COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio lawmakers do not appear to be hurrying to balance the state budget. After a State Supreme Court ruling forced Governor Ted Strickland to find an alternative to his plan to make money by putting video slot machines at race tracks, Strickland said Wednesday he prefers delaying a 4.2 percent income tax cut for 2009.
The state needs more than $851 million to make up for the money the video slot machines were expected to produce. Six days after the governor proposed postponing the income tax cut, the issue remains in the discussion stage. No legislation has been crafted, and one lawmaker said it could be months before the matter is worked out.
A family of four, with two working adults earning $60,000 a year combined would save $78 under the scheduled tax cut. The governor's proposal would maintain the state income tax level, keeping that $78 in the state's bank account to pay for education costs.
Democrats appear to be slowly lining up behind the governor, but so far many Republican state senators are remaining non-committal.
"Right now, at this point in time, I'm trying to get all the information so I can make an informed decision," said State Senator Jim Hughes, a Columbus Republican.
The governor's spokesperson said he has begun meeting privately with legislators. State Senator Bill Seitz says difficult times require bipartisanship, but he is looking for help in return.
"We need to work collaboratively through this, but it can't be all the governor's way. There will have to be some things coming back across the table to address our concerns," said Seitz, a Cincinnati Republican. "I'm willing to have that discussion with the governor, but he's going to have to answer a very important question: Why was it okay to cut aid to Catholic schools by 15 percent, as he proposed doing and as was done in the budget, but suddenly unacceptable to cut public schools by 10-15 percent?"
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