to, with approval of the Department of Agriculture, to hire more than one deputy apiarist. The Senate also removed language from the Governor’s budget that removed the $5 application fee for registering an apiary and a $50 fee for the certification of a nuc, or colony. The Senate’s changes to the apiary language will revert back to current law.

Department of Behavioral Health

Name Change

The bill changes the name of the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services to the Department of Behavioral Health. The new proposed name is used throughout this section.

Funding for ADAMH Boards

HB 96 proposes to change the funding structure for many funding streams that flow through ADAMH boards. Currently, ADAMH boards receive funding for several programs, each with specific criteria for how the funds will be spent. HB 96 proposes structuring this funding through six block grants designed to provide more flexibility to boards in their ability to spend the funds.

The six block grants are Prevention, Crisis Services, Mental Health, Substance Use Disorder, Recovery Supports, and Criminal Justice Services. The Director of Behavioral Health shall adopt guidelines on the eligible uses of these block grants. The Director of Behavioral Health shall create a uniform reporting structure related to the expenditures, uses, and outcomes of the state block grants described in this section to ensure that thorough and accurate data is reported with a focus on transparency, accountability, process improvement, outcomes, and return on investment.

Prevention State Block Grant: HB 96 funds this grant at $3 million per year.

Crisis Services State Block Grant: This is supported through the Crisis Services and Stabilization line item, which is funded at $17 million in SFY 2026 and $22 million in SFY 2027.

Mental Health State Block Grant: HB 96 funds this grant at $69.5 million per year.

Substance Use Disorder State Block Grant: HB 96 funds this grant at $9.5 million per year.

Recovery Supports State Block Grant: HB 96 funds this grant at $19.5 million per year. 

Criminal Justice Services State Block Grant: HB 96 funds this grant at $5.1 million in SFY 2026 and $5 million in SFY 2027 (a decrease from the Governor’s proposal of $6.3 million in each year).

Behavioral Health Drug Reimbursement Program

The Senate sets the appropriation at $6.5 million per fiscal year; a decrease from the House proposal of $7.75 million per year and an increase from the Executive proposal of $5.25 million per fiscal year.

988 Suicide and Crisis Response

The Senate funds the 9-8-8 line at $23 million in SFY 2026 and $20 million in SFY 2027 from the General Revenue Fund while removing a dedicated purpose fund that also would have funded 9-8-8.

Data Sharing Agreements

The Senate removed a House-added requirement that the Department, along with the Department of Medicaid and county ADAMHS boards to develop a three-way data sharing agreement where the three can exchange claims-level client data and information to ensure the ADAMHS boards can provide a complete continuum of care.

Pretrial Behavioral Health Intervention Pilot

The Senate did not restore a pilot program proposed by the Governor that would have diverted jailed defendants with serious mental illnesses and substance use disorders from the criminal justice system.

Office of Budget and Management

Medicaid Trigger Savings

The bill requires that OBM transfer any savings from the Medicaid expansion trigger language (see Department of Medicaid section below) be transferred to the Budget Stabilization Fund (the “Rainy Day Fund”) and/or Expanded Sales Tax Holiday Fund.

State Grant Reporting System

The Senate included a provision requiring OBM to create a centralized reporting system for state grant recipients to provide financial status reports. This may reduce the administrative burden for county entities that receive grants to comply with reporting requirements.

Public Library Fund

The bill changes the Public Library Fund from a portion of the GRF tax revenue to a direct GRF appropriation.

Department of Children and Youth

Additional Child Welfare Investments

The following investments are flat funded in HB 96: multi-system youth funding, Kinship Permanency Incentive Program, Kinship Care Navigator Program, and family and children first councils.

Permissive Family and Children First Councils

The Senate removed a provision that would have allowed a board of county commissioners to decline to establish or maintain a county family and children first council if certain conditions exist in the county. CCAO supported the removal of this provision.

Best Practices Funding

The Senate decreased the earmark for children services best practices incentives from $10 million to $7.5 million.

Benefits for Children in Custody

The Senate maintains language that requires a PCSA to determine, when a child comes into custody, if the child is eligible for or receives benefits administered by any of the following:

• US Social Security Administration
• US Department of Veterans Affairs
• Ohio Public Employee Retirement System
• Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund
• State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio
• School Employees Retirement System of Ohio
• Ohio Highway Patrol Retirement System

If the child is eligible, the PCSA is not permitted to use those benefits to pay for or reimburse for any cost of care, including placement costs. Currently, some PCSAs do use such funds to pay for a portion of a child’s placement costs. Additionally, if PCSAs do not currently have this practice, it will require an administrative change to ensure the requirements of the statute are met.

Multi-System Youth Collaboration

The Senate added a provision requiring several cabinet level agencies to collaborate to identify and take appropriate action to meet the needs of multi-system youth. The agencies are required to jointly submit a report to the General Assembly with data and policy recommendations. The required agencies are Job and Family Services, Children and Youth, Behavioral Health, Youth Services, Medicaid, and Developmental Disabilities.

Department of Development

Brownfield Remediation Program

The Senate maintains the House’s continuation of the Brownfield Remediation Grant Program but reduced the funding from $125 million in each fiscal year to $100 million in each fiscal year. The funding comes from a transfer of funds from the All Ohio Future Fund.

The Senate reserves $1 million for each county for the third round of the program. This is consistent with the previous grant distribution. The Senate will require any funds appropriated and any money reserved from an appropriation that is not utilized to be awarded on a case-by-case basis with the Department assessing the economic merit of the project to the county, surrounding counties, and state. Additionally, it requires the Department to ensure that projects are not specific to one region of the state

The bill limits funding to remediation proposals involving planned economic development projects. The Senate defines a planned economic development project as a project to be developed at a brownfield where a for-profit organization demonstrates site control, a plan for the development of the brownfield, and documented support for the planned economic development project of the municipality or township in which the brownfield is located.

While the Senate changes require grants to go only to proposals involving planned economic development projects, there is no change to the lead entity language allowing counties and land banks, among others, to apply for the funding.

The language also defines site control as holding fee simple title or a leasehold interest in a brownfield or being in contract to acquire a brownfield. Starting in SFY 2027, the bill eliminates the $1 million to each county and makes the reminder available for grants statewide on a first-come, first-served basis.

Demolition and Site Revitalization Program

The Senate maintains the House’s continuation of the Demolition and Site Revitalization Grant Program through $20 million in each fiscal year by a transfer of funds from the GRF.

Housing

The elimination of the Governor’s proposed Ohio Housing Investment Opportunity Program, which would have focused on affordable housing in rural and border counties, is retained by the Senate.

The Senate maintains the House’s continuation and expansion of the Welcome Home Ohio (WHO) program by increasing the income eligibility thresholds, increasing the allowable usage of WHO funds, broadening the eligible properties, and provides funding in SFY 2027 as well as SFY 2026. The Senate also included additional administrative and procedural changes.

The Senate creates the Residential Economic Development grant program (REDD), funded by $10 million over the biennium, to provide grants to counties, townships, and municipalities that adopt pro-housing development policies and approve major workforce housing projects. The grants are available for those political subdivisions located near major economic development projects. A REDD zone is defined as a project that creates 700 or more permanent jobs, or a project where $700 million in private investment is committed to establish, expand, renovate, or occupy a facility as part of a single project at a designated project site.

The funding that a county, township, or municipality may receive will be used to create a pro housing development policy for the creation of a major workforce housing project that establishes 100 or more single-family residential housing units. The purpose of the REDD zones is to increase the amount of housing available by encouraging local governments to allow for high density housing.

In conjunction with the creation of the REDD zones the Senate also creates the Residential Development Revolving Loan Program which makes loans available to fund infrastructure improvements necessary to support new single-family residential dwellings in rural areas of the state. Funds may only be used for the development, repair, or upgrade of water, sewer, road, electric, or gas infrastructure.

The grants are open to local government entities in counties with a population of less than 75,000 (there are 55 such counties) and that issued fewer new construction permits than the average county. The bill appropriates $90 million to the fund in SFY 2026 and allows any unexpended, unencumbered money to be reappropriated to SFY 2027.

Like the REDD zones, the funding made available will encourage high density housing in small and medium-sized counties by implementing a density threshold. For local governments to be eligible for funding, the area must have a net density of four single-family homes per acre. The director of the Department of Development will be required to develop and utilize scoring metrics in prioritizing applications, determining whether to approve low-interest loans, and determining the amount of such loans.

Broadband

The budget includes $793 million in federal funding for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program. This is a one-time federal award.

A House earmark of $20 million in SFY 2026 to support the U.S. Route 30 OARnet Broadband Expansion project to expand middle-mile broadband infrastructure along Route 30 was removed. After the House passed the bill, it was determined that BEAD funding could not be used for the project, so the $20 million would have had to come from a different source.

The budget includes $31 million for grants to facilitate projects to replace broadband poles and broadband undergrounding projects.

The Senate removed an adjustment to the rubric used to score grants under the Ohio Residential Broadband Expansion Program that would have given additional points for projects that serve addresses in unserved and underserved areas.

The Senate clarified House inserted language that exempts broadband internet access service from PUCO regulation. The clarification provides that the prohibition against the regulation of broadband internet access service does not restrict the authority of a political subdivision to manage access to and use of any public way or public rights-of-way.

The Senate eliminated the House language that prohibited a political subdivision enacting a law or regulation governing the entry of any broadband internet access service.

Cybersecurity

The Senate removed $7 million for local government cybersecurity grants in SFY 2026 that was included by the Governor and maintained by the House.

Ohio Housing Trust Fund Fees

The Senate removed all changes to the Low- and Moderate-Income Housing Trust Fund fees allocation. The House had changed the distribution to keep the funds entirely at the local level for counties to use. The Senate reversion means the funding will remain with the Ohio Housing Trust Fund.

Workforce Reentry Pilot Program Grant

The Senate removed a House appropriation of $1 million in each fiscal year for a workforce reentry pilot program in Meigs, Athens, Morgan, Noble, Monroe, and Washington counties.

Individual Energy Assistance Programs

The Senate removes the transfer of administration and operation of four energy assistance programs from the Department of Development to the Department of Job and Family Services. It retains the transfer of the Energy Efficiency and Weatherization Program. The transition will occur in SFY 2027.

Priority Project Earmarks

The Senate makes earmarks for the following projects from the Priority Projects fund that may be of note to counties:

• $350,000 in each fiscal year for the Fairfield County Workforce Center.
• $250,000 in each fiscal year for a project to expand U.S. Route 30 in Carroll, Columbiana, and Stark counties (Note: this is not the broadband middle mile project discussed above).

Department of Developmental Disabilities

County Board Waiver Match

The line items for county boards of developmental disabilities waiver match, which is the county’s nonfederal share of home and community based services, includes a 21% increase. This reflects the increase the department anticipates based on a variety of factors in service delivery.

Multi-System Youth

Multi-system youth funding for county boards of developmental disabilities is flat funded at $5 million per year.

Environmental Protection Agency

Cybersecurity

The Senate eliminated an appropriation of $8 million for water system cybersecurity grants.

Tire Fees and Soil and Water Conservation Districts

The Senate maintains the allocation of a $0.50 fee levied on each tire sold to the Soil and Water Conservation District Assistance Fund and sunsets the fee on June 30, 2028. The Executive proposal would have made the fee permanent and the House proposed sunsetting the fee on June 30, 2041.

Solid Waste and Construction and Demolition Debris (C&DD) Removal and Fees

The Senate maintains the elimination of all provisions of the bill pertaining to solid waste and C&DD removal and fee allocations. The Governor’s proposal would have largely aligned Ohio EPA authority on accumulations of solid waste and C&DD with that of OEPA’s existing authority on scrap tires and would have altered the distribution of existing fees.

Department of Job and Family Services

SNAP Income Maintenance (IM) Control

The Senate maintained the House’s increased administrative funding for counties in the ODJFS SNAP IM Control line item to $46 million per year. The allocation in the current biennium is $43.9 million per year.

Medicaid IM Control

The Senate maintained the House’s reduction in Medicaid administrative dollars to counties from $49 million per fiscal year to $44 million per fiscal year. The Executive version included $5 million in this line item for performance incentives for counties. The Senate restored the permissive $5 million incentive earmark language, but did not increase the line item to reflect additional funding to cover the incentive.

Adult Protective Services

The Senate removed the House’s increase in the Adult Protective Services allocation of $2 million per fiscal year. The county base allocation will remain at $80,000 per county. Funds will flow through the allocation formula based on previous allocations, the percentage of older adults in the county, and the percentage of county residents in poverty.

SNAP Change Reporting

The Senate removed language that would prohibit the state from using simplified (used today) or quarterly reporting for SNAP recipients. If implemented, the change in reporting would result in increased administrative costs for county JFS agencies. CCAO supported the removal of this language.

Child Support Enforcement

The bill maintains $26.4 million per fiscal year in child support enforcement funds.

Public Assistance Benefits Systems

The Senate added a provision requiring ODJFS to update the systems used to determine eligibility for public assistance benefits and ensure the system has a mechanism to allow information input by individual caseworkers to be tracked and audited. The language requires county JFS agencies to provide caseworker training about improper determinations.

Public Assistance Employment Analysis

The Senate added language requiring ODJFS to conduct an analysis of the public assistance programs it administers to identify opportunities to prioritize employment, help recipients obtain meaningful employment, and meet local workforce needs. It also requires the Department to develop a strategic plan for increasing the number of individuals receiving public assistance benefits that are employed. ODJFS must submit a report of the analysis to the legislature by July 1, 2026.

Department of Health

Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs

The Senate maintained the House’s expanded eligibility for the Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs program by increasing the maximum age of participants to from 25 to 26 years old and increased the appropriation for the program by $500,000 in SFY 2026.

The Senate maintains the county assessments line item for this program at $24 million per fiscal year.

Lead Abatement Funding

The Senate maintains the House’s funding levels for lead abatement programs at $250,000 in each fiscal year by eliminating one earmark and funding the other at the aforementioned level. This is a decrease from Governor’s proposal, which would have distributed $7.5 million in each fiscal year for projects including lead hazard control and rehabilitation.

Harm Reduction Funding

The Senate further reduces funding for Chronic Disease, Injury Prevention, and Drug Overdose by roughly $3 million in each fiscal year from the House version. The Senate eliminates an earmark for harm reduction that is often used by communities to fund naloxone.

Judiciary

Clerk of Courts Requirements

The budget requires clerks of courts to make all criminal and probate dockets available online and to adopt a procedure to determine and implement the best means and methods for storing, maintaining, and retrieving all papers delivered to the clerk. The Senate maintained the House language but requires the probate docket to be online within 18 months of the bill’s effective date.

Computerization Fund Fees

The Senate maintained a reduction in the fees that the clerk of courts is allowed to charge for the benefit of the computerization fund. Each fee is reduced by half (some filing fees from $6 to $3, other filing fees from $20 to $10, and fees for other services from $1 to $0.50).

Ohio Courts Technology Initiative

The Senate removed a provision that added clerks of the courts of common pleas (elected and appointed) as eligible applicants for the Ohio Courts Technology Initiative grant program.

Ohio Clerk of Courts Title Fee Increase

The Senate increased the certificate of title fee by $5 (from $15 to $20), if a board of county commissioners adopts a resolution authorizing the increase and allocates the $5 increase to the clerk of a court of common pleas who processes the certificate of title.

Department of Medicaid

Multi-System Youth Custody Relinquishment Funding

The budget reduces funding for the multi-system youth custody relinquishment program by $7.5 million, bringing funding for the program to $20 million in each year. This funding is used to prevent custody relinquishment and to obtain services that meet the state’s multi-system youth action plan.

Medicaid Group VIII Eligibility Redeterminations

The Senate includes a provision requiring eligibility redeterminations for Group VIII enrollees every six months, as opposed to the current practice annual redeterminations. This will result in increased administrative work for county JFS staff.

Medicaid Expansion

The Senate maintained provisions requiring the Department to immediately discontinue medical assistance for the Medicaid expansion population if the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) for that group is set below 90% and to establish a phased transition plan to assist individuals who would no longer be eligible for Medicaid acquire private insurance or charity care for medical assistance.

Work Requirements

The last state operating budget required ODM to submit a waiver to the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services for a work requirement for the expansion population. HB 96 includes language allowing ODM to transfer money to counties via ODJFS to implement a work requirement if one is established. Counties would submit allowable expenses, and ODM would make rules around these dollars.

The Senate removed a House provision requiring the Department to conduct a study on the feasibility, legality, and potential cost savings of establishing a waiver component that establishes work requirements for Medicaid recipients and includes additional workforce development requirements.

Reentry Waiver

The Senate removes the House added requirement that the Department seek a 1115 Waiver to provide mental health, behavioral health, and substance use disorder services to Medicaid-eligible inmates who are within 90 days of release from a prison or jail. The Department may still voluntarily seek if it chooses.

Medicaid Enrollment for Children

The Senate maintained the House’s elimination of a provision of current law that requires the Department seek approval from the federal government to provide continuous enrollment for Medicaid-eligible children from birth to age three.

Doula Coverage

The Senate removed a House provision that would limit Medicaid coverage of doula services to $500,000 per year and only allow coverage for services in the six counties with the highest infant mortality rates.

Change in Circumstances Eligibility Verification

The Senate bill modifies language requiring the Department or its designee, within 30 days of the bills effective date, to begin using third-party data sources to conduct eligibility change in circumstances checks for all Medicaid recipients quarterly and to disenroll individuals found no longer eligible.

The Senate language replaces House provisions requiring the Department to issue one or more requests for information relating to Medicaid eligibility data and operations, to identify and assess systems and solutions that may be able to improve or augment the management, efficiency, frequency, and accuracy of Medicaid eligibility determinations and processing.

Monitoring of Federal Medicaid Changes

The Senate requires the Department to monitor and track legislative enactments from the 119^th Congress and federal policy changes related to the Medicaid program. When enactments or changes are identified, the Department is required to conduct a feasibility study regarding the implementation of those changes. Feasibility study results must be reported to the Joint Medicaid Oversight Committee.

Department of Natural Resources

H2Ohio Purposes

The Senate restores the authority for allows to purchase land or to place land in a conservation easement, but only if the cost does not exceed $2.5 million annually. The House had completely removed the authority.

Dredging Provisions

The Senate removed language that prohibited the requirement of a license, registration, or certification for an individual to operate dredging equipment or a watercraft associated with dredging ODNR conducts, or contracts with a third party to conduct, dredging operations in the waters of the state.

The Senate also removed language that prohibits any state agency from imposing licensing, registration, or certification requirements on an individual for the operation of such dredging equipment or watercraft.

Department of Public Safety

Towed Vehicle Recovery Fee

The Senate removed a requirement that crime victims whose motor vehicles were towed by order of law enforcement pay the costs of towing and storage to retrieve their vehicle.

Department of Rehabilitation and Correction

Felony Cost Reimbursement

The Senate eliminated an earmark of $250,000 in each fiscal year for reimbursements to counties for the costs incurred in the prosecution of felonies that occur on the grounds of correctional institutions operated by the Department.

Department of Taxation

Property Taxes

The Senate added several property tax provisions to the budget. The provisions that will affect counties include the following:

• Eliminates the authority of political subdivisions to levy replacement property tax levies.
• Alters ballot language for property tax levies to change reference to property tax value from “the county auditor’s appraised value” to “the market value.”
• Creates a statewide screening system administered by the Department of Taxation to ensure proper compliance with eligibility requirements for the owner-occupancy credit and the homestead exemption.
• Makes the land upon which government-owned parking garages exempt from property taxation. The garages themselves are already exempt.

The Senate also changes the authority of county budget commissions (CBCs). These include the following:

• Removes a House provision that would remove the county prosecutor from the county budget commission and replace them with the president of the board of commissioners.
• Allows the CBC to reduce millage on any voter-approved tax levy other than debt levies.
• If the property tax is levied by an entity with members who are elected to local offices, the CBC cannot reduce a levy to a point where it collects less revenue than the prior year unless certain conditions are met.
• Requires CBC to offer at least one public meeting each year that describes the concept and function of inside millage.
• Requires political subdivisions to disclose all funds in their control including those not already required for inclusion in annual tax budgets.

The Senate also eliminates provisions that would have required disclosure when a third-party filing property tax valuation complaints and counter-complaints is acting on behalf of the legislative authority of a political subdivision or the mayor of a municipality.

Finally, the bill allows the board of trustees of a state community college to propose a property tax levy for operating purposes. The levy can only be placed in the county that the college’s main campus is located, funds from the levy must be used to support operations in that county, and the college must charge a lower tuition rate to students who reside in that county.

Local Government Fund

The Senate retains the increase in the LGF share to 1.75% of GRF tax revenue. The Legislative Service Commission estimates this will increase the LGF by $15 million in SFY 2026 and $16 million in SFY 2027.

Sales Tax, General

The bill does not include any new sales tax exemptions and it eliminates a number of existing sales tax exemptions. LSC estimates that the elimination of these exemptions will increase state revenue by $312 million over the biennium. The Senate also prohibits the state Tax Credit Authority from awarding sales and use exemptions to computer data centers for sales of certain tangible personal property.

The Senate also included a prohibition on port authorities offering non-public entities sales tax exemptions without the approval of the board of county commissioners (or, where applicable, the boards of commissioners if the port authority is in multiple counties).

Sales Tax Refunds

The bill eliminates interest on refunds of county sales and use tax and extends the maximum recovery time from three years to six years.

County Sin Taxes

The bill expands the authority for a county to levy a cigarette tax to benefit an arts and cultural district to Hamilton County and Summit County.

The Senate added provisions allowing Cuyahoga County to expand its liquor, alcohol, and cigarette taxes, and levy a new tax on vapor and other tobacco products, to finance sports facilities. Increased rates and expansion to include vapor and other tobacco products must be approved by county voters. Usage of revenue from the tax must be shared equally between major league sports facilities in the county.

Lodging Taxes

The Senate included three provisions pertaining to the lodging tax and retained one provision regarding the lodging tax that the House added. The Senate allows boards of county commissioners to increase the rate of its general lodging tax by up to 1%, provided the total rate does not exceed 5%, for use of funding safety services in resort areas. According to data from the Department of Taxation, there are currently 58 counties that levy a lodging tax at a rate less than 5%. This authority is only available to counties that have a lodging tax.

The bill also allows the convention and visitors bureau in counties with a population of less than 100,000 residents and that annually collect at least $500,000 in lodging tax revenue to use revenue from its lodging taxes for safety services or for economic development or infrastructure projects that impact tourism.

Finally, the Senate added a provision to require Ashtabula County to repeal its 2% special lodging tax that it uses to support ongoing costs of its resorts.

The Senate also retained a House provision that allows Fairfield County to renew a lodging tax that the county currently does not have the authority to renew.

Income Tax

The bill phases down the state income tax to a flat rate of 2.75% over the biennium. The inflation indexing of the brackets and personal exemption are suspended as the phase down is conducted. LSC estimates that the total revenue loss for the state will be about $1.68 billion over the biennium. Since the bill provides 1.75% of state GRF tax revenue to the LGF, the estimated impact on the LGF will be a loss of about $29.3 million over the biennium.

Adult Use Marijuana Excise Tax

The bill allocates 80% of the revenue from the 10% adult use marijuana excise tax to the GRF and 20% to the Host Community Fund for payments to municipalities and townships that have dispensaries. The bill sunsets the Host Community Fund after SFY 2030.

Community Reinvestment Areas

The Senate removed provisions that would have allowed local governments to extend the terms of CRA exemptions to a total of 30 years for existing buildings expected to be the site of a megaproject or owned/occupied by a megaproject supplier.

Department of Transportation

Airport Improvement Program and Airport Grants

The Senate removes provisions that would have created the Ohio Airport Improvement Program to finance airport improvements for publicly owned, public-use airports. Funding for the program would have come from a portion of the petroleum activity tax revenue to support the program. The House had appropriated $4.65 million each fiscal year for the program.

The creation of this program was originally included in HB 54 (the Transportation Budget) but was removed in the Senate when the decision was made to move all General Revenue Fund spending to the operating budget.

The Senate also eliminated an earmark of $5 million for matching funds for airports that received federal funding through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Drones For First Responders Pilot Program

The Senate eliminated an earmark of $4 million for a pilot program to assist municipalities with acquiring unmanned aerial systems for first responders. Counties were not included as eligible applicants.

Other Local Government Provisions

Provisions in this section pertain directly to local governments and not to a state department or agency.

Sheriff Certificate of Transition

The bill requires county sheriffs to provide their successor with a certificate of transition that includes an inventory of items and certain other information.

Battery-Charged Fence Regulations

The bill prohibits counties and other political subdivisions from adopting or enforcing regulations that prohibit the installation of battery-charged fences (generally, electric security fences) if the fence meets certain standards. Permits and/or fees may still be imposed on the installation or use of such fences and prohibitions can be placed on fences that do meet the specifications in the bill.

Abandoned Manufactured Home Removal

The Senate removed provisions concerning county auditor duties with respect to abandoned manufactured homes.

Village Dissolution Provisions

The bill makes two revisions to statutes governing village dissolution. The provision of electric services is added to the list of services that a village must provide at least five to avoid an automatic ballot question on dissolution after each census. Additionally, the population threshold for the “small village” dissolution process is increased from 150 to 500 and an acreage maximum is eliminated.

Eminent Domain

Removes the creation of recreational trails from the allowable public uses for the purposes of eminent domain, unless the entity using eminent domain for that purpose is a regional transit authority.

Local Option Election Costs

The bill requires the petitioner of a local option election for alcohol sales to pay the entire cost of the election if it is held on a day other than the day of a primary election, general election, or special election involving a question, issue, office nomination, or office election. Under current law, these election costs are generally paid by the township or municipality the petitioner is located in.

Public Library Board of Trustees

The bill reduces the terms of office for members of the board of trustees of library districts appointed after the bill’s effective date. The trustees appointed by the court of common pleas will have their terms shortened to two, three, and four years (down from current law’s two, four, and six years) and the trustees appointed by the board of commissioners will have their terms shortened to one, two, three, and four years (down from current law’s one, three, five, and seven years).

Port Authority Common Bond Fund

Port authorities gain the ability to establish a common bond fund to finance their facilities and enhance the credit of the authority.

Park District Board of Commissioners Appointing Authority

The Senate removed a House provision that would have changed the appointing authority for certain park districts.

Conservancy District Assessments

The bill eliminates the $2 minimum annual assessment levied by conservancy districts used for maintenance within the district.