Introduction I am a board member of the Greater Cleveland Food Bank and earlier this year I was saddened to learn of the passing of Dan Rourke, a client health specialist with the Food Bank’s Help Center. He was one of the guiding spirits of the Help Center and helped connect thousands of Food Bank...
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Human services agency directors testify before Senate Finance Committee
On Thursday, April 25, the leaders of three of Ohio’s largest human services agencies testified before the Senate Finance Committee as the group held its second informal hearing on the state budget bill (HB 166). Given that the House of Representatives has not yet adopted a substitute version of the bill (sub. bill), senators have...
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Budget testimony before Senate Finance Committee starts, despite Ohio House not yet passing budget
Director Kimberly Murnieks of Ohio’s Office of Budget and Management (OBM) and Director Mark Flanders of the Legislative Service Commission (LSC) testified to the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday, as part of the first day of informal hearings on HB 166, the main operating budget. Murnieks went first, providing an explanation of how OBM went...
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State Budgeting Matters Podcast: The intersection of transportation and health and human services
Will Tarter and Dani Carlson talk about Governor Mike DeWine’s transportation budget and why it has an impact on health and human services in Ohio. Listen here or download it today!
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Transportation budget gains bi-partisan approval, Governor’s signature
By Sam Sobul, Public Policy and External Affairs Intern William Tarter Jr., Public Policy and External Affairs Associate House Bill 62, otherwise known as the 2020-2021 transportation budget was signed into law by Governor Mike DeWine on Wednesday, April 3. With DeWine’s signature on the legislation, which featured no line-item vetoes, the process came to an...
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Medicaid Director highlights “realistic” budget approach, including no new rate increases
During her first testimony as the Medicaid Director before the Ohio House Finance Committee, Maureen Corcoran stated that the amount allocated to Medicaid in the executive budget met the target growth rate of 3.3% put forth by the Joint Medicaid Oversight Committee (JMOC). Later in the day, at our first Medicaid Institute of the year,...
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Governor’s budget makes effort to address high infant mortality rate, more work needed on Ohio’s maternal mortality rate
Ohio continues to grapple with an unacceptably high rate of infant mortality, especially among black babies born in the state. Governor Mike DeWine’s budget for 2020-2021 seeks to address this issue through increased funding for home visiting and the continuation of efforts employed over the last few years. Let’s take some time to dig in...
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Transportation budget passes Ohio Senate
By: Sam Sobul, Public Policy and External Affairs Intern William Tarter Jr., Public Policy and External Affairs Associate What Happened The substitute transportation budget introduced by the Ohio Senate Transportation, Commerce and Workforce Committee was amended Thursday and passed out of the committee on a 6-5 vote. It was approved by the Ohio Senate 24-6. The...