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SIGN OF THE TIMES UPDATE - OHIO GOVERNOR
PLANNING
VETO OF VETS' BONUS -- Governor Strickland
supports
honoring the state's veterans but opposes the
funding
source and plans to veto the measure.
Background on this story is here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/n
f08/nfdec08/nf121608-6.htm
All "Sign of the Times" stories are here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/signofthetimes.htm
Story here...
http://www.bizjournals.com/
columbus/stories/2008/12/15/daily27.html
Story below:
Your comments accepted at bottom of
page.
-------------------------
Senate passes vet bonus; Strickland planning veto
A bill that would extend a one-time bonus to Ohioans who served in the
military during the nation’s major combat engagements since 1990 is headed
to Gov. Ted Strickland’s desk after receiving approval in the Ohio Senate
Thursday.
The Senate’s Republican leader is calling the move to pull up to $200
million from the state’s rainy day fund a small sacrifice for the state’s
servicemen and women. But the governor’s office on Thursday reiterated an
earlier stance that while he supports honoring the state’s veterans, he
opposes the funding source and plans to veto the measure.
The Senate passed House Bill 649 in a 23-8 vote after being introduced in
the Ohio House of Representatives earlier this month and passing final
consideration Tuesday. As the measure will head to
 for
every month of service in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan and Iraq
conflicts, capped at $1,000.
Personnel stationed in other locations during the conflicts are eligible
for half that amount, while families of those killed in the line of duty
will receive a $5,000 death benefit.
The Senate’s first attempt at the bonus proposed funding the one-time
payouts, currently valued at about $110 million, through bond funding
under Senate Joint Resolution 5. But House Speaker Jon Husted,
R-Kettering, opposed using bond funding that would be retired years down
the road, instead favoring existing state revenue as in H.B. 649.
Concern over tapping into the state’s rainy day fund, however, has
heightened after two rounds of budget cuts were announced this year to
head off ongoing budget deficits. That was before Strickland on Dec. 1
warned that Ohio is facing a budget shortfall in excess of $7
 billion
for the two-year cycle beginning July 1.
H.B. 649 was introduced the day after Strickland’s announcement, while the
governor a week later said in a statement that he’d veto the measure if it
hit his desk.
“I strongly support honoring Ohio veterans with a bonus paid for by
selling bonds, just as our state has done in the past and just as the Ohio
Senate has voted to do,” he said. “However, considering the historic
budget challenges before us, I do not believe it is fiscally responsible
to pay for this worthy priority with rainy-day funds that are designed to
be used for budget emergencies.”
Senate President Bill Harris, R-Ashland, said in a statement that “this
isn’t about the funding source. It is about honoring men and women who put
themselves in harm’s way to defend our freedom.”
“I am fully aware of the fiscal challenges in which we find ourselves as a
state, but I believe it is fitting and appropriate for the state make this
small sacrifice to honor their sacrifice,” Harris said.
-------------------------
posted by Larry Scott
Founder and Editor
VA Watchdog dot Org
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