COLUMBUS, Ohio — Lawmakers from both the House and Senate chambers appear to be on track to pass a Capital Budget by next week. It appears the governor’s office is also on board as well with their suggestions to the budget negotiations. The goal is to get a finalized budget passed by next week. 

“There’s a lot of work, though, that goes into a $4 billion overall capital bill,” said State Rep. Jay Edwards, R-Chairman of the Ohio House Finance Committee. 

The two chambers have each proposed identical bills that will allocate  $4.2 billion for local projects over the next two fiscal years. The lawmakers plan includes a $3.5 billion budget plus more than $700 million in community projects. Several funding various local projects including the Northcoast connector in Cleveland, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, and the Cincinnati Open tennis tournament in Mason. Meanwhile, Kimberly Murnieks from The governor’s Office of Budget Management introduced its proposal in front of the House Finance Committee on Thursday.

“The capital budget proposal from governor deWine presented to you today includes just over $3.2 billion in general fund-backed debt,” said Murnieks. “With another $283 million coming from non-growth sources for a total of $3.5 billion.”

The governor’s office plan follows the same bottom line as the House and Senate’s Capital budget. Both allocate $600 million toward building or renovating K-through-12 buildings, and put a big emphasis on public works projects. The governor’s office saying the state is in position to fund a budget of this size.

“We are in a strong financial position continuing to be in a strong financial position,” Murnieks said. “And, we are seeing what I call a return to normal in many of our revenue streams.”

At this time, the House and Senate are expected to approve the plan next week.