Ohio Senate Passes Budget Bill

On June 11, the Ohio Senate passed the state operating budget for FY26-27 (HB 96). Unfortunately, there were no changes to the provisions impacting public libraries despite OLC's testimony last week.

The Ohio House did not concur with the changes made by the Senate, so now the legislation goes to a conference committee to reconcile the differences.

The Senate’s budget maintains funding for public libraries as a fixed line-item appropriation rather than using a percentage of the state’s General Revenue Fund (GRF).

Senate's Line-Item Funding in Sub. HB 96

• FY 2026: $490 million
• FY 2027: $500 million

These figures mirror those proposed by the House and still fall short of the Governor’s budget proposal, which estimated Public Library Fund (PLF) totals of:

• FY 2026: $531.7 million
• FY 2027: $549.1 million

The Senate version also deducts $10.3 million annually from the PLF to fund statewide services such as: State Library of Ohio; Ohioana Library Association, Regional Library Systems, Ohio Public Library Information Network (OPLIN), and Library for the Blind.

This means state funding for public libraries will be reduced to $479.7 million on July 1, 2025 for Fiscal Year 2026 — resulting in almost a $25 million cut in state funding.

The Senate's version also keeps House-proposed language on materials deemed harmful to juveniles and trustee board term structures.

In addition, new language added by the Senate allows county budget commissions to reduce tax collections and eliminates the option for replacement levies, which could further affect local library revenues.

What's Next?

There is still time to make our case through the conference committee, which is composed of leadership from the Senate and House. At this stage in the process, direct conversations between library leaders and members of the conference committee are key to achieving any positive outcomes. For this reason, we have asked library directors, fiscal officers, and trustees to reach out to members of the conference committee directly.

Specifically, OLC is asking the conference committee to:

• Eliminate the $10.3 million deduction from the PLF for multiple state agencies. These entities should be funded directly from the GRF.
• Remove the provisions related to library materials. We feel parents know what is best for their children and consider this an unfunded mandate.
• Remove the provision allowing the County Budget Commission to undermine the will of local voters.

The state budget, HB 96 is due to Gov. Mike DeWine by June 30, giving lawmakers two weeks to resolve their differences and reach a final agreement.