Ohio Reaches an Agreement on State Budget; Slots are Included

Ohio's biennium budget was due to be completed by the last day of June 2009, however state lawmakers and Governor Ted Strickland were unable to reach an agreement in time. So, twice the state legislature passed extensions funding the state government temporarily at 70%. On Friday, Strickland issued a statement stating that he has agreed to a balanced budget framework with leaders of the Ohio Senate and House of Representatives.

As a part of the deal, Strickland will issue an executive order authorizing video slot machines at Ohio racetracks. Meanwhile the state General Assembly in the budget bill will provide for a definition of the "video lottery terminals", or VLTs, as well as other implementation details.

Initially, Strickland had called for the legislature to authorize the VLTs. Leaders of the Republican-controlled Senate, however, resisted the installation of the slot machines without a vote of Ohioans and instead asked Strickland to issue an executive order if he wanted them. The VLTs are estimated to bring in $933 million over two years, which would help to put a plug in a $3.2 billion budget hole.

While Strickland and legislators were fighting over the slot machines, they did agree on other provisions of a budget framework which included $2.4 billion in cuts. In a statement, Senate President Bill Harris (R-Ashland) said that a budget conference committee expects to finish its work on Monday.