Late yesterday afternoon, the Ohio House and Senate voted to approve the report of the Conference Committee for the State Budget. The Fiscal Year 26-27 state operating budget bill (HB 96) has now been sent to Governor DeWine for signature by Monday, June 30.
All the provisions harmful to libraries remain in the state budget bill. Specifically:
- A $25 million reduction in statewide public library funding. For Cincinnati & Hamilton Public Library (CHPL), this equates to a $4 million loss over two years compared to FY 2025 funding.
- Language giving County Budget Commissions increased oversight and authority over voter-approved property tax levies.
- An alarming provision requiring public libraries to “place materials related to sexual orientation or gender identity or expression in a portion of the public library that is not primarily open to the view of persons under the age of 18.”
Before signing, the Governor—who has been a strong supporter of Ohio’s public libraries—has the authority to issue line-item vetoes.
What Can You Do?
We are encouraging Library leaders, staff, and customers to respectfully urge Governor DeWine to veto the provision related to library materials for three main reasons:
- Families know best. At CHPL we feel that families—not the state or libraries—should determine what materials are appropriate for their children. CHPL already has policies in place to support families in making decisions concerning library materials.
- Unclear and unworkable language. The bill language is overly broad, vague, and unworkable.
- Costly implementation. Implementing what is, in effect, an unfunded mandate to relocate, re-examine and re-classify millions of items, would require additional staffing, oversight and a significant amount of money -- dollars that could otherwise have been spent on services to the community or purchasing new items. All of this at a time when CHPL will be receiving less state funding.
Contact Governor Mike DeWine before June 30
- Call: 614-466-3555
- Email: https://governor.ohio.gov/contact
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