Friday, February 11, 2000
Ohio near pact on tobacco windfall
Schools get priority
BY SPENCER HUNT
Enquirer Columbus Bureau
COLUMBUS — Ohio lawmakers will try next week to finally pass a spending plan for the state's $10.1 billion tobacco settlement.
Details of the proposal, which would fund school construction, anti-smoking efforts and biomedical research, emerged after House and Senate Republicans revealed plans to pass it Wednesday.
Even as the first hearing was scheduled, leaders in both chambers said some long-standing disagreements over the best way to spend the money still are not resolved.
“I think the general outline, right now, is pretty much a done deal,” Sen. Roy Ray, R-Akron, said Thursday. Mr. Ray is the chairman of a joint House-Senate committee working on the plan.
Another committee member, Rep. J. Donald Mottley, R-West Carrollton, said House Republicans haven't signed off on the deal. He was optimistic an agreement could be reached before the General Assembly reconvenes Wednesday.
“We've agreed in principle, but the details are not worked out yet,” Mr. Mottley said. “There's still a couple of rough points that need working on.”
The $10.1 billion is Ohio's projected share of a historic national lawsuit settlement between states and tobacco companies. Ohio will get its money in installments over 25 years.
Mr. Mottley and Mr. Ray said the current plan would set aside $2.5 billion for school construction projects over the next 12 years.
The remainder would fund public health programs, biomedical research at Ohio universities, and a campaign to discourage teens from smoking. These initiatives would get a percentage of the settlement money left over after school construction was fully funded each year.
This differs from previous plans that earmarked specific amounts of money for anti-smoking, public health and biomedicine. Senate President Richard Finan, R-Evendale, said the change was made because lawmakers believe Ohio may get less than $10.1 billion if cigarette sales continue to decline nationwide.
“The problem is, we don't know how much money we're getting,” Mr. Finan said.
Mr. Finan would not comment on the details of the plan. Mr. Mottley, however, said House Republicans may have some trouble agreeing to at least two things their Senate colleagues want.
Senate lawmakers reportedly want to place more stringent limits on a House-backed public health provision that would use tobacco funds to help needy senior citizens buy prescription medicines.
Although the proposed spending plan would expire after 12 years, Mr. Mottley said House lawmakers want the Senate to include a provision that would encourage future General Assemblies to extend the plan to cover the next 13 years of tobacco settlement payments.
House Speaker Jo Ann Davidson, R-Reynoldsburg, said she plans to hold a caucus with GOP rank-and-file lawmakers early next week to gauge their support for the proposal.
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