The Toledo Blade reported here . . . a year ago:
COLUMBUS — The infusion of billions in federal funds to pay for expanded Medicaid coverage in Ohio has had the side effect of dramatically increasing the state’s ability to put away money for a rainy day, as well as its power to borrow.
Ohio expects to finish the current fiscal year with a surplus of $970.4 million. It will transfer more than half of that amount at the last minute to help pay for proposed income tax cuts, unemployment compensation interest payments to the federal government, a proposed student debt reduction program, and other items.
But the remaining $374 million would be transferred to the state’s so-called rainy-day fund, budgetary reserves capped by law at no more than 5 percent of the general revenue fund. That would bring the balance in the fund to just under $1.9 billion, well above the current balance of roughly $1.5 billion.
