Rep. Troy: GOP Budget Chooses the Wealthiest Few Over Ohio's Kids, Seniors, and Working Families

COLUMBUS – State Rep. Daniel Troy (D-Willowick) recently voted “NO” on House Bill (HB) 96, the Republican-crafted state operating budget, citing cruel and chaotic cuts and its abject failure to invest in children, public education, healthcare, and basic services – all while shoveling billions to the wealthy and well-connected. 

“In my opinion, this budget bill dropped the ball in so many areas. Failure to properly fund and update for inflation the Ohio School Fair Funding formula will result in continued and probably increased reliance on local property taxes. Much needed state support to increase the valuation deduction and income eligibility for Ohio’s Homestead Exemption program to provide more help to our senior and disabled citizens on fixed incomes struggling to pay their property taxes was not even considered,” said Rep. Troy. “Ironically, instead of helping those truly in need of relief, the majority decided to give $1.4 billion in state income tax relief that will only benefit those making $100,000 or more. And this budget bill contains a $600 million handout to a billionaire football team owner to build a new stadium. In my long career, I had never voted NO on a budget bill, but I had to do so on this shameless piece of legislation.”

Budgets are about choices, and Statehouse Republicans chose to invest in billionaires and corporations instead of making life more affordable for everyday Ohioans. HB 96 protects a broken status quo—leaving local communities, property taxpayers, and families to shoulder the burden alone. Ohio deserves a budget that lifts people up, not one that leaves them behind. 

This budget chooses the wrong Ohioans in so many ways: 

• An Income Tax Scam for the Ultra-Wealthy: Republicans call it a “flat tax” but it’s really a fat tax cut only for the wealthiest few. Four out of every five Ohioans will see $5 or less under the bill, while someone making $2.5M gets a $18K tax break. The choice to include this flat tax will cost the state $1.67B over the next two years. Cutting taxes only for the wealthiest isn’t going to solve the real problems facing Ohioans. It’s not going to make childcare cheaper; it's not going to make the cost of rent or healthcare go down, and it's definitely not going to lower rising property taxes. 
• Not Fully Funding Public Schools: For decades, the state legislature has failed to uphold its share of responsibility to provide adequate state funding for public education. This budget continues to prioritize billions in vouchers for private schools over the investments we should be making in the public schools where 90% of students in the state go to school. The Fair School Funding Plan is a bipartisan, constitutional solution developed by education experts, and Ohio has the resources to fully and fairly fund it. Yet the statehouse republicans deliberately chose to ignore the evidence and continue to underfund our schools.
• Fewer Childcare Slots to Support Working Ohioans: Families need childcare so parents can work, and kids can receive quality early education, but we continue to lag behind the rest of the country when it comes to access and affordability of childcare. This is a question of who we are prioritizing, and the budget is making the wrong choice when it comes to helping families afford childcare. 
• Jeopardizing Healthcare Access: Almost 800K Ohioans will be at risk of immediately losing their health insurance and all Ohioans will see hospitals and providers in their communities at risk of closing. For years, Republicans have targeted Medicaid expansion. Now they're using a draconian and unnecessary trigger law to strip healthcare coverage from hundreds of thousands of Ohioans if the federal government lowers its contribution by even a single dollar. 

HB 96 passed the Ohio House of Representatives by a vote of 59-38 Wednesday, June 25, 2025, and was signed into law by Governor DeWine on Monday June 30, 2025, with 67 line-item vetoes. While the Governor’s vetoes did mitigate some harm, this budget remains one of the most immoral in Ohio history. This is the first budget to pass without a single Democratic vote in more than a decade.