Ohio Senate

A pair of Republican senators want to keep requiring Ohio vehicles to have front license plates. A new provision that drops that requirement goes into effect next year, so the lawmakers say they still have time to fight the change.

Ohio has been operating under a temporary budget for a week and a half. But Lt. Gov. Jon Husted isn't too worried about the budget stalemate, which must be resolved by next week.

The Ohio Office of Budget Management is instructing state agency directors to keep a close watch on their spending during the 17-day budget extension.

Ohio lawmakers failed to reach a state budget agreement by the midnight deadline, missing the mark for a spending deal for the new two-year cycle. Because the House and Senate couldn’t reach a compromise, both chambers passed a temporary budget extension to keep the government running. 

It’s looking like the conference committee working on a compromise state budget will stretch into the weekend – with the budget-signing deadline approaching on Sunday night. Among the differences between the Ohio House and Senate versions is an income tax cut and a small business tax break. 

The Senate has passed a $645 million budget for the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, after stripping out sections added by the House on first responders and immigration.

The Senate has made its own sweeping changes to Ohio energy policy through a substitute bill version of HB6 that continues to bailout nuclear power plants but avoids repealing renewable energy and energy efficiency standards.

Ohio’s two-year state budget is headed to a conference committee this week to work out significant differences between the House and Senate versions. There isn’t much time to deal, because the budget must be signed by Sunday night.