rainy day fund

A coalition of more than 100 unions and progressive advocacy groups is calling on state leaders to avoid making cuts to front-line workers serving Ohio’s communities during this pandemic.

The state’s budget office is forecasting a surplus at the end of this fiscal year. Gov. John Kasich says he wants to take that extra money and adjust withholdings, resulting in more money in Ohioans’ paychecks. 

Democratic leaders are calling on the state to release some of the $2.7 billion in the state’s Rainy Day Fund. As Statehoue correspondent Andy Chow reports, one senator says that money can be used to invest in the people.

The state has deposited more than $650 million dollars into the rainy day fund. Despite being a large pot of money, Gov. John Kasich is warning state leaders to leave it alone. 

The state budget director was off by almost a billion dollars in its projections on tax collections for the fiscal year. But his prediction that the year that ended last week would close in the black was right.

There’s been a lot of discussion about when or if to use the $2 billion in the state’s rainy day fund. A national group has studied the impact of using rainy day funds in budget crises.

Democratic senators believe Ohio has reached a critical point in the opioid epidemic and needs to turn to extreme measures in order to tackle the problem. 

Ohio’s opioid crisis has been tearing through the state causing one tragedy after another. For months, Democrats have been calling on Gov. John Kasich to release rainy day funds to aid in the fight. One Republican who wants to replace him was asked at a broadcasters' gathering to weigh in on that.

Gov. John Kasich has been warning for months now that tax revenues coming into the state are below expectations and that the upcoming two-year state budget will be tighter than in the past. His recent speeches have taken on a new theme.

Ohio’s tax revenue has fallen short of estimates in the past few months. And recently Gov. John Kasich has brought up the “R” word -- recession. Kasich is now using another term that’s become taboo on capitol square.

More than $29 million has been deposited in the state’s savings account, which already held a record amount.