Rep. Brown Piccolantonio: Republican Budget Prioritizes Wealthy Tax Cuts, Stadium Subsidies Over Ohio Families

COLUMBUS – State Rep. Beryl Brown Piccolantonio (D-Gahanna) today criticized the Republican state operating budget, signed by Governor Mike DeWine, that prioritizes tax breaks for the wealthy and corporate giveaways over funding for schools, affordable communities, and essential healthcare services. Despite a few helpful line-item vetoes, the budget still overwhelmingly reflects out-of-touch priorities that leave everyday Ohioans behind.

“A budget reflects the choices we make about our values and priorities. The Republican majority in this state chose to prioritize tax breaks for the most wealthy Ohioans instead of investing in families, children, our oldest Ohioans, education, and healthcare.  Instead of investing in our future, this budget deprives people and communities of the resources they need to thrive.  This budget will hurt Ohio’s students by putting our system of public education at risk by not adequately funding our schools.

I am grateful to individuals from across this state who came to testify about the damage this budget will do to individuals and local communities across Ohio. I am also grateful to the countless Ohioans who reached out to legislators and the Governor.  Your efforts had an impact and are reflected in the historic number of line-item vetoes the Governor issued. Please stay engaged because the work is not done. We will need your voice and your energy even more moving forward.  

This budget does not reflect my priorities nor the priorities of my constituents in House District 4. Instead, it is a partisan wish list that will set our state backwards. This budget fails Ohioans of all ages, in all communities, and of all backgrounds,” said Rep. Brown Piccolantonio.  

House Democrats emphasize that this budget does not meet the moment for Ohio’s families, students, or seniors. Instead, it is loaded with tax cuts that disproportionately benefit the wealthiest Ohioans while cutting or underfunding the programs that people rely on every day.

House Democrats fought hard throughout the process to strip out some of the most harmful provisions, and they are grateful to the citizens and advocacy groups who raised their voices. Thanks to their efforts, Governor DeWine exercised his veto power more than he ever has in his time in office, and more than a dozen especially dangerous provisions were successfully removed through line-item vetoes, including:

• Funding penalties for colleges that failed to comply with anti-DEI Senate Bill 1.
• Cuts to H2Ohio environmental funding.
• Restrictions targeting public libraries and LGBTQ+ materials.
• Medicaid cuts for children aged 0-3.

Still, these small wins cannot mask the larger truth: this budget is fundamentally skewed toward the wealthy and special interests, and Ohio families will pay the price.