Gov. John Kasich is proposing a trimmed down state budget for the next two years that delivers a 17-percent income-tax cut to Ohioans and temporarily freezes tuition and fees at the state's public colleges and universities.
The Republican governor helps pay for the proposals with tax hikes on alcohol, tobacco products and gas drilling. He also imposes a half-percent increase in the state sales tax, from 5.75 percent to 6.25 percent, and extends it to additional services.
The spending blueprint was rolled out Monday. It spends $66.9 billion over the two years beginning July 1, down $4.3 billion from the previous biennium amid declining state tax revenues.
Kasich proposes modest additional spending for K-12 schools, higher education and prisons, while flat-funding or cutting many other agencies.
