COLUMBUS— State Representative Matt Huffman (R- Lima) yesterday opposed the Ohio House of Representatives’ passage of House Bill 318, which would suspend the last installment of the income tax reductions set forth in 2005.
Under current law, state income tax rates are to be reduced by a total of 21 percent over a five-year period, according to House Bill 66 of the 126th General Assembly. Governor Strickland and House Democrats have supported a freeze of the tax reforms, which would retroactively increase the tax burden on Ohio’s families by 4.2 percent in 2009.
“To raise taxes for Ohio families is not the right thing to do,” Huffman said. “I will not support tax increases for Ohioans.”
In addition, House Bill 318 would reduce the salaries of state legislators by 5 percent, a proposal initially championed by Representatives Seth Morgan (R-Huber Heights) and Terry Boose (R-Norwalk) in June of this year. The salary reductions would be effective starting in 2011, as permitted by the Ohio Constitution.
Unlike Morgan and Boose’s House Bill 210, the salary reduction clause of House Bill 318 strips out key pieces of the Republican proposal. It fails to apply to both the executive and legislative branches, and it omits a sunset provision that uses Ohio’s economy as the benchmark. For those reasons, House Republicans were reluctant to support House Bill 318 because it completely stripped the merit of their original idea to an oversimplified adaptation.
House Bill 318 was initiated to fill an $851 million budget deficit caused by the failure of the video lottery terminals (VLT) provision included in July’s biennial budget. House Republicans have expressed concern that the bill imposes a higher tax burden and continues the expansion of government without providing for any cost-efficiency measures.
In an effort to provide sustainable changes to fill the budget deficit, House Republicans proposed amendments to House Bill 318 on the House floor that would streamline government agencies and consolidate spending; minimize waste, fraud and abuse in the Medicaid system; allow local school boards to decide whether to accept unfunded state mandates; and create a committee to maximize hospital employment and sustainability. These suggestions were rejected by House Democrats.
“The Democrats never gave these cost-saving ideas a chance,” Huffman stated. “This legislation only delays the tough choices that will have to be made in order to balance the state budget.”
House Bill 318 passed from the House by a 55-44 vote. The bill now moves to the Senate for further consideration.
