Saturday, November 11, 2006
Some Early Tips for State Budget Advocates
Here are a few things health, social service, and education advocates should be thinking about in preparation for the fiscal year 2008-2009 state budget:
A new governor gets an extra month to prepare his budget, so don’t expect a Strickland budget proposal before March 15, 2007. This means that the legislative advocacy efforts will have to fit in a much shorter time frame.
A new governor also gets to pick his own team, and because this election represents a political party change as well, there are likely to be lots of new faces. Advocates should reach out to these new leaders early to educate them about the needs of the people they serve
The Ohio House will likely have more than 29 new members once replacements are selected for Senators Marc Dann and Charlie Wilson and if any current legislators are tapped to fill spots in the Strickland cabinet or other roles in state governments (members who face term limits are often likely candidates). Educating these new legislators then will be a time-consuming but important job for advocates.
Democrats picked up at least seven seats in the Ohio House and one seat in the Senate, which will make bipartisan legislative decision making much more likely. This means that advocates, as always, should talk to both Republicans and Democrats.
During recent state budget deliberations, Democratic budget amendments were routinely tabled by the majority. Now those amendments will likely be a part of the as-introduced budget. In recent years, state budgets attracted very few Democratic votes; now the question will be whether the as-introduced budget attracts Republican votes.
The impact of the state appropriation limitation (SAL) on the budget process will depend in large part on how it is interpreted. There is a real question, though, about whether state revenues will even be sufficient to fund expenditures at the level allowed by the SAL.
A new governor gets an extra month to prepare his budget, so don’t expect a Strickland budget proposal before March 15, 2007. This means that the legislative advocacy efforts will have to fit in a much shorter time frame.
A new governor also gets to pick his own team, and because this election represents a political party change as well, there are likely to be lots of new faces. Advocates should reach out to these new leaders early to educate them about the needs of the people they serve
The Ohio House will likely have more than 29 new members once replacements are selected for Senators Marc Dann and Charlie Wilson and if any current legislators are tapped to fill spots in the Strickland cabinet or other roles in state governments (members who face term limits are often likely candidates). Educating these new legislators then will be a time-consuming but important job for advocates.
Democrats picked up at least seven seats in the Ohio House and one seat in the Senate, which will make bipartisan legislative decision making much more likely. This means that advocates, as always, should talk to both Republicans and Democrats.
During recent state budget deliberations, Democratic budget amendments were routinely tabled by the majority. Now those amendments will likely be a part of the as-introduced budget. In recent years, state budgets attracted very few Democratic votes; now the question will be whether the as-introduced budget attracts Republican votes.
The impact of the state appropriation limitation (SAL) on the budget process will depend in large part on how it is interpreted. There is a real question, though, about whether state revenues will even be sufficient to fund expenditures at the level allowed by the SAL.
