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Gov. Mike DeWine early Thursday signed the two-year, $75 billion state budget that includes about $5.5 million for projects and programs in the Mahoning Valley.
The largest amount is $3.5 million for Eastern Gateway Community College, in cooperation with America Makes, to develop workforce initiatives for additive manufacturing.
In addition, $1 million will go to the Mahoning Valley Campus of Care, a multi-use residential and workforce training initiative at the former Youngstown Developmental Center in Austintown.
Mahoning County High School will get $425,000 annually for two years to support at-risk youth.
Youngstown State University's Mahoning Valley Workforce Partnership is getting $200,000.
State Sen. Michael Rulli, R-Salem, who represents Mahoning and Columbiana counties, said he was able to secure the funding for the local projects even though they weren't in the state House's budget.
"If you don't ask, you won't get it," Rulli said. "I asked, worked with (Senate) President (Matt) Huffman and now these vital projects are part of the budget."
State Rep. Michele Lepore-Hagan, D-Youngstown, said the budget was a mixed bag, but it included important investments for the area.
"While we weren't able to get everything we wanted in this budget, we were able to secure a number of key wins for working people and families in the Mahoning Valley," she said.
The fiscal 2022-23 budget's main elements of a 3 percent income tax cut and a new school funding plan were kept in place.
VETOED ITEMS
But DeWine did veto 14 items including a provision vacating the COVID-19 violations of bars and refunding the fines.
"Ohio law should not reward businesses and individuals that violated orders and rules adopted to protect Ohioans from the spread of COVID-19 by excusing their actions," he said.
The measure included in the budget by fellow Republican lawmakers would have stopped disciplinary actions against companies. The move was one of several pushed by GOP legislators challenging actions DeWine took to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Total fines were estimated at $100,000.
DeWine said he was grateful to most businesses that "did phenomenally well" working under restrictions during the pandemic. By contrast, he said, a small number of firms were cited by state liquor control agents, sometimes repeatedly, for violating health orders. Such orders included the statewide mask mandate, limits on crowd size and required social distancing.
To tell those businesses there are no consequences for their actions "would send a horrible, horrible, horrible message," DeWine said.
DeWine also vetoed a Republican measure that would have allowed the House speaker and Senate president to intervene in legal challenges to the upcoming process of creating new, more representative legislative districts. DeWine called this an unprecedented violation of the separation of powers.
"It is virtually unheard of for state or federal courts to permit members of the General Assembly to intervene in lawsuits," DeWine said, noting that Republican Attorney General Dave Yost, who represents the state in court, had asked for the veto.
OTHER ITEMS
The two-year, $75 billion budget includes a new system for funding K-12 education that both Democrats and Republicans believe will create a more fair and reliable long-term payment system.
DeWine called it a budget "that invests in Ohio, a budget that invests in the people of Ohio, and a budget that invests particularly, particularly in our children. He also noted the budget passed by wide bipartisan measures in the GOP-controlled House and Senate.
Among other spending measures, the budget provides $250 million for grants to help deliver broadband access to underserved and rural communities, and $170 million for the state's clean water initiative meant to reduce runoff into lakes that can create toxic algae blooms.
The budget also spends $10 million to help local police departments buy or boost body-worn camera systems, and $8 million in grants meant to help communities reduce violent crime.
In addition, the budget enacts a 3 percent personal income tax cut, and also raises to $25,000 the minimum amount Ohioans must earn before they have to pay any state income taxes.
Critics say the tax cut benefits mainly wealthy Ohioans.