Proposed Budget - Fiscal Years 2026-2027
On February 3, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine recommended a two-year budget that totals $108.62 billion in fiscal 2026 (a 2.9 percent increase over fiscal 2025’s estimated level) and $110.70 billion in fiscal 2027 (a 1.9 percent increase over fiscal 2026’s recommended level). Spending from the general revenue fund totals $44.66 billion in fiscal 2026 (a 2.6 percent increase over fiscal 2025’s estimated level) and $46.65 billion in fiscal 2027 (a 4.5 percent increase over fiscal 2026’s recommended level). Estimated general fund revenues are projected to be $45.45 billion in fiscal 2026 (a 4.1 percent increase from fiscal 2025’s estimated level) and $46.91 billion in fiscal 2027 (a 3.2 percent increase from fiscal 2026’s projected level). The budget assumes a general revenue ending balance of $615.6 million in fiscal 2026 and $238 million in fiscal 2027. Additionally, the budget stabilization fund ending balance is estimated at $4.20 billion at the end of the biennium.
Proposed Budget Highlights
The governor’s budget is focused on continuing to build on the elements that make Ohio the Heart of it All by investing in the state's greatest asset, its people. The budget prioritizes children, the workforce, communities, and the economy while continuing to make state government more efficient, responsive, and cost-effective. Highlights of the budget include:
Ohio’s Children
- Parents
- Proposes a refundable child tax credit targeted at those who need it the most - working families with children through age six; maintains access to quality childcare through Publicly Funded Childcare and the Childcare Choice program; continues grants that help defray the cost of adoption; maintains support for moms-to-be and new families; and increases investments in tobacco cessation programs and tobacco use prevention.
- Health
- Extends support for Help Me Grow, Ohio’s evidence-based home visiting program; expands the Family Connects program, which provides free in-home nurse consultation for families with newborns; creates a new vision services program, OhioSEE; expands the number of school-based health centers; expands Youth Mobile Response and Stabilization Services; and creates a new school bus safety grant program. The proposed budget would also raise the state's cigarette tax by $1.50 per pack and raise taxes for vapor and other tobacco products to provide parity with the cigarette tax. This proposal generates sufficient revenue to offset the cost of the child tax credit.
- Education
- Elevates and expands the Dolly Parton Imagination Library of Ohio; supports students through school choice programs and continued implementation of the Cupp-Patterson school funding formula; establishes a new Ohio Principal Apprenticeship Program; continues to implement the Science of Reading; and prioritizes workforce readiness by reimagining Ohio’s regionally based tech prep centers.
Ohio’s People and Workforce
- Continues the Governor’s Merit Scholarship, which encourages Ohio’s best and brightest to stay in the state
- Offers other scholarships that support students who stay in Ohio including the Ohio College Opportunity Grant, the Choose Ohio First Program, and the Work Ready Grant program
- Continues support for the TechCred program, which defrays costs incurred by employers for upskilling their workforce and the Industry Sector Partnership Grant Program, which supports collaboration between businesses, educational institutions, and training providers
- Ties funding for colleges and universities to whether their graduates are getting jobs
- Partners JobsOhio with colleges and universities to develop work-based learning initiatives
- Continues investments in the Ohio Digital Academy to train the high-tech workforce
- Makes investments to help keep Ohioans safe on the job
- Further expands vocational training and education for in-demand jobs to help those being released from the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction
Ohio’s Communities
- Public Safety
- Supports local government users of the Multi-Agency Radio Communications System; continues implementation of Next Generation 911; increases Ohio’s investment to fund 988; bolsters cybersecurity for local governments and public water systems; recommends building a state-of-the-art law enforcement training facility; provides new grant funding to support drug task forces; continues support for the Ohio Jail Safety and Security Program; launches the Ohio Hazard Mitigation Program; and maintains historic investments in the indigent defense system.
- Economy
- Makes targeted investments in Ohio’s roadways; supports investments for housing development in rural and border counties; requires the creation and adoption of a statewide Advance Air Mobility Strategy; reduces financial barriers for high school students who seek driver training; provides regulatory flexibility for energy generators; increases the share of state revenue devoted to the Public Library Fund and the Local Government Fund; and increases support for historic preservation projects and the rehabilitation of historic owner-occupied homes.
- Quality of Life
- Continues funding for H2Ohio’s ongoing work to create high-performing wetlands, provide clean drinking water, and support farmers; maintains historic investments in Ohio’s 76 state parks; continues to invest in Accessible Ohio, a program aimed at increasing accessibility for individuals with disabilities; and provides new funding for local health departments to improve oversight of Ohio’s landfills.