Ohio’s new biennial budget includes the first-ever requirement that the Ohio Judicial Conference undergo increased legislative review, a significant pivot in how the judiciary’s budget is evaluated and approved.
Gov. Mike DeWine signed the $60 billion, two-year budget on July 1, 2025. It boosts judicial salaries, granting a 5% annual raise through 2029, but also tasks the OJC with presenting its budget to legislative finance committees each biennium.
Historically, the OJC, which supports all 722 Ohio judges through legislative analysis, training, and rule uniformity, submitted its budget without public legislative hearings. Its budget, approximately $1.9 million biennially, covers eight staff members and dues for the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws.
State legislators, particularly from both chambers’ finance and oversight committees, have welcomed the transparency mandate. House Finance Chair Brian Stewart, R-Ashville, told the Ohio Capitol Journal, “Clearly, we could pretty quickly identify where there are some larger differences,” emphasizing the value of scope in legislative review.
Senate Finance Chair Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland, echoed the sentiment.
“It’s not unusual at all to have beginning conference meetings with some major differences,” Cirino told the Ohio Capital Journal.
Rep. Bride Rose Sweeney, D-Cleveland, the House Finance ranking member, emphasized to Statehouse News that thorough oversight must extend beyond tax and spending cuts. She said the judiciary deserves “the same level of scrutiny” others receive and emphasized “making choices for the people of Ohio."
Judge David A. Hejmanowski, chair-elect of the OJC, conveyed readiness in testimony before the Senate’s Government Oversight & Reform Committee, calling the organization “an integral part of the judicial branch” and emphasizing its mission to “promote uniformity and improve the administration of justice”.
He outlined how the Conference reviews every bill for court impact, supports judges transitioning new laws into practice, and facilitates judicial- legislative exchanges.
Hejmanowski defended the OJC’s modest request, explaining its reliance on public funds to pay eight staff members and dues, primarily to support judges’ work and system-wide coordination.
The inclusion of the judicial oversight requirement is amid a budget featuring a 2.75 percent flat income tax, reallocated unclaimed funds for a new Browns stadium, and sweeping agency reforms indicates legislators’ broader interest in government transparency.
Critics of the flat tax and stadium funding have questioned the budget’s priorities, including Democrats who argued it skewed benefits toward the wealthy and mega-donors. However, some fiscal conservatives, like Cirino, acknowledged that the Judicial Conference deserves deeper scrutiny than other state agencies.
The OJC will begin presenting budget details to joint finance panels ahead of the FY 2026–27 budget cycle. Lawmakers and court administrators will monitor whether hearings yield meaningful dialogue about judicial spending and performance, and whether this level of transparency becomes standard for future budgets.
