COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Ohio lawmakers considering the upcoming two-year state budget are looking at separate revenue forecasts about $838 million apart.
The office of Republican Gov. Mike DeWine is projecting $24.8 billion in tax revenue for the fiscal year beginning in July and $25.6 billion for the following year, State Budget Director Kimberly Murnieks told the House Finance Committee on Thursday.
The estimates that lawmakers heard from Wendy Zhan, Legislative Service Commission director, were about 1.8% higher for the first year of the budget and 1.5% the year after that. That difference is about $838 million higher than the DeWine administration’s.
Murnieks told lawmakers the difference is relatively small and a typical discrepancy at this point in the process, according to Gongwer News Service.
“It’s also pretty normal for OBM’s forecast to be more conservative than LSC’s forecast because we have to implement the budget after it’s passed,” she said. “We have to live with it for two years.”
DeWine’s two-year, $75 billion proposal includes a $1 billion initiative to help small businesses and local communities recover from the coronavirus pandemic. That proposal includes aggressive marketing of Ohio as a place to work and live.
DeWine is also proposing $10 million to boost the number of police officers with body worn cameras statewide.
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