Senate Finance Committee favorably reports amended substitute House Bill 96 after tabling multiple member amendments

The Ohio Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday voted to favorably report amended substitute House Bill 96 — the chamber's omnibus budget measure — to the committee on rules of reference after adopting a final omnibus amendment and tabling a series of member amendments.

The committee, chaired by Senator Serino, moved the omnibus amendment (AM0699) into the bill and, after a roll call, "Having sufficient votes, the amendment becomes a part of the bill," the chair said. Later, Vice Chair Chavez moved that the committee "favorably report amended substitute House Bill 96 to the committee on rules of reference," a motion the committee approved.

Why it matters: HB 96 is the Senate's comprehensive budget package and, as amended in committee, contains funding and policy changes that affect state programs, school funding, tax credits and health-care payment systems.

Most important provisions described by committee leadership include restoring the brownfield remediation program to $250,000,000; increasing H2Ohio funding by $10,000,000 per fiscal year (bringing that line to $56,100,000 for the fiscal year referenced in committee remarks) and directing those additional dollars to the Department of Agriculture; providing $115,000,000 per fiscal year to the Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine solely to expand enrollment of Ohio students; and adding $10,000,000 per year to continue the GRIT program.

The bill also was described as preserving the county coroner as an elected office, removing automatic and perpetual cost-of-living allowances for local official salary increases, restoring a sales-and-use tax exemption for agricultural land tile and portable grain bins, and clarifying that the statutory frameworks for the Ohio Opportunity Zone, film and theater, historic rehabilitation and mixed-use tax credit programs remain in permanent law while authorizations for issuance of new credits will require General Assembly approval each fiscal biennium. Committee members said a Senate restriction on port authorities entering certain private agreements without county-commissioner approval is limited to situations where the port authority is operating outside its territorial jurisdiction.

The bill also makes changes affecting education and care: it expands the autism and John Peterson special-needs scholarships to students ages 18 to 22 effective immediately upon the bill becoming law, restores a requirement that school counselors complete four hours of training every five years on building- and construction-trades career options, and directs a phased implementation of the patient-driven payment model (PDPM) for nursing-facility direct-care cost rates, beginning Jan. 1, 2026, with quarterly ODM (Ohio Department of Medicaid) reports on transition progress and budget neutrality.

During debate, members offered and the committee considered numerous amendments that were ultimately tabled. Notable offers included an amendment from Senator Ingram to restore H2Ohio funding to the governor's executive-budget level (Ingram described H2Ohio as "a three-legged stool" requiring balanced support across agencies); a provision to impose a performance-related penalty on professional sports franchises using state-funded stadiums if on-field results fell short; an amendment to fund an Urban Farm Youth Initiative pilot; and several amendments addressing school funding and local control, including proposals to remove a two-thirds requirement for school boards to put levies on ballots and to prevent county budget commissions from adjusting voter-approved levies. Committee leaders repeatedly moved to table those amendments; the motions to table carried by roll call each time.

Ranking Member Hicks Hudson thanked witnesses, caucus staff and LSC (Legislative Service Commission) staff who contributed to the process and said members of her caucus acknowledged that some provisions in the bill may benefit Ohioans while they continued to have objections to other elements.

The chair also asked LSC to harmonize amendments as necessary. "Seeing none, LSC has the authority to harmonize the amendments," the chair said. The committee adjourned after the vote.

Details and next steps: The committee reported the amended bill to the rules committee; full documentation and the finalized text will be made available following the committee's work, committee members said. The committee noted it had considered thousands of member amendments and held dozens of hearings during the budget process.