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Fifty five KARC the talk station atoh five Here fifty five kr CD talk station. Happy Wednesday. Judg en Off Alton about him in the hour has this case every Wednesday. And I'm happy to welcome to the fifty five CARS
Morning Show. High State Senator George Lyon, currently serving his second term of the High State Representative people of the fourth Senate District covering the majority Butler County, elected by his Senate College the Service Senate Minority Whip Majority rother Whip for the one hundred and six thirty six General Assembly. He previously served a couple of terms Ohio House of Representatives and he's here in the fifty five kr SEE Morning Show to talk about the Ohio budget bill. Mike
DeWine vetoed sixty seven provisions in the bill. We'll talk a little bit about that. Welcome back, Senator Lang. It's a pleasure having you on the morning show.
Brian Gabe, great to be back with you. Thanks for having me my friend in sixty seven vetos. Can you imagine that one of the last time you had to sign something sixty seven times.
You know, it's just fond memories of the two seconds that Ronald Reagan had the line item veto and then the Supreme Court found it unconstitutional. We do have it in the state of Ohio for whatever good or bad it brings about, and it brought about some bad the other day, Mike de Wines sort of revealing his true nature politically. But let's start by congratulating you and our other elected officials for capping the income tax at two point seventy five percent flat for everybody.
You know, it's been my number one objective since I got up to the State House eight years ago, and my ultimate goal is to eliminate the income tax all together. Yeah, and you know, it may take Micah a week or two to get over his cramping hands and maybe corporal tunnel syndromel set in. I don't know, but I feel really really good about our odds of eliminating the income tax altogether under a Governor Ramaswami.
Well, since the future governor of the state of Ohiaramaswami was on my program yesterday, he embraced that concept completely. I asked him about that very specific thing he said, absolutely, we are going to eliminate the income tax completely. I mean, talk about creating a more competitive state. It's going to be wonderful. It's going to be wonderful for the state of Ohio.
Mike, it really is. And if you just look at what happened in Ohio in the last fifty years, go back with me to nineteen seventy. Not only was the music a lot better back then, but in nineteen seventy, Ohio itself was rock and rolling. We're making automobiles, tires, consumer goods, steal We are the economic epicenter of the United States of America. And fast forward to twenty twenty. In nineteen seventy, Ohio was the twelfth largest economy in
the world. In twenty twenty, Ohio became the twenty fourth largest economy in the world. We're still slightly larger than Morocco, Mike, but we're shadow of where we used to be. And Oh, I'm sorry, Brian. And in nineteen seventy, Brian, the average Ohioan made ten percent more than the average American, Bryan. In twenty twenty, the average Ohioan made twelve percent less than the average American. And in nineteen seventy, we go
from twenty four congressmen to fifteen. What happened the income tax. We put the income tax in in nineteen seventy one. One tax after another, one regulation after another, Brian, we started driving businesses away and people went to where the jobs were. No state in America got their butt kicked worst in Ohio in terms of congressional representation loss from nineteen seventy to twenty twenty. By the way, last year, the average Ohioan made four percent more than the average American.
And I guarantee you we're going to add a congressman in twenty thirty.
Appreciate your optimism, sharing the optimism of vivek Ramaswami, he man. I'm telling you can't help but being thus and optimistic about the future. When you talk to that guy, he really is a cheerleader for the state in the future.
And you know, Ohio's future is bright. I mean, if you just look at what does happened since we have started lowering income sackers. Then it started about twenty years ago. We got real serious about it about eight years ago, and look what happened, Brian. Look at all the companies coming back to Ohio, Amazon, Honda, Google, Ford andrew O, Intel building the biggest chips factory, and the Galaxy right here in Ohio. But what I'm more excited about, Brian,
are the little guys. In the last six years, two point one million startup businesses in Ohio, more than the previous twenty years combined. Ohio. Last year, fourteen percent of all startups in America were in Ohio. We are the startup capital of the world. We're just not the state to keep your business where the state to start it. I want to make us a state to grow it, to keep it, and to stay here.
Well, and also to market itself. So those businesses that are dealing with outrageous taxes and outrageous regulatory issues, that they want to move to the state of Ohio, like so many states are. So many companies did moving out of New York and California. Now, speaking of that, I understand that the governor, one of the vetos, he stripped out the reins acts, reforms that would have strengthened legislative oversight of these ridiculously costly regulations. This is one of
the things Americans for Prosperity has its eye on. By way of overriding the veto. Were you a little shocked that he did that? And do you have any concept of or any idea of knowing why Governor de Wine pulled that particular one out.
I believe everything that Governor the Wine vetoed, his motives were pure. I do believe he's a good man. I believe I disagree with him often, but I believe his motives were pure. But this one, I truly believe that
Governor de Wine thinks that government knows best. We had a meeting with the Department of Taxation, with the director and a few of their deputies, UH several years ago, with several of my colleagues in the House of Representatives, myself and Senator Johnson, and it was obvious that the bureaucrats were in charge. They did not listen to a
thing we said. We did not intimidate them, and it was a simple fix that they could have made without any legislative action, and they told us no. You know that It's one of the problems with term limits, although I fully support it, but term limits you end up giving power to lobbyists and bureaucrats, at least lobbyists. I understand their motive. It is the profit motive, a pure and noble motive. But these bureaucrats, they scare me and
I don't understand their motive. And they are they are They have way too much power and Columbus today.
Well, they're not accountable to the people, as you point out, if they're not elected, they don't have to run for reelection, they get to make any decision they damn well please and can well ignore the even just the concept of representative democracy is he just pointed out in that one illustration. So but I mean, whether his motives are pure or not, he stripped out the rains reforms, which would put that power right back in the hands of the legislative branch where it belongs.
That's not as correct and then very disappointing.
All right, So what is there a time frame to override these vetos? I know everybody's on break right now, Independence Day and otherwise, but are you gonna have to call people back to Columbus to vote on these or can you kick the can down for the road for a month or two and then vote on repeals? How does this work, Senator?
Yeah, Constitutionally, we have until the very last day of this General Assembly, which would be December thirty first of twenty twenty six. The reality is there are quite a few things I think, at least speaking on behalf of the Senate that you know, we we had a leadership meet in and discussed a few things that we think are important to override. You know, every single override has to originate in the House. So no matter what we do in the Senate, because this is a House bill,
it has to start in the House. I think the simple to your answer to your question is, yeah, we do have I believe the will for some VETO overrides. I don't think we have the will to override all the VETO overrides, but I think you will see us do some. I don't think we'll be called back during the summer. You know, everybody has summer plans. I have recently been diagnosed with stage four colo rectal cancer. Some treatments down in Tijuana and in July. And don't you
dare awe me. I'm not a woe with me kind of guy. You cancer kind of guys. I'm taking I'm gonna kick your ass again. That's that's that's.
Good for you man. That's a great attitude. To have, and I'm not a woe me guy either. After I got my parents a diagnosis, I'm playing that. I'm playing the cards that I've been dealt. And you know, there are a lot more people out there the deserving of prayer and sympathy than Brian Thomas. So I appreciate your optimism, but best to health to you and good luck with the fight, my friend. I know you can beat it.
He vetoed a lot of the property tax reforms that were in the bill as well, and we are in desperate need a property tax reform, most notably seniors on fixed incomes. They're getting tax right out of their houses.
Senator, you know it's it's not just seniors on fixed income. It is many, many people that the property taxes have been devastating to. And the original intent of the property tax Mike, when it was original had passed right, you had to vote on it, and keep in mind of
all property tax level levies stayed local. None of it goes back to the state, but you had to vote on it, and your property taxes, the amount you personally paid would never go up unless you voted for another increase, and there was a chance that would go down is development and more homes were sold. But it was originally said that it would never go up. Well, as we know, we have bastardized that over the years and we have a system now where when valuations are your property go up,
your property taxes go up commensurate with it. That was never the intention of the when we originally allowed property taxes. So we do need some reform so that every time a school district, every time a municipality, a fire district, a library, once more money, let them go to the people, make their case and let them convince the voters why they need more money. And you know, I do trust these bolt and then the good people at the since
I public schools. But you know we can't just give them these bonuses every three years that gotuations increase with it has to stop.
Yeah, I mean, it should be a limit. You know, you're voting for X amount and that's all you are going to get. If your property tire, your valuation of your property goes up, you know, a thousand percent or something. The amount of money taken shouldn't go up in a commensurate amount. It's capped at whatever was voted on in terms of overall dollars, right, is that how we're supposed to have it here.
That's how we were supposed to have it here, and that's how we put it into the budget. Now that there were some that actually wanted to punish school districts and make it retroactive, I was not amongst those, you know, I don't think that it was the right thing to do to cost make sure the school district's a loss of money as a result of this, but just to make sure they didn't get a windfall as a result of this.
Yeah, And I understand where you're coming from, because they acted in reliance on what they expected to come in and they planned accordingly, So to tell them it's taken away would put a lot of districts in a rather precarious position. So I understand where you're coming from on that one.
And the other thing on education, he vetoed the educational savings account would allow some non chartered Christian schools for lack of a better term, participate in the voucher program. I was very disappointed in that as well.
Yeah, and that's one that I find rather inexplicable as well. I mean, I thought he was a school choice kind of leaning guy.
Yeah, you know, and there is a great Montssory School up in Liberty Township that does a wonderful job educating kids, not indoctrinating them, but truly teaching them how to think, and they're not able to participate in it. With this budget, they would be allowed to participate in the program, and the Governor's vetoed that is one of the ones that I hope my colleagues take up as a priority for an overriding.
Yeah, and I suppose in terms of what my listening audience can do being get in touch with the representatives and tester them about bringing these to the floor for a vote, so you'll have an opportunity to vote on its Senator.
That is correct, yep. And it's got to start in the House of Representatives. Call all your local house members and encourage in to take up the charge for the v tail overriding.
All right, Especially, I would argue that RAINS Act, the Education Savings accounts, any property tax reforms. We desperately need that out here in the real world. Well, I'll look forward to I guess this will be a piecemeal kind of thing. You can pick off one at a time and over the period of time that you have, which is basically about what eighteen months or a year and a half or so.
Yeah, yeah, that is correct. You know, keep in mind we need sixty percent of the vote in order to do an override. So I think there would be a mistake for us to try to do too many at one understood, because you know, there are certain things that some of my colleagues, if they were left alone, would be a no vote on, and you know, the budget overall, usually you can get people to vote for things that
they don't like in the budget. I have never voted for a budget that I liked everything that was in it. But as long as we continue in lowering taxes, lowering regulations, bringing businesses back, making Ohio more prosperous, I'm going to vote yes on it.
Senator George Lang, it has been a pleasure talking with you. We show all the best in the world with your cancer fight. I know you're going to beat it. Sound really optimistic about that, and that's where it really starts, my friend. I look forward to having you back on the program to talk about well future legislations, the repeals, the votes, and anything else going on to the state. About how you know you have a welcome spot here
in the morning. Should have passed long information to the listeners.
Thanks Brian, and you have a great day, my friend.
Thanks and a happy Independence Day to you.
Sir.
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