Tax, education packages

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A slew of policy changes were contained in two midterm budget bills that cleared the Senate on Wednesday, including an education plan and a bill speeding up the income tax cut.

The bills were part of Gov. John Kasich’s mid-biennium review.

Senators passed the education proposal that includes adjustments to teachers’ performance evaluations and safeguards to protect student data on a 27-5 vote.

Some Senate changes in the education measure were aimed at asserting the role of local school districts in implementing Ohio’s new learning standards, which are based on the Common Core guidelines.

The proposal states that a school district board has the authority to determine the curriculum, textbooks and course materials used in Ohio classrooms. It also would require districts to give parents an opportunity to review the instruction materials.

The bill heads to the House, which passed an earlier version.

Lawmakers also advanced a proposal that says college athletes are not employees under state law and , therefore, cannot form unions.

Legislation which is one of the most significant parts of the mid-biennium review accelerates implementation of a 10 percent income tax cut to take effect this year. It also increases a 50 percent tax cut for small businesses on the first $250,000 of income to 75 percent for 2014.

Another bill doubles the nonrefundable earned income tax credit for low income Ohioans to 10 percent while increasing personal exemptions for those making less than $80,000 per year.

While the increase is a step in the right direction, Hannah Halbert with Policy Matters Ohio contends it is still too weak and needs to be refundable so the poorest taxpayers receive a refund instead of just seeing their tax liability reduced.

A conference committee will take up a bill approved by the Senate which strengthens the requirements of group homes to provide local law enforcement agencies with contact information of the facility and emergency plans. The legislation was drafted in the wake of the stabbing death of Jane Juergens, killed while she was jogging in Ridgewood Park in October, allegedly by a 16-year-old resident of a nearby group home.