“It went over to the Senate and it’s just sitting there right now,” Rep. Todd Book, D-McDermott (89th District) said when asked about the status of Gov. Ted Strickland’s proposal to freeze the final year of a state income tax cut to fill an $800 million hole in the state’s two-year budget. “They’ll put forward their plan on how we should fix the budget hole. And I assume what will happen is they will put forward some plan that we will have to go to conference committee on.”

It’s déjá vu for state lawmakers, who this past year, hammered out a final budget through the same process, only to see the Ohio Supreme Court throw a monkey wrench into the apparatus by ruling in favor of allowing a citizens committee, LetOhioVote.org, to place the issue of video lottery machines before Ohio voters.

Strickland had favored placing 17,500 video lottery terminals in Ohio’s seven racetracks, and that had been included in what was considered to be the final bill, passed by both houses.

Book said the House agreed with the Governor’s proposal.

“The vote was to, in essence, freeze the income tax cuts for a particular period,” Book said. “The final year of the income tax cut was just delayed for a year-and-a-half.”

Book was asked his response to critics of the bill, who are saying that the move was, in effect, a $900 million income tax hike for citizens of Ohio.

“I think we had a problem. And that was the most reasonable way to fix the problem, given the situation now, and where we are with the budget and the whole process of state,” Book said. “That was the most reasonable approach, and it is what we went forward with. And if the Senate has another idea, then bring it forward. They haven’t brought anything forward so far that will work.”

Strickland said the decision came down to three alternatives. The first was to raise taxes. The second to cut education funding by $851 million. And the third, and the one he has chosen, to ask the legislature to freeze the income tax rate at the 2008 level, and postpone the final 4.2 percent reduction, while leaving in place the rate cuts made to date.

“If the legislature adopts this proposal, Ohio’s taxpayers will continue to pay the tax rate 16.8 percent less than it was in 2004,” Strickland said. “The state will collect approximately $844 million in revenue which is close to the $851 million needed to protect education and balance our budget. The rest would be made up in cuts, if necessary.”

The House is currently controlled by Democrats, while the Republicans are still in control of the Senate.

FRANK LEWIS may be reached at (740) 353-3101, ext. 232.