JobsOhio Deal Extended to 2053
BY MATT URBAS
STATEWIDE - JobsOhio, which is in the 12th year of a 25-year exclusive agreement to use the profits from liquor sales in Ohio for "economic development" lobbied for and got the ability to tack on an additional 15 years to that deal in last term's budget bill. I wrote about it here if you missed it.
Initially, the budget language required approval from both houses of the General Assembly. That language was changed to simply require the approval of Ohio Controlling Board. The Ohio Office of Budget and Management requested the extension last year with no change in the terms. After a couple deferrals last year, the item returned to the agenda today, and was approved, extending the term of the deal through February 2053.
Participation on the Ohio Controlling Board can vary - today, Republican Senators Jerry Cirino and Shane Wilkin, as well as Representatives Brian Stewart and Mike Dovilla, all had nothing negative to say about the deal. Senator Catherine Ingram and Representative Tristan Rader, both held the item up to ensure discussion, but Rader was the only member to object to approving the extension.
During questioning, Stewart, who chairs the House Finance Committee, painted a picture of an example deal JobsOhio might make, to illustrate why the JobsOhio extension needed to be approved.
“These incentive agreements are between JobsOhio and the recipient. Let’s say five years ago, JobsOhio entered into a 30-year abatement, which they’re legally allowed to do, with benchmarks for the company to meet; you have to employ so many people, you have to have this much payroll, whatever those criteria may be. And there are clawbacks in these agreements, that JobsOhio is the one empowered to enforce. So if a company got an award five years ago and they know it's a 30-year obligation, and they know JobsOhio is going to end in 10 or 15 years, then they know, effectively, that they only have to wait 10 to 15 years and then they're essentially off the hook for the 30-year obligation they agreed to” he said.
The stunning implication in Stewart’s statement that since JobsOhio is entering into contracts that have long term obligations beyond the the lease that JobsOhio has with the state, JobsOhio must continue to exist and be funded, or else the companies they’re dealing with might decide not to meet their obligations. By Stewart’s logic, once JobsOhio begins to exist and starts making deals, it must exist in perpetuity. Ohioans are stuck.
While Stewart, Cirino, Wilkin, and Dovilla had no objection to extending the deal past the middle of the century, opinion among Republicans across the state is decidedly mixed. Names from all corners of the Republican tent, from Dave Yost to Jim Renacci to Jay Edwards and beyond have called JobsOhio into question for its lack of transparency and results. While JobsOhio claims the veneer of a private nonprofit, its board members are all appointed by the governor, and two government lackeys from the Ohio Office of Budget and Management dutifully recited JobsOhio statistics and talking points during the brief period of questioning at the Controlling Board meeting this afternoon.
The beat goes on for sweetheart, inside deals in Ohio. And thanks to GOP leadership, will continue to go on, forever.
This Article was originally published on Matt Urbas' Substack, found here
