County DD boards ask Senate to remove budget language that could let commissions cut voter-approved levies

Adam Herman, representing the Ohio Association of County Boards of Developmental Disabilities (OACB), told the Senate Finance Committee the substitute budget included language that could allow county budget commissions to reduce millage on voter-approved levies for entities that must fund state Medicaid matches. He urged either removal of the provision or adoption of amendment SC 2924 (or an exemption amendment) to protect statutory reserves and locally voted tax revenues that county boards rely on to meet Medicaid match and lifetime service obligations.

Nut graf: OACB warned that vague statutory terms in the substitute bill — citing phrases such as "reasonably necessary or prudent" — lack sufficient guidance and risk treating statutorily required reserve accounts and nonexpendable trusts as reductions targets. Those reserves were established by the General Assembly to ensure long-term support for people with developmental disabilities.

Herman noted county boards currently help cover roughly half of the state's Medicaid match for developmental disabilities services — approximately $567 million in SFY2025 and rising to projected $691 million by SFY2027 in testimony — and said arbitrary limits on local funding sources would jeopardize service continuity. He recommended either removing the language entirely or adding a narrow exemption for entities required by law to contribute to the state's Medicaid match (amendment 3,079-1 as described in testimony).

Ending: OACB asked the Senate to protect county boards' voter-approved levy revenues and to allow the legislative process to include affected stakeholders in any changes to levy or budget-commission authority.