Athens County Public Libraries reacts to final state budget bill

ATHENS COUNTY, Ohio — Gov. Mike DeWine issued 67 line-item vetoes in the $60 billion biennial state operating budget when he signed it on June 30 — including one veto on a provision that would have controlled how certain material is presented in public libraries.

Had that section remained intact, Ohio’s libraries would have been forced to take measures to prevent children from seeing or accessing books and other materials about gender identity and sexual orientation.

Before the budget bill passed, Ohio House District 95 Rep. Kevin Ritter told the Independent that the legislature wanted “sexually explicit materials in a section where kids were going to have some guidance from their parents.”

In a released statement on the veto, DeWine said the requirement was unnecessary because “in Ohio, we have strong laws on obscenity and material harmful to juveniles, and the DeWine-Tressel Administration expects those laws to be enforced.”

“We’re very grateful that Gov. DeWine saw that the language about restricting materials related to gender and sexual orientation was harmful to libraries and to the communities that we serve, and vague language would have created a lot of problems for libraries, and he chose to veto the language,” Athens libraries Director Nick Tepe told the Independent.

Tepe is also grateful to everyone who contacted the governor about the potential impact of the requirement.

“I know that he received a lot of contacts from statewide, and I do know that that made a difference,” Tepe said.

DeWine also vetoed other anti-LGBTQ+ provisions, including one that would have withheld money from state homeless shelters that support transgender youth. However, DeWine let stand measures that define sex as a binary and say that “sexes are not changeable,” prohibits the use of state funds for gender-affirming mental health services, and bans menstrual products from men’s restrooms in public buildings.

Tepe said he has heard talk about representatives wanting to create more legislation with the goal of controlling displayed library materials, but he’s unsure if action will follow. Tepe hopes the pushback those representatives already received will make them think twice about it.

“We will continue to stand up for the rights of people in our communities,” Tepe said. “We serve everyone, and that does mean that there will be things in the library that people will disagree with, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t have them.”

In the budget bill, DeWine let stand a change in how public libraries are funded. 

Historically, Ohio libraries have been guaranteed to receive 1.7% of the state’s general revenue fund. The budget bill instead allocates specific amounts for libraries in 2026 ($490 million) and 2027 ($500 million). 

Also, $10.3 million will be transferred to the State Library of Ohio from the Public Library Fund each year, according to Athens County Public Libraries Fiscal Officer Hannah King.

According to the Ohio Library Council, that’s ultimately about $25 million less than would be available to libraries in FY2026 through the Public Library Fund.

Athens County Public Libraries Fiscal Officer Hannah King said the libraries are waiting to learn exactly how much money will be coming from the state.

Ritter said the change will give libraries more stability in their funding, and that he doesn’t think that it’s likely that a governor will line-item veto library funding in the future.

Ritter believes the new method of funding is more stable because it won’t be dependent on the general revenue fund; the amount libraries receive now can be more than 1.7% of the general revenue fund.

However, Tepe is concerned that this style of funding will not be stable enough long term.

“The larger issue is that, because of this being a line item, instead of being statutory, that means that every two years there’s a chance that — not only the legislature might take it away from us —  a future governor might veto [funding for libraries],” Tepe said.

Other budget measures

Ritter said he ultimately voted to pass the budget through the house because “I was very happy with the support for our region.” That support includes:

• $1.5 million per year to the Appalachian Ohio Manufacturers Coalition to create pilot programs in Meigs, Athens, Morgan, Noble, Monroe and Washington counties.
• $250,000 per year to Integrated Services for Behavioral Health for a behavioral health emergency pilot program. Rosemary Frech, director of external affairs for ISBH wrote, “We will expand our programming to provide enhanced access to quality care, including the intensive evidence-based treatment model, Assertive Community Treatment.”
• $150,000 per year to the City of Athens for a Southeast Ohio regional agricultural initiative. $150,000 per year to the City of Athens for a Southeast Ohio regional agricultural initiative. Mayor Steve Patterson said the city intends to put the money towards building a permanent shelter on the community center grounds for the Athens farmers’ market.
• $5 million for the Wayne National Forest Welcome Center.

Ritter said he’d gotten mostly positive, but also negative comments from the public about the bill in general.

Although he supported the bill overall, Ritter opposed the $600 million appropriated for a new stadium for the Cleveland Browns stadium. 

“I don’t think it’s an appropriate role of government to do that sort of thing,” he said.

Ritter was pleased with the new flat tax rate of 2.75%, which will apply to everyone regardless of income.

“We now have the lowest, flattest tax of any state in our region,” Ritter said. That is part of the legislature’s goal of “making (Ohio) really attractive for businesses to locate, to our part of the country,” he added.

Policy Matters Ohio, a progressive think tank, estimates that the flat tax will decrease state tax revenues by $1.1 billion once it is fully implemented. It also projects that the change will primarily benefit those earning $138,000 per year or more.

Renae Hefty is a junior at Ohio University. Hefty is a summer 2025 intern at Athens County Independent, with support from the Nonprofit Newsroom Internship Program created by the Scripps Howard Fund and the Institute for Nonprofit News.