Ohio Senate President Keith Faber discussed recodification of Ohio’s complex criminal code among many other subjects Monday at The Lima News while in the area.
A recently appointed 19-member Criminal Justice Recodification Committee will focus on the state’s criminal code to see what can be tightened up, revised or eliminated.
Faber also discussed the state budget, including changes to higher education funding and local government funds, advancing local school board control, marijuana legalization and a pay commission to streamline public employee pay, among other items.
“It costs the state more to house a person in prison for one year than it does to pay for a college degree,” Faber said.
Faber said the committee will review existing laws and make recommendations. He said the complex code has led to penalties being too severe or too soft in some cases.
Judge Frederick Pepple of Auglaize County Common Pleas Court has been chosen to chair the committee, which has a 2016 deadline to make recommendations to the General Assembly.
Faber said that the headline of the recently passed Ohio budget was the inclusion of $1.96 billion in tax cuts, a move he said would spur economic growth.
Faber said that a 6.3 percent decrease in the income tax rate would return $1.26 billion to taxpayers over the next two years. The budget also eliminated the entire state tax burden on small businesses with income up to $250,000 and created a 3 percent flat tax for small businesses above that $250,000. This allows small businesses, the backbone of Ohio’s economy, the opportunity to invest back into job creation and infrastructure.
The bill also reduces Medicaid costs and poured more money into K-12 and higher education. The budget increased K-12 education spending by $935 million and exchanged a two-year tuition freeze with colleges for an 8.5 percent increase in state funding.
“This budget was an investment in Ohio citizens,” Faber said.
Faber said the budget will also give colleges the ability to be more creative with fields of study, allowing for fewer credits needed to graduate.
With much focus on the losses of local government funds lately, Faber said revenue increases caused by the changes still allow the average municipality to come out ahead.
“Most of the cities saw revenue increases that more than made up for the losses,” Faber said. “The loss of the locally divided funds only affected about 2 percent of their budgets on average.”
Faber said he thinks it should be made clear that a potential state issue on marijuana legalization did not create a “state drug cartel.”
The ResponsibleOhio campaign has circulated petitions to put an issue on the ballot that would designate 10 marijuana-growing sites. Faber said state lawmakers plan a side-by-side proposal in the fall ballot that would ban constitutional monopolies.
“We don’t do it with liquor or tobacco,” Faber said. “There needs to be transparency. There are some people doing this for their own economic interests.”
Faber said he was supporting John Kasich’s run for the presidency and said he didn’t feel it would take away from his task of being governor.
Ordinarily I would say it has an impact,” Faber said, “but I know John Kasich. He stays in touch.”
Faber added that he thought Kasich’s run would aid Ohioans because he is more up on what is happening in other states.
“If he doesn’t win the primary, he will come with new ideas,” Faber said. “This run will make him look at other states and see what is working.”
Faber said he expects the crowded Republican field to narrow down to where the likely candidate will be known by March.
Faber also advocated Senate Bill 3, which would essentially deregulate K-12 education. If passed, the bill would allow for more local control for school districts.
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