Gov. Mike DeWine signs bill for Ohio’s $4.2 billion capital budget

COLUMBUS, Ohio ( WCMH ) — A signature by Gov. Mike DeWine Friday morning is sending $4.2 billion across the state.

“Policy is made, and policy is carried out through our budgets,” DeWine said.

The governor signed the multi-billion dollar spending bill Friday morning. He was joined by several fellow Republicans including Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, House Speaker Jason Stephens and State Senator Stephanie Kunze. He announced his intention to sign House Bill 2 at 10:10 a.m.

The bill contains Ohio’s capital budget, as well as a $700 million one-time fund of excess tax dollars. That money go to things like the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, to the tune of $7 million, to a playground in Columbus worth $400,000 and a million-dollar investment for a park in Dayton.

The money goes towards everything from K-12 schools, jail projects and hundreds of millions of dollars to mental health facilities. The governor also touted renovations at state parks and their lodges as some of the items the funding will target.

“We’ll build more recovery homes so that people across Ohio can receive treatment in the comfort of a loving home,” DeWine said.

Additionally, Husted also spoke, mentioning funding for cybersecurity training at the state’s universities. There is also an investment in the Ohio State Highway Patrol Crime Lab to conduct toxicology testing, as DeWine said drugged driving was the result of 44% of fatal highway crashes.

“Currently this lab is in an aging warehouse with worn-out infrastructure and no room to expand to meet increasing caseload,” he said.

DeWine said there will be a “sustained demand” for a workforce in Ohio and that is why the state has been and will continue to also invest in pathways to fill these jobs.

“We need to make it easier for older workers to stay in the workforce; we want them to do that,” Husted said. “But we also need to create a faster pathway to get young people in.”

The bill passed the House and Senate on Wednesday during the final day of their session before their summer break. It contained a clause that allowed the money to go toward the projects as soon as it was signed.

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