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Lawmakers finally agree to compromise on budget fix

Dec. 17, 2009 - After two months of wrangling, state Senators have finally bitten the bullet and agreed on a plan to freeze the last phase of an income tax cut to shore up the state’s budget.

OCSEA has been urging state legislators to pass H.B. 318 as it is before the holiday break. Union leaders had warned that without support of HB 318, more budget cuts for vital public services were imminent, including additional slashing of already understaffed and underfunded state prisons, juvenile correctional facilities, mental health services, developmental centers, job programs and other public services.

OCSEA President Eddie L. Parks released a statement applauding the compromise. “This was the right thing to do and the right time to do it. Ohio’s system of government services is already being held together with duct tape and bailing wire. This was the only way to fix the budget without more job loss, more cuts in safety and security and more loss of services to Ohio’s most vulnerable. We commend Governor Strickland for fighting for it.”
 
Parks also thanked union members and activists who wrote letters, sent emails and made phone calls to lawmakers about the importance passing H.B. 318 and preserving Ohio’s vital public services.

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