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OCSEA political activists share in partial victory as restored budget bill heads to conference committee

June 16, 2003 - After weeks of intense lobbying by OCSEA leadership, House Bill 95 (the budget bill) was voted out of the Senate Finance committee last week with money restored to many agencies that the House had cut. Although Senators refused to budge on some aspects of the bill, including the elimination of the Office of Quality and the closure of three facilities, OCSEA political activists won solid gains as a result of their efforts.

Budget bill highlights
During the Senate round, OCSEA activists were joined by agency directors in their protest against e-commerce language that would force privatization of the State's Internet services.

OCSEA testified against this language as it favored private companies performing this service even if public employees could do it cheaper. OCSEA Information Technology activists helped convince legislators that the language would give rise to bad business practices and increased costs, and the language was struck from the bill.

Also because of the hard work of OCSEA leaders, closure commission language that would give legislative oversight to the process of closing any state facility, including prisons and developmental centers, remains in the budget bill as it heads to conference committee. Similar language also appears in HB 100 and, for developmental centers, in SB 4.

Union activism linked to restored agency budgets
The House had slashed several agency budgets by tens of millions of dollars, but union leadership applied pressure and helped restore funds during Senate hearings to ODNR, DYS, MH and MR.

ODNR central office Chapter President Sybil Bell testified before the Senate finance committee that cutting the parks budget by $4 million could mean the closing of 10 to 15 parks. "Already ODNR has undergone massive workforce reductions and extreme money-saving measures that have meant limited maintenance, compromised security, unsafe beaches, and closed buildings and park areas."

Bell's testimony together with a budget initiative led by ODNR Assembly leaders, helped restore that funding to the parks budget.

DYS and MH union activists were also successful in getting funding restored that would have meant the closure of additional facilities. Cambridge MH Chapter President Tim Watson and Cleveland MH Chapter President Mary Wilson both thanked the Senate committee during testimony for restoring nearly $12 million to the agency's budget.

Office of Quality
The House eliminated the Office of Quality in their version of the budget and the Senate did not restore the funds, either.

"This is a very disappointing outcome given that the Office of Quality promotes efficiencies and has saved Ohio taxpayers nearly $350 million since its inception," said OCSEA Operations Director Bruce Wyngaard, who urged Senators to reinstate the Quality office.

Unfortunately, since the office funding was not restored in the Senate
finance committee, the issue cannot now be raised in conference committee.