Ohioans will pay more to farm, drive, do business and enjoy the outdoors under a budget proposal released by Governor Ted Strickland. The plan for the next two years increases 120 state fees to raise an estimated $236,000,000 million to keep the budget balanced.
The $55,000,000,000 spending plan includes a historic increase in state education funding and expanded access to health care for poor children. It also would put in place another tuition freeze at Ohio's public universities.
It doesn't raise taxes but does call for shrinking many government programs and cutting pay for state employees. Strickland also says he'll likely close a prison in 2011 unless the number of inmates is reduced from the current 50,000.