Why DeWine’s State of the State address will differ from last year’s speech

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — In less than two days, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine will give this year’s State of the State address. Last year, he said the state was “on the move.”

“We meet at a time of great opportunity for Ohio, a time of great opportunity for Ohio and its citizens,” DeWine said last year. “It is also a time of great challenges.”

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During last year’s State of the State, DeWine laid out what he wanted to see in the state budget.

“It’s a budget that focuses on our people, on our families and our children,” he said.

While lawmakers heeded some of his requests, not everything made it across the finish line.

In the budget, DeWine asked lawmakers to repeal the state sales tax on “critical infant supplies” like diapers, car seats and strollers; that law went into effect back in October.  But that is not the only tax break he proposed.

“I am also asking you to enact a $2,500 per child state tax deduction,” DeWine said.

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That ultimately did not come to fruition, though families still do get a child tax deduction, calculated based on income.

DeWine also wanted to increase adoptions in the state; a new grant program has allowed that to happen and now lawmakers are looking to put more money into the program.

DeWine also wanted to see a new department of children and youth come to fruition — that was established in the state budget and has since become active. That department, DeWine said, is to focus on the health of mothers, infants, and children; children’s behavioral health; children in foster care and early child education.

DeWine asked for an expansion of education choice voucher eligibility.

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“A historic investment, the ed choice scholarship program, by expanding eligibility to families at, or below, 400% of the federal poverty level,” he said.

While he called for the expansion of ed choice, state lawmakers took it a step further and made the program universal. The budget also put more funding into public schools and put $200 million towards career-tech programs, though DeWine originally requested $300 million.

And as for economic development, DeWine called for a $2.5 billion investment to go into the “All Ohio Future Fund,” to prepare the infrastructure for large economic development sites “in every part of Ohio.”

“We simply do not have enough shovel-ready, development-ready sites for the kinds of calls we are getting from companies all over the world,” DeWine said. “We want all regions of the state to participate in Ohio’s economic revival and for all Ohioans, no matter where they live, to prosper from it.”

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DeWine called that fund a one-time investment that will “provide a lifetime of returns.” Lawmakers ultimately allocated $750 million to that fund.

The governor also talked at length about mental health funding.

“We must do more,” DeWine said. “We must not accept that mental illness and addiction are inevitable.”

The funding for mental health programs did increase in the budget. The funding, for example, for early childhood mental health, increased by 164% in FY 2024.

DeWine also called on a quality-assurance guarantee for nursing homes.

“Too many of the facilities in Ohio have very inconsistent compliance with standards of care,” he said.

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The budget also increased funding for nursing home facilities, and DeWine recently unveiled a new tool to help Ohioans choose one.

The budget, as DeWine proposed during his address, also includes $40 million, each year, for law enforcement training.

This year’s State of the State address is on Wednesday. DeWine likely will not be laying out appropriations, as he did last year, since it is not a state-budget year.

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