The People’s Pen Presents: Sips & Steeps from the Ohio State Budget—Through the Eyes of Lady Humanity

Motto: Ethics. Equity. Action.

☕ GOOD TEA: The Sips That Soothe the Soul

Governor Mike DeWine signed Ohio’s new two-year state budget into law—but not without first exercising his veto power on 67 separate items. Many of these vetoes reflect your voices, your emails, your town hall testimonies. That’s right, darling—the kettle whistled, and the governor heard it.

Now let’s lift our cups to what made it into the people’s pot:

🌸 Preserving Nonpartisan School Boards

• Vetoed: Forcing local school board candidates to declare political parties.
• Why It Matters: Keeps school boards student-focused, not party-controlled.
• Constitutional Brew: First Amendment right to political freedom.

📚 Protecting Library Access

• Vetoed: Language demanding censorship of LGBTQ+ books.
• Why It Matters: Keeps libraries inclusive and prevents unconstitutional censorship.

🙏🏾 Blocking Religious School Slush Funds

• Vetoed: Education Savings Accounts for unregulated religious schools.
• Why It Matters: Public money requires public oversight. Period.

💰 Standing with Responsible School Districts

• Vetoed: Punishment for carrying over 40% of a school budget.
• Why It Matters: Rainy day planning isn’t reckless—it’s smart.

👶🏽 Protecting Babies’ Medicaid Coverage

• Vetoed: Re-enrollment requirements for children under 3.
• Why It Matters: Keeps health coverage steady for our tiniest Ohioans.

🏘️ Preserving Local Tax Levies

• Vetoed: Bans on renewal and emergency levies.
• Why It Matters: Protects funding for schools, services, and first responders.

🌱 Defending Environmental Tools

• Vetoed: Restrictions on H2Ohio’s ability to acquire land.

⛽ Slowing Down Oil & Gas Overreach

• Vetoed: Fast-track fracking, liability loopholes, and orphan well neglect.

🏳️‍⚧️ Protecting LGBTQ+ Youth Shelters

• Vetoed: Funding bans targeting gender-affirming youth shelters.

☕ BOTTOM OF THE POT: Bitter Brews the Governor Let Steep

And now, beloveds, the leftover grinds. The bitter dregs. These policies made it into law:

🏦 A Billion-Dollar Flat Tax for the Wealthy

• Signed: 2.75% flat tax benefits only those earning over $100K.
• Impact: Creates a $1B shortfall.

📉 Medicaid Trigger Language

• Signed: Medicaid expansion ends if federal funding shifts.
• Impact: 770,000+ Ohioans could lose coverage overnight.

🔒 Sealing Legislative and Criminal Justice Records

• Signed: Blocks access to communications, police reports, and more.
• Impact: Destroys transparency and delays justice.

🏟️ Public Dollars, Private Stadium

• Signed: $600M for a new Browns stadium from unclaimed funds.

🗳️ Dismantling Oversight and Education Representation

• Signed: Eliminates elected State Board of Education members and replaces bipartisan campaign commission with partisan appointees.

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📊 Lady Humanity on GAAP: When the Government Moves the Money Funny

Under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), government budgets must be:

• Transparent
• Balanced
• Legally Compliant

When funds are shuffled from intended purposes—like stadiums instead of schools—that’s not just bad policy. That’s bad accounting. And Lady Humanity says:

“If you move public funds without public purpose, that’s not just bad tea—it’s illegal steeping. Take that to the bank.”

📊 CHART: Projected Budget Shortfall by 2027

• Compares department budgets pre-veto and post-veto shortfall effects
• Departments most impacted: Mental Health, Youth Services, Libraries

📈 CHART: Ohio Medicaid Enrollment (2014–2025)

• Shows increase in enrollment since ACA
• Projects decline if Medicaid trigger is activated in 2025

📬 What’s Next? The Override Watch Begins

Ohio’s legislature has until December 31, 2026 to override any of the governor’s 67 vetoes.

What can you do? Use your voice. Use your vote. Use your pen.

Call Your Legislator Script:

Hello. My name is [YOUR NAME] and I live in [CITY/ZIP]. I’m asking you to vote NO on any attempts to override Governor DeWine’s budget vetoes. We need balance in our state government—not a rubber stamp. Does [LEGISLATOR’S NAME] commit to protecting these vetoes? I will be sharing your response with my network. Thank you.

🗺️ Find Your Legislators:

• Senate: ohiosenate.gov/members
• House: ohiohouse.gov/members

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🧾 Receipts & Sources

Flat Tax & Budget Shortfall

• Cleveland.com: Senate gives $1 billion tax cut to wealthy Ohioans
• Ohio Legislative Service Commission, H.B. 33 Fiscal Note

Department Budget Estimates

• Ohio OBM, FY23–25 Budget Summary
• ODMHAS, DYS, and Ohio Library Council reports

Medicaid Enrollment & Trigger Impact

• Ohio Department of Medicaid Reports (2014–2023)
• Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) State Profiles
• Policy Matters Ohio & Center for Community Solutions

Legislation & Veto Messages

• H.B. 33 (2025 Budget Bill – Enrolled Version)
• Governor’s Office: governor.ohio.gov

Lady Humanity’s Final Word

Politics may be dry, but the lives we live because of it are very real. This isn’t just a budget. It’s a moral mirror. What we fund, what we cut, what we hide—it all tells us who we really are.

So go on, stir your tea, shake your heads, raise your pens.

The ink is still wet—and the people are still watching.

– Lady Humanity, The People’s Pen