The Ohio Controlling Board approved a deal to extend a private nonprofit corporation’s lease of state liquor profits.
The board gave the green light to a 15-year extension of a “franchise and transfer agreement amendment” with JobsOhio and the JobsOhio Beverage System. The Ohio Office of Budget and Management, in coordination with the Ohio Department of Commerce, asked the Controlling Board to approve the amendment.
With the deal, the extended contract runs through Feb. 1, 2053.
According to a spokesman for the Ohio Office of Budget and Management, of the seven members of the Controlling Board, only state Sen. Catherine D. Ingram, D-Cincinnati, and state Rep. Tristan Rader, D-Lakewood, substituting for state Rep. Bride Rose Sweeney, D-Westlake, objected to the item. The spokesman said Controlling Board President Jill Schuler, state Sens. Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland, and Shane Wilkin, R-Hillsboro, and state Reps. Brian Stewart, R-Ashville, and Mike Dovilla, R-Berea, voted against the measure.
“JobsOhio is a unique economic development platform supporting Ohio’s economic momentum,” JobsOhio President and CEO J.P. Nauseef said in a statement.
“We are very grateful to the Controlling Board, Governor DeWine, Speaker Huffman, Senate President McColley, the entire Ohio Legislature and the business community for their continued support,” Nauseef added. “The JobsOhio Team and Network Partners will continue to build upon our state’s once-in-a-generation opportunities so more and more can realize their own version of the American Dream, right here in the Heart of it All.”
In 2013, JobsOhio, formed under former Gov. John Kasich in 2011, raised capital via the bond market to obtain the rights for Ohio’s Liquor enterprise through 2038 for approximately $1.4 billion. While many Ohio politicians are upset at the extension, lawmakers effectively approved it during the last session with the approval of House Bill 33, the state’s budget.
According to an Ohio Legislative Service Commission review of HB 33, it allows “the state, upon agreement with JobsOhio, to extend the original transfer agreement regarding spirituous liquor distribution in Ohio for an additional 15 years from the end of the original term by entering into a new agreement.” It subjects “any transfer agreement extension to Controlling Board approval.”
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, who is running for governor in 2026, had asked the Controlling Board to delay considering the extension, writing in a letter to Nauseef that he had “grave concerns that this is not a good deal for Ohioans.” While the attorney general didn’t necessarily oppose “the goal of the extension,” he wanted JobsOhio to allocate the $840 million over the remainder of its agreement to “expand Ohio’s workforce.”
In a news release, the state’s top lawman said his plan would promote creating jobs in “high-growth industries” while supporting residents needing help re-entering or upgrading their skills. He suggested providing financial help via daycare subsidies to parents looking to re-enter the workforce, investing in specialized job skills training to give workers the skills they need for specific roles and incentivizing those unemployed for more than a year and wanting to return to work.
A spokesman for Yost did not immediately return a call seeking more information.
“Extension of this agreement is crucial for Ohio’s continued economic growth and industrial diversity, for support to communities across Ohio, and for employment growth and continued fiscal stability for businesses and families throughout the state,” according to the funding request filed with the Controlling Board.
Separately, a new Ohio.news investigation revealed that the tens of thousands of jobs that JobsOhio has claimed to have created have come at a high cost.
Between 2015 and 2023, JobsOhio reported creating 170,941 jobs. With a net operating income of $12.7 billion during that time, or more than $1.4 billion per year for those nine years, each job cost an average of $74,281.
Since its inception, lawmakers have given JobsOhio a mixed reception. However, DeWine recently touted the agency, saying it is the envy of governors nationwide.
