State Fiscal Highlights
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STATE FUND |
FY 2010 |
FY 2011 |
FUTURE YEARS |
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Secretary of State – Statewide Ballot Advertising Fund (Fund 5FH0) |
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Revenues |
- 0 - |
- 0 - |
- 0 - |
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Expenditures |
Increase in advertising costs, dependent on length of ballot language |
- 0 - |
- 0 - |
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Note: The state fiscal year is July 1 through June 30. For example, FY 2010 is July 1, 2009 – June 30, 2010. |
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· The resolution proposes to submit a constitutional amendment which would change the location of the authorized casino in Columbus to a designated site in Franklin County for state voters' approval on the May 4, 2010 ballot.
· The ballot advertising costs for this ballot measure would depend upon the length of the ballot language, but could be in the tens of thousands of dollars. The costs would be paid from the Statewide Ballot Advertising Fund (Fund 5FH0), a fund in the Secretary of State's budget.
Local Fiscal Highlights
· If voters approve the constitutional amendment, the increase in property tax revenue from the casino would go to the South-Western school district in Franklin County rather than the Columbus City school district.
· Since this issue would be placed on the May 4, 2010 ballot, a regularly scheduled primary election date, counties could incur some small additional expense to put this item on the ballot.
Detailed Fiscal Analysis
The resolution proposes to include a constitutional amendment on the ballot of the statewide special election on May 4, 2010. The constitutional amendment proposes to change Section 6 of Article XV of the Constitution of the state of Ohio to change the location of the authorized casino in Columbus to another location in Franklin County. The resolution would have a direct fiscal impact on the state, but no direct effect on local governments.
Ballot costs
If both houses of the General Assembly concur in the resolution, the Secretary of State would incur costs for ballot advertising under Article XVI, Section 1 of the Ohio Constitution, which requires that notice of ballot questions be published once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in each Ohio county. The Secretary of State spent $567,095 in ballot advertising costs for the three statewide issues that appeared on the November 2009 ballot. Statewide advertising costs for S.J.R. 8, because it calls for just one ballot issue, would likely be considerably less. Any such advertising cost will be paid out of the Statewide Ballot Advertising Fund (Fund 5FH0). The revenue source for this fund is GRF transfers from the Controlling Board. On the local level, since May 4 is a regularly scheduled primary election date, county boards of elections could incur some small additional expense to put this item on the ballot.
Potential local fiscal effects
If the voters approve the constitutional amendment, it would change the distribution of tax revenues among local governments and school districts. According to the Franklin County Auditor, the proposed location of the casino is in Franklin Township and the South-Western school district. The construction of a casino on the proposed location would change the benefits from increased property valuation from the Columbus City school district to the South-Western school district. Thus, property tax receipts would rise in the South-Western school district rather than in the Columbus City school district. Changes in property values determine how much state aid a school district receives. Therefore, approval of the amendment potentially modifies the amount of state aid each of the districts would receive.
