Gov. Mike DeWine backed a tax cut for wealthy earners and sports stadium funding — while nixing his party's attempt to reform school property taxes — with the signing of a new two-year state budget earlier this week.

Zoom in: The budget bill passed with Republican supermajorities and no Democratic support.

Some highlights:

💵 A new "flat tax." Anyone earning over $26,050 will pay an equal 2.75% income tax starting in tax year 2026. Previously, those making above $100,000 paid 3.5%.

• Legislative analysts predict the state will lose over $1 billion in revenue.

🏈 Browns funding. A new stadium in suburban Cleveland will receive $600 million, funneled from Ohioans' unclaimed funds — and $400 million will go toward other projects statewide.

• The Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority wants some of it to pay for Nationwide Arena renovations, per the Dispatch.

👶 Sharing is caring. A new child care cost-sharing program got $10 million, though state care overall was flat-funded.

🩺 Medicaid coverage threatened. Over 750,000 Ohioans will lose Medicaid coverage — those insured by the program's expansion under the Affordable Care Act — if federal match funding dips below 90%.

• A transition plan would assist them toward "private insurance subsidies or charity care programs."

Between the lines: The governor didn't get everything he wanted.

• Lawmakers threw out DeWine's proposed $1,000 child tax credit for kids under 7.
• And they opted against his plan to pay for a new Browns stadium by doubling the sports betting tax.

Yes, but: DeWine vetoed 67 provisions in the budget lawmakers sent him.

Those include:

📚 Library crackdown. Public libraries would have had to place material "related to sexual orientation or gender identity or expression" out of sight of minors.

• DeWine says "strong" existing obscenity laws should be enforced instead.

🏫 School tax reforms. Lawmakers wanted to do away with several kinds of property tax levies and limit how much reserve cash districts could carry year-over-year, among other changes.

• DeWine called the levies "important tools," and noted that limiting reserves might result in districts seeking tax levies more often, not less.
• What we're watching: DeWine noted "the great need for property tax reform in Ohio" and said he'll convene a working group "to ensure this critical topic is given the attention deserved."

🗳 School board elections. Lawmakers wanted candidates to campaign with political party affiliations, but DeWine says nonpartisan boards have "served the interests of students and communities well."

What's next: Lawmakers can override vetoes with a three-fifths vote upon returning from summer break.

Many obscure things are tucked inside the new 3,156-page state budget.

What caught our attention:

🐝 Bee lovers are buzzing. A $5 registration fee per apiary is no more.

🐷 Pork barrel spending? A new "Pork Marketing Program" will promote the industry — but only if the national program ever goes away.

💀 Death and taxes. Ohio's burial permit fee is going up from $3 to $10.

🏒 Student slap shots. Kids who attend a school without a hockey program can play on another district's team.

💍 "I do, guvnah." Current and former Ohio governors can now solemnize marriages.

✅ A quick spellcheck. The budget corrects an Ohio Revised Code misspelling of "tayassuidae," a family of pig-like mammals.

• Avinav Prem Anand would be ashamed.

🎻 The Columbus Symphony failed to raise $275 million for a new riverfront music hall by a June deadline, but the city has granted it a two-year fundraising extension. (Dispatch)

⚖️ Adam Coy, the first Columbus police officer to be convicted of murder in the line of duty, will be sentenced July 28.

• A judge denied his request for a new trial. (WOSU)

🏙️ Columbus City Council adopted a resolution Monday supporting another phase of "Zone In" zoning changes to encourage development, plus the creation of a new land use policy to guide the process. (WBNS-TV)

🧯 A Blacklick family is raising awareness about grill fires ahead of July Fourth, after an unattended smoker destroyed their home earlier this year. (Spectrum News 1)

A record-high number of Americans are traveling over the holiday week, according to AAA.

Why it matters: Be careful out there. Columbus drivers crash more frequently than the U.S. average, per Allstate claims data.

Threat level: Our drivers typically go about 8 years between collisions, compared to a national average of over 10 years.

Caveat: The data is based on where drivers live, not where crashes occur, and it only includes incidents resulting in property or collision damage claims.

• Minor fender benders that go unreported aren't captured.

The bottom line: If you've ever thought, "Wow, Columbus drivers are really bad" — or something a little less cordial — this data backs up your inkling.