On June 28, 2024, Governor Mike Dwine signed House Bill 2, a capital budget for the fiscal years 2025-2026. The budget includes $3.5 billion in appropriation funds prioritized to create jobs and grow Ohio’s economy and infrastructure, which poses a significant impact on the Ohio construction industry. 

The Capital Budget Bill was crafted with a particular focus on ten major allocation categories, including: Higher Education and Workforce Readiness ($397 million), Mental Health Support ($133.5 million), Youth Services ($130 million), K-12 Schools ($600 million), Ohio’s History and Culture ($63 million), Ohio’s State Fair and Expo Center ($196 million), Rehabilitation & Correction ($255.1 million), Ohio Fire Academy ($23 million), Local Jail Support ($50 million), Ohio’s Parks and Natural Resources ($298.2 million), and Ohio State Highway Patrol Crime Lab ($7 million). 

The budget is expected to propel several significant infrastructure projects across the state, efforts to: 

• Improve and build mental health care facilities, including the design of a new hospital in the Miami Valley. 

• Build new, smaller juvenile correctional facilities. 

• Strengthen higher education infrastructure, cybersecurity, and workforce readiness. 

• Support construction and renovation in Ohio’s schools, colleges, and universities. 

• Support construction and renovation of local jails. 

• Protect public safety through investments in the design of a new state-of-the-art crime lab. 

• Advance firefighter training facilities with a new search and rescue training tower. 

• Improve and preserve Ohio’s state parks. 

• Enhance guest experience and support necessary infrastructure upgrades at the Ohio Expo Center and State Fairgrounds. 

To learn more, visit: https://governor.ohio.gov/media/news-and-media/governor-dewine-signs-capital-budget-bill.