After weeks of talking in vague terms about her ideas on policies that help Ohioans with rising costs, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton unveiled her affordability plan Monday.
"As governor, my number one priority will be lowering costs for working families," Acton said as she unveiled her proposals at a roundtable organized by her campaign at a coffeehouse in Columbus.
The "ActOn Lowering Costs" agenda Acton's campaign calls for child tax credits of between $500 and $1,000 a year, as well as a refundable tax credit for lower-income families. She said she'll set up an online platform called Ohio Rx to reduce prescription drug costs, as well as require more transparency in insurance and healthcare pricing and crack down on surprise billing. Acton said she'll also cut red tape to help Ohioans enroll in and stay on Medicaid, and will direct Ohio to join cities that have relieved residents' medical debt.
On utility costs, Acton said she'll push for enhanced energy production of "the lowest-cost and cleanest sources of energy readily available." She said she'll expand access to cost-savings programs for lower-income Ohioans and restore energy efficiency programs cut in House Bill 6. Acton also said she wants more guardrails for data centers, including demanding they pay extra utility and environmental costs and requiring union workers construct those facilities.
Acton's plan also targets what she calls "predatory practices and unseen fees". She said she'd crack down on wage theft, scams against the elderly and extra charges on tickets, apps, and price gouging.
One category repeatedly cited as an issue that's not covered in this agenda is property taxes. Acton said the state's overall tax code needs to be examined, and said she plans to roll out an official policy on property tax changes.
"I can tell you that we have more immediate relief that is needed, particularly for people on fixed incomes," Acton said. "Whether it's homestead exemption—and I know the Statehouse realizes that they didn't do enough in this last go around. And then we have to look at long term."
Some elements of Acton's plans are part of bills sponsored by legislative Democrats. And Gov. Mike DeWine, who appointed Acton as his director of the Department of Health when he was elected, proposed a $1,000 tax credit in his budget last year. His fellow Republicans stripped it from the final document.
Acton isn't saying much about how she'll pay for her plan. She said she will work collaboratively with the private sector on her plans. But she said her agenda can be done and added, it's a matter of priorities: "it's what you choose, just like you do in your household budget, are the choices we all have to make, the hard choices," Acton said.
Republicans have been blasting Acton's proposals, setting up a website that claims her ideas would add $21 billion in spending to Ohio's budget and would lead to a doubling of the state income tax. The chairs of the House and Senate Finance Committees, Rep. Brian Stewart (R-Ashville) and Sen. Jerry Cirino (R-Kirtland), promoted the website in a statement last week, in which Cirino said, "This is more irresponsible fiscal policy from Democrats that Ohio taxpayers simply cannot afford. It’s beyond reckless."
Connie Luck, a spokeswoman for Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, rejected Acton's proposals.
“Straight out of [Zohran] Mamdani’s NYC playbook, Liberal Amy Acton’s agenda means billions in new spending, higher taxes, and bigger government—with working families left holding the bag," Luck said.
But Acton said it’s Ramaswamy’s policies that would hurt Ohioans.
“I think he’s frankly a danger, a real danger, his leadership, to Ohio because he has no idea how to do this," Acton said.
Ramaswamy has proposed eliminating the income tax and rolling back property taxes to pre-pandemic levels. Acton and other Democrats have said his plans would blow a $10 billion hole in the state budget and result in dramatic cuts to schools and local services.
