For Immediate Release:

May 5, 2011

Ohio House Passes Fiscally Responsible Biennial

Budget
Cuyahoga County Delegation Remains Focused on Reducing Cuts in
School Funding
COLUMBUS—State Representative Mike Dovilla (R-Berea), with the support of
Representatives Marlene Anielski (R-Walton Hills) and Nan Baker (R-Westlake), today
offered an amendment on the House floor to House Bill 153 to ensure that no school
district would receive more than a 20 percent reduction in state reimbursements.

School districts in Cuyahoga County such as Berea, Rocky River, Westlake, Solon and
North Royalton are facing disproportionate reductions in their budget due to the
accelerated phase-out of the Tangible Personal Property Tax.

"This is a transformational budget that makes many of the long-deferred, difficult choices
the people of Ohio sent us to Columbus to make," said Dovilla. "Its passage today
represents an historic step in our effort to get Ohio working by restoring an environment
that will spur economic development and job creation. As this bill now moves to the
Senate, I will continue to work with my colleagues to improve the budget's education
provisions and fight for the hard-working taxpayers who support the excellent schools of
the 18th District."

“House Bill 153 is a budget that filled an $8 billion dollar deficit without raising taxes,” said
Baker. “Along with streamlining government, we need to continue to focus on creating
the environment for jobs. Government services only exist with taxpayer dollars and a
strong private sector. In these challenging times, I will continue to work with our school
officials in District 16 to secure the dollars they need to operate their schools. An
educated workforce, along with job opportunities, is key to moving Ohio to prosperity.”

“Budgeting is a lengthy, difficult process,” said Anielski. “I appreciate the floor

amendment offered by my colleague. Even though it did not pass, I will continue working
with my constituents in representing them on this issue. As Substitute HB 153 moves to
the Senate, I encourage 17th District constituent participation in the fluid budget process.”

The floor amendment was tabled by a vote of 19-69.

House Bill 153—the product of 57 committee hearings, 811 witnesses and nearly 200
hours of testimony—maintains a commitment to Ohio’s job climate and fiscal
sustainability. It successfully makes significant reductions in the size of state government
and closes the $8 billion budget gap.

Among the priorities of the budget is a focus on Ohio’s economy and job market. In
addition to including a measure to incentivize educated individuals to relocate to Ohio to
pursue a college degree, House Bill 153 also eliminates the death tax effective January 1,
2013, to support small business owners, homeowners, farmers, retirees and
entrepreneurs. It also solidifies the proposal to transfer the wholesale liquor enterprise to
JobsOhio by clearly delineating the division of responsibility between the Department of
Commerce licensing and merchandising functions.

House Bill 153 also provides much-needed transparency for parents and taxpayers with
the inclusion of Representative Dovilla’s amendment requiring the Ohio Department of
Education to report annually to each district its ratio of administrative vs. instructional
spending, its per-pupil amount for each purpose and its percentage of funds for operating.
“This measure comes at a time when school districts continue to seek increased property
tax levies from local taxpayers,” Finance Chairman Ron Amstutz said. “My colleagues and
I believe that parents and taxpayers deserve to know what their school district is spending
on their children’s education before they vote on a levy ballot issue.”

House Bill 153 passed from the House by a vote of 59-40 and will now move to the Ohio
Senate for further consideration.

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For more information, please contact Sara Molski in Rep. Baker’s office at (614) 466-0961,
Kristen Bussell in Rep. Anielski’s office at (614) 644-6041, or Chris Ventura in Rep.
Dovilla’s office at (614) 466-4895.