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Whenever Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken Blackwell was at Ohio Farm Bureau functions, he would talk about his push to put a Tax Expenditure Limitation (TEL) amendment on the November ballot. Farm Bureau’s board was poised to discuss and possibly vote on whether to support the TEL when Blackwell agreed last month to have the amendment pulled from the November ballot in exchange for the legislature passing a less-restrictive bill, said Rocky Black, OFBF’s director of legislative affairs.

"This is the first time the legislature has placed some type of spending discipline on itself," Black said. "Fiscal responsibility is something that Farm Bureau has been advocating the state to do for years."

Blackwell’s TEL amendment kicked up a flurry of protests after critics said the language was flawed and would limit local government spending too much. The version rushed through the House and Senate before they went on summer break imposes a state spending cap that would limit spending increases to 3.5 percent per year or the combined rate of inflation plus population growth, whichever is greater. It would not limit local government spending and would not apply to several parts of the state budget.

According to the nonpartisan Ohio Legislative Service Commission, Blackwell’s version would have resulted in $34.1 billion less in state and local government spending between 1994 and 2002. The legislative version would have resulted in an $11.8 billion reduction in spending over the same time period, according to an analysis by The Columbus Dispatch.

Blackwell approved of the legislative version, saying it would help make Ohio more competitive in the economic marketplace. The spending cap was attached to the state tobacco-settlement budget.

"Ohio has taken a giant step forward in the fight to reform our tax code, cut taxes and create jobs," he said in a news release.

Black said that it would take a two-thirds vote by lawmakers to override the spending cap. But he noted that it would only take a majority vote to amend the law.

"The legislative TEL is very pliable," he said. "It’s not nearly as restrictive as the one proposed by Blackwell. We’ll see what effect it has."

Ohio Farm Bureau will continue to push the state to be more fiscally responsible and improve its business climate, Black said.

"State spending is still a top priority for Farm Bureau, and we will continue to keep a close eye on how the state spends money," he said.