Early next year, the Ohio General Assembly will enact a two-year state capital budget. The Capital Appropriations Budget provides funding for projects that repair, reconstruct and construct capital assets of state agencies (other than the Department of Transportation), colleges and universities, and public schools. In most years, funds for local community or regional projects are also funded.
The Capital Budget process will officially kick-off in early 2024, however, those seeking project funds must submit project proposals to lawmakers by Monday, December 18, 2023. GOPC has learned that between $150-$200 million in public-facing community project funding will be available to communities across Ohio in this years capital budget. Additionally, the budget will also include $700 million in one-time project funding from the Strategic Community Investment Fund.
The One-time Strategic Community Investment Fund was created in the main operating budget earlier this year with excess cash surplus from the last fiscal year which ended on June 30. Many of the constraints that apply to the capital budget do not apply to the Strategic Community Investment Fund.
Ideal requests will be transformational, one-time projects (do not require future assistance, not pilot programs) which are intended for first-in or last-out projects which spur on or complete project development.
Those seeking funding in the capital budget should submit the following information to lawmakers offices on or before December 18:
Project name, a general description of the overall project, and a specific description of the purposes or specific portion(s) of the overall project for which state capital dollars would be used
Physical location and address of the project (city/village/township and county)
Legal Entity Name and any alternative Doing Business As (DBA) trade names on file with the Ohio Secretary of State and the organization sponsoring the project
Identification of the facility or asset owner during construction and after work is completed
Amount of state funding being requested for the FY 2025-26 capital biennium
Amount and source of non-state funding, including private, not-for-profit, local, and federal funds supporting the project
The amount and source of state funding the project or asset has received in the past, and whether the project will be requesting additional state funding in future capital biennia
Identification and a description of any use by or involvement of private for-profit businesses or not-for-profit entities
Identification and description of any use or involvement by the federal government
Identification of the annual amount of and source(s) of funding for ongoing operational costs
Any additional relevant information that the requesting organization believes would be of assistance in evaluating the project’s value and eligibility to receive state capital funding
Description of how the project’s support will benefit the general public and how often the public will be able to gain access to the facilities or services provided by the community project funds
To learn more about the capital budget, including the process by which it is enacted in the legislature, be sure to check out our recent webinar co-hosted by Heritage Ohio and co-presented with the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission here on our website.