State tax revenues exceed estimates

Apr. 13, 2011, Marion Star

By Jessica Alaimo

CentralOhio.com

Ohio’s General Revenue Fund is slowly getting healthier.

Tax revenues collected in March exceeded expectations by $157 million, according to the state’s monthly financial report released Tuesday.

Among the highlights:

» Income tax collections exceeded expectations by $80 million.

» Sales tax collections exceeded expectations by $69 million.

» Corporate franchise taxes exceeded expectations by $21 million.

Tiberi: Interim budget likely to be adopted

Apr. 12, 2011, Newark Advocate

By Jessica Alaimo

CentralOhio.com

This year’s federal spending debate will be a drama in three acts, said U.S. Rep. Pat Tiberi, who represents part of Licking County.

The first act concluded early Saturday, when Congress passed an 11th-hour deal averting a federal government shutdown. The stopgap measure includes about $39 billion in cuts.

The second debate also is under way, with the release of the Republican budget proposal for federal fiscal year 2012 last week.

Finally, this summer or fall, Congress will decide whether to raise the federal debt ceiling.

Kasich plan for schools not just cuts

Apr. 9, 2011, Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum

By JESSICA ALAIMO

CentralOhio.com

A questioner at Gov. John Kasich’s town hall had a daughter who had just been identified as gifted and talented by her school.

But now, it appeared, Kasich planned to strip all funding for specialized gifted programs. The father wanted to know: Would services still be provided for her?

Kasich’s budget proposal goes beyond basic cuts to schools in an effort to mend an $8 billion budget gap. He wants to completely revamp how Ohio’s public and private schools do business.

Kasich’s answer during the March 15 meeting embodied much of his approach: Take money out of the specialized pots. Put it into one big pot, so schools can use it how they see fit.

If gifted education is important to your school, Kasich told the man, “Go and see the superintendent and stand up for your daughter.”

Shutdown would affect thousands

Apr. 7, 2011, Fremont News-Messenger

By Malia Rulon and Jessica Alaimo

WASHINGTON — If the federal government shuts down, the effects will ripple across Ohio. National parks will close. Federal agencies will shut their doors. Personnel dubbed “essential” may have to work without pay.

Ohio is home to 22,836 federal employees, according to an analysis of federal data conducted by Gannett’s Asbury Park Press.

If the government were to shut down for an extended period, many of those workers could be put on furlough and have their salaries frozen, and the work they do could come to a halt.

Chief justice seeks changes in how Ohio appoints, elects judges

Apr. 3, 2011, Newark Advocate

By Jessica Alaimo

CentralOhio.com

Although Ohioans elect their judges, three of the seven jurists in Licking County initially were given their robes by a governor.

Statewide, about one-third of those on the bench today got their start through a gubernatorial appointment, Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor said.

For this reason and others, O’Connor has proposed several changes to keep the politics off the bench. Her proposed reforms include:

» Requiring a bipartisan judicial appointment recommendation panel to approve all midterm gubernatorial appointees.

» Requiring state Senate confirmation of Supreme Court appointees.

» Eliminating party labels from the primary ballot.

Experts: Union law fight will influence ’11, ’12 races

Apr. 3, 2011, Chillicothe Gazette

BY JESSICA ALAIMO

CentralOhio.com

Senate Bill 5 could be more than a powerful piece of policy. It could turn into a jackhammer that might shake up Ohio’s entire political landscape come the 2012 presidential election, experts said.

Gov. John Kasich signed legislation on Thursday that dramatically curtails collective bargaining rights for public employees.

The bill passed the Legislature amid a crowd of jeering union supporters, and the political battle that already had heated up reached a boiling point. Opponents vowed to take their protests to a referendum campaign. Supporters vowed to fight them.

Official: Federal budget cuts would gut Ohio poison control centers

Apr. 1, 2011, Newark Advocate

By Jessica Alaimo

CentralOhio.com

The Central Ohio Poison Control Center — frequently a lifeline for those poisoned by opiates and addictive prescription drugs — stands to lose almost one-third of its funding under the proposed federal budget.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the first version of the budget in February. Among the cuts were $27.3 million — 90 percent of funding — to poison control centers nationwide, according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers.

As poison control awareness week concluded last week, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, called for a full restoration of funding to the centers. He has an unusual ally — Attorney General Mike DeWine, a former Republican senator defeated in 2006 by Brown.

DeWine authored the legislation establishing a national poison control hot line in 2002.