Ohio governor signs 2-year, $60 billion budget that includes funding for football stadium

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has signed a two-year, $60 billion operating budget that flattens the state’s income tax and sets aside $600 million in unclaimed funds for a new Cleveland Browns stadium.

The Republican governor signed the budget late Monday night, about 45 minutes before the midnight deadline. He also issued 67 line-item vetoes, including one that would have cut funding for homeless shelters “that promote or affirm social gender transition” and another that would have forced public libraries to keep materials on sexual orientation and gender identity away from those under 18.

He also rejected lawmakers’ plan to limit how much money school districts could carry over to 40% and another that would have required candidates for local school board races to be identified with partisan labels on the ballot.

The moves mark the largest number of vetoes DeWine has issued since becoming governor in 2019. His previous record was 44 in 2023. The governor defended his decisions during a news conference Tuesday, noting that state lawmakers can now vote to override the vetoes and put the items back in the budget if they desire.

The budget had been approved by the Republican-controlled state Legislature last week. GOP leaders touted its $1 billion in income tax relief, pathways to address Ohio’s property tax crisis, and that it trims spending at administrative agencies and curtails regulations.

Democrats voted uniformly against the bill, alongside a handful of Republicans, casting it as a collection of misguided policy tradeoffs that prioritize the wealthy over the middle class.

The budget phases in a single flat-tax rate of 2.75% over two years, affecting anyone making over $26,050 annually. Those making less would continue to pay nothing. The plan eliminates the existing 3.5% rate for those making over $100,000 annually by the 2026 tax year.

It also includes the $600 million Haslam Sports Group, owner of the Browns, which requested that the state help build a new domed stadium in suburban Brook Park south of Cleveland. DeWine had proposed doubling taxes on sports betting to help the Browns, as well as the Cincinnati Bengals and other teams who might seek facility upgrades. But the Legislature used some of the $4.8 billion in unclaimed funds the state is holding on to — in small sums, residents left behind from dormant bank accounts, uncashed checks and forgotten utility deposits. Currently, there’s a 10-year time limit before that money reverts to the state.

“This is a win for taxpayers, and it will provide significant money to things that improve the quality of life in Ohio,” DeWine said of the stadium money.

In a statement issued Tuesday, the Browns called the budget approval a “tremendous milestone for our organization” and said DeWine and the Legislature worked together “to find a responsible way to support such a transformative project.”

Lawmakers who represent Cleveland and surrounding communities, mostly Democrats, have blasted the proposal as a gift to the team’s billionaire owners. Democrats outside the Legislature have threatened to sue if DeWine signed the plan, arguing it would be unconstitutionally raiding the unclaimed funds without due process.