Glass City Jungle

The following was sent as a guest column from Ohio District 46 Representative Barbara Sears:

State Government Should Be Accountable to the Taxpayers

In the words of the President Ronald Reagan, “Governments tend to not solve problems, only to rearrange them.”

This is especially true in the current state biennial budget, which fails to fix the deficit with structural improvements to the way Ohio does business and instead procrastinates Ohio’s true problem—skyrocketing spending and waste, as well as the unbearable tax rates that support it.

As a small business owner, I understand the importance of identifying inefficiencies and then fixing or eliminating them. During both good times and bad, businesses constantly reevaluate their expenditures and trim down unnecessary costs.

During my short time in the legislature, Ohio’s government has not made this necessary effort. In fact, the state’s government has continued to grow uncontrollably while increasing spending at a time when spending should have decreased. It has grown too large to be managed efficiently, and families and businesses alike are paying the price for increased government expenses.

The legislature should be focused on enacting responsible budgets that will attract businesses and jobs to our state, not looking for new ways to grab more money from the taxpayers. Why should the big spenders in Columbus have the privilege of enjoying extravagant spending at the expense of your family’s hard-earned income?

To make Ohio’s government more efficient and transparent, House Republicans initiated the “Future of Ohio” government reform package, a collection of ten bills that together would improve the way Ohio does business. It focuses on streamlining state spending, reducing fraud, waste, and mismanagement, and holding the government accountable for each dollar it spends.

Included in the government reform package is a measure that I cosponsored, and when enacted it would restore nonpartisan oversight to the state’s finances. House Bill 120 would reinstate the Legislative Budget Office to ensure transparency and public accountability by providing budget analyses, financial monitoring, and revenues and expenditures of the state. This legislation is a necessary check-and-balance to the executive branch’s Office of Budget and Management, which recently provided inaccurate revenue estimates that contributed to our state’s budget crisis. It became clear that nonpartisan oversight is needed to ensure that state government is living within its means.

I also sponsored legislation to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse in Ohio’s Medicaid system. Medicaid is our state’s largest expenditure and is 40 percent costlier than the national average. In 2006, the Ohio Auditor of State conducted a performance audit of our Medicaid program and recommended $400 million in cost-saving proposals. To act upon these recommendations, I introduced House Bill 240 to offer cost-containment measures that eliminate wasteful spending. This legislation could save the taxpayers more than $120 million each year, and it is a vital step toward creating an efficient, accountable state government.

Although these bills have each only received one committee testimony, I remain hopeful that the House majority will take a closer look at these two proposals, as well as our other “Future of Ohio” bills. We have a whole menu of cost-saving options at our fingertips, and we should take advantage of these opportunities today to lessen some of the budget pressure tomorrow. I will continue to urge the legislature to adopt a responsible state budget by living within its means, reducing waste and being accountable to the people.

Rep. Sears may be reached by calling (614) 466-1731 or by writing to: Representative Barbara Sears, 77 S. High Street, 10th Floor, Columbus, Ohio 43215. You may also email her at District46@ohr.state.oh.us.