COLUMBUS, Ohio — Just one day after announcing he had signed House Bill 99, which permits school employees to be armed, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine held another press conference Tuesday morning about the capital budget appropriations bill – also known as House Bill 687.
At the start of the press conference, Gov. DeWine announced he had signed the bill, which is features the $3.5 billion capital budget that was passed back on June 1.
“This budget is about creating jobs, growing our economy and looking out for the future of Ohioans," Gov. DeWine said.
Here are highlights of what the budget will provide, according to Gov. DeWine:
- It will pay for improvements in mental health care.
- Provides more independent living options for Ohioans with developmental disabilities.
- Improves state parks.
- Covers infrastructure projects to prepare for the construction of Intel in central Ohio.
- Greater security to schools.
- Supports construction and renovation at K-12 schools, colleges and universities.
- Protect livestock industry.
- Enhance security in prisons.
- Build facilities for firefighting training.
We streamed Gov. DeWine's press conference on the capital budget, which you can watch in full below:
During his previous press briefing Monday, Gov. DeWine also highlighted other school safety measures – including a $100 million plan for security upgrades at schools statewide.
It comes just a few weeks after Gov. DeWine announced $4.8 million in grants had been awarded to nearly 100 schools throughout Ohio in the state’s K-12 School Safety Grant Program “to help them improve the overall safety and security of their buildings.” The funding can be used to cover expenses associated with security enhancements like cameras, automatic door locks, public address systems and visitor badging systems.
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Editor's note: Video in the player above was originally published in a previous story on June 13, 2022, as Gov. DeWine discussed signing House Bill 99.