The framework of our current state constitution’s public debt article, Article VIII, “has worked ‘exceptionally well’ for more than 150 years,” said Tim Keen, Director of the Office of Budget and Management (OBM), according to a recent Hannah Report. Keen told members of the Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission (OCMC)’s Finance, Taxation and Economic Development Committee that “wholesale reform” of the article “is not warranted,” saying, “[t]he process of asking voters to review and approve bond authorizations sets an appropriately high bar for committing the tax resources of the state over the long term.” Keen attributes Ohio’s “AA+” credit rating to the state’s conservative debt practices. Former House Speaker Jo Ann Davidson is among the committee members who “expressed concern that any change to Article VIII could actually lead to a credit downgrade because of the resulting uncertainty,” according to Hannah. Keen said he would like to see some areas of Article VIII changed, including “replacing lease-appropriation debt authorization provisions of Sec. 2i with general obligation authorization for those purposes” and repealing the Sinking Fund provisions, “replacing them with a provision that assigns necessary ongoing debt reporting functions to the treasurer of state.” The committee is considering several options regarding Article VIII.
No need for “wholesale reform” of public debt article, budget director says
