Questions

Rep Ron Amstutz: 90% of taxpayer money goes to health and human services, education, prison... and spending outpaces revenue by 10%, how do you want to balance the budget?

J. Pari: we have to make hard choices... I don't think people understand how dependent they are on the state government
c $1 out of every $6 spent on healthcare in this state is spent by the state of Ohio. It is a devil's choice you must make as you walk through the budget process.

Casino question: What effect does this have?
Sykes: We don't have an estimate of how much money will be generated.

J. Pari: there are as many estimates of the size of the budget hole as there are people in the room. The size of the hole depends on your assumptions - what matters, what you want to invest it, and how you are going to live within your means. This will be decided in the next two months. The message from my presentation is to say that the risks we were dealing with in HB1 - those risks, those shifting sands are gone. The new budget will be built while the economy is growing, not in freefall.