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Joe
Uecker
State
Representative
3/26/06
Mid-term
re-appropriations takes up a majority of the
legislature’s time.
It
was another busy and frantic week in
Columbus
as we pick up the pace to continue the race to finalize
legislation before the spring (primary election) break.
Most of our time was trying to keep up with the
moment by moment changing status of the mid-term
“Capital Re-Appropriations” bill, House Bill 530.
Technically HB 530 made some procedural corrections
to the budget bill that was passed last year (HB66).
It also had to deal with a large number of
re-appropriation of funding from one source to another.
This is a very common accounting practice where
funds that were not spent in one account need to be
transferred to another account where spending went over
what was anticipated.
Don’t get me wrong, it was not a simple
procedure. The
Republican majority members met several times for several
hours at a stint to discuss policy that would have
everything to do with continuing to push
Ohio
’s still-lagging economy. Let
me highlight a few of the important parts of this
legislation.
Included
in House Bill 530 are measures to foster research and
development in
Ohio
. There were
fund set aside for what we call “Job Ready Site”
programs across the state.
These sites allow
Ohio
companies to more effectively compete in the marketplace
by providing newly available locations and building to
attract businesses to locate here in
Ohio
. We have already seen evidence of success of the “Job
Ready Site Program” through the “shovel ready” pilot
program which was a component of the budget passed by the
legislature two years ago.
Couple this program with the “Jobs for
Ohio
” plan that was enacted by the voters last year to
provide funding for local infrastructure projects and you
can see how we are setting the stage for long term
economic development in
Ohio
.
House
Bill 530 that we all worked very hard on provides more
than $685 million for the Ohio School Facilities
Commission for our school buildings across the state.
Those school funds will be used to continue our
state’s strong program of building schools conducive to
educating our children.
These funds are estimated to replace or renovate an
additional 437 buildings throughout the state.
There
was also an initiative to help the men and women in our
military inserted in HB 530.
It contains a provision that in the case of the
tragedy of one of our military sons or daughters making
the ultimate sacrifice in the defense for our many
freedoms, the State will not benefit as the payments made
through the National Guard Death Benefits fund will be
free from
Ohio
income taxes. In
addition, to honor those who have served in the Ohio
National Guard, this bill allows the Adjutant General to
produce a commemorative medal for those who have completed
their honorable service in the Guard.
House Bill 530 will also provide additional funding
for Veteran’s Homes facilities. Lastly, we created an
Ohio Income Tax “check-off” that will allow Ohioans to
make contributions to
Ohio
military families who have had a loved one injured or
killed in the line of duty.
These
are but a few of the highlights of House Bill 530.
It actually was over 1700 pages.
Not as cumbersome as the 14 inch high budget bill,
but lengthy enough to try to read in a very short period
of time. I
never took any of the “Evelyn Woods Speed Reading
Courses”, but I had plenty of practice “cramming”
for finals which did come back to help me get through this
long and challenging legislation.
Joe
Uecker
State
Representative
Ohio’s
66 District
Representing
Batavia, Goshen, Miami and Union Townships as well as the
Cities of Loveland and Milford and the Villages of Batavia
and Amelia.(614)
466-8134
District
Office (513)-248-2565
Website:
www.JoeUecker.com
Email:
Joe@JoeUecker.com |
