UPDATED: 4/14/21

Call to Action: Contact Ohio House members

The Ohio House Finance Committee introduced their version of the budget today by accepting Substitute House Bill (Sub. HB) 110. Sub. HB 110 includes several changes from the “as introduced” version of the bill. Most importantly, the Ohio House substitute bill does not include an amendment to raise the Public Library Fund (PLF) to 1.7%.

Additionally, the House has included a 2 percent across the board personal income tax rate cut starting in tax year 2021. This will impact the General Revenue Fund with an estimated loss being split between the Local Government Fund and the PLF. The loss is estimated to be about $10 million.

• Please contact your legislators and let them know how disappointed you are in the House Substitute bill and urge further consideration to maintain critical funding for libraries at 1.7%.
• Libraries will also be impacted by the proposed 2% personal income tax rate reduction. Urge legislators to hold libraries harmless when considering tax reductions.
• Libraries are not eligible for the COVID-19 relief funds currently being discussed in the bill or the American Rescue Act funding going directly to local governments from the federal government.

Now is NOT the time to be cutting funding for Ohio’s public libraries. Ohio’s public libraries provide crucial services to our 8.4 million library users.

Please contact your House members today!

The OLC contacted the Ohio House on April 14 and urged them to amend the substitute bill and preserve the PLF at the current rate of 1.7%.

OLC’s Sub. HB-110 Memo and House Finance Committee Testimony (PDF)