COLUMBUS, Ohio – State lawmakers are facing a tight deadline to finalize Ohio’s multi-billion-dollar capital infrastructure bill, now moving forward after receiving approval from House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima) earlier this month. The proposed spending plan would allocate state bond funding for new construction and improvements at schools, universities, parks, and various community projects across the state.
Gov. Mike DeWine and Senate President Rob McColley (R-Napoleon) had pushed for a capital budget, but Huffman initially raised concerns about whether the state could afford it. Those worries followed a recent Ohio Supreme Court decision ordering the state to pay up to $1 billion to nursing homes that successfully challenged how Medicaid payments were calculated.
Sen. Tom Patton (R-Strongsville) said lawmakers are reviewing a flood of funding requests, knowing that many will have to be cut.
“These aren’t wish lists,” Patton said. “When we bond out this money, we need to be confident it’s going toward solid, successful investments the state can pay back.”
Local project requests from lawmakers are due by March 12. Patton said both chambers aim to craft a joint proposal this year — a departure from the past practice of developing separate versions in the House and Senate.
“This year, we’re going to try something different,” Patton said. “We’re working with our House members to see where we can agree before we put out separate plans.”
The state’s last capital budget, enacted in 2024, totaled a record $4.2 billion, with $700 million divided between the House and Senate for discretionary spending. The two chambers did not coordinate their lists that year.
Past capital budgets have also funded professional sports venues. Lawmakers last year created the Ohio Cultural and Sports Facility Performance Grant Fund to finance major sports facilities using as much as $1.7 billion in unclaimed funds—a plan still being contested in state and federal courts.