The State of Ohio’s recently enacted budget bill includes economic development appropriations for Ohio Department of Development new and/or continuing programs.
Some of the major benefits of these appropriations are as follows:
- Broadband: The language in the budget bill strips out the Senate’s proposed limits on existing and future municipal broadband networks. $230 million is appropriated in SFY 2022 and $20 million is appropriated in SFY 2023 new broadband expansion.
- Ohio Rural Industrial Park Loan Program: The budget bill appropriates $15 million in both SFY 2022 and SFY 2023. It expands the eligibility for the program beyond certain distressed areas by including rural areas in the program, which are any county not within a statistical metropolitan area (MSA), as well as transfers $20 million in unencumbered funds to SFY 2022.
- Main Street Job Recovery Program: The budget bill appropriates $250,000 to the Ohio Department of Development in SFY 2022 to provide grants to nonprofit organizations to create permanent business development and employment opportunities targeted to low- and moderate-income individuals or individuals of the reentry population.
- Sports Events Grant Program: The budget bill appropriates $10 million in SFY 2022 to fund grants awarded under R.C. 122.12 and R.C. 122.121.
- Meat Processing Program: The budget bill creates a new meat processing program fund within the Ohio Department of Development in order to provide up to $250,000 grants to meat processing plants for facility improvements and equipment purchases.