With interested onlookers packing a House hearing room, a legislative conference committee voted 5-1 to approve a sweeping a report with a single amendment reconciling differences between the versions of the budget previously passed by the House and Senate.

State Rep. Ron Amstutz, R-Wooster, was the only dissenting vote. He complained about a "lack of transparency" and insufficient time to review the lengthy amendment.

Other committee members said they weren't happy with the final outcome, but with interim budgets costing the state an estimated $2 million a day in lost federal revenue and other costs, a final agreement had to be reached.

 One major change is a plan to generate an additional $247.1 million from "cash management" and other moves. The bulk of that amount comes from restructuring more state debt, said David Ellis, assistant director of the state budget office.

The state already has approved restructuring or refinancing more than $400 million in Ohio bonds this year to free up cash now in exchange for delaying debt payments with higher interest into the future.

The additional moves help replace $256 million in revenue that the state had proposed to generate by borrowing from a state pension fund. That controversial plan was scrapped.

The committee report also cuts $170 million from higher education and allows state universities to increase tuition by up to 3.5 percent a year.

But the conference committee also restored $143.5 million of the $227.8 million in cuts proposed for public libraries.

And a proposal to OK oil and gas drilling in state parks and forests was removed.

Today's action comes after Gov. Ted Strickland and legislative leaders agreed on a compromise last week to break a stalemate that forced two interim budgets to keep the state operating after the current budget expired June 30.

The general agreement was that Strickland would issue a directive to the Ohio Lottery Commission today to add electronic slot machines at Ohio's seven horse-racing tracks. The legislature would include language in the final budget bill authorizing the slots.

Senate Republicans previously had opposed allowing racetracks slot without a public vote, and Strickland, who wanted the slots plan included in the budget, had complained that Republicans were failing to offer a viable alternative.

Still, the projected $933 million in revenue from gambling during the next two years would make up only part of a projected $3.2 billion shortfall for the upcoming two years.

Strickland had proposed $2.4 billion in cuts last month as a starting point for deliberations, and the conference committee will finalize the spending changes today.

Although the budget is expected to be approved this afternoon, the legislature also plans to pass a third interim budget today to take effect Wednesday if needed. But that is being done simply to allow more time if needed to prepare the final budget document for Strickland's signature and any line-item vetoes.

Critics say today's action will not settle the budget dispute. The Ohio Roundtable has promised to challenge the racetrack slots plan in court, possibly delaying any revenues, and opponents say the revenue projections are iffy at best.

There also are concerns that overall tax revenue projections won't be accurate or other problems will emerge, and with the state spending all but 89 cents of its rainy-day fund, more spending cuts or other adjustments will be needed.

Mark Niquette

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