Late Monday, Gov. Mike DeWine signed into law House Bill 96, the state operating budget bill for Fiscal Years 2026-27. The governor approved some of the most widely opposed provisions in the bill, including a flat state income tax and the use of $600 million in unclaimed funds for the Cleveland Browns’ new stadium.

But, Gov. DeWine did veto 67 provisions within the bill, and you can see the entire list here. Among the vetoes were a few key higher education proposals.

The most significant of the higher education vetoes is in regard to the language awarding a portion of State Share of Instruction (SSI) funding based on compliance with Senate Bill 1. The budget bill had specified that the higher education committees of the Ohio House and Senate would determine compliance and award the $75 million in set aside funding; however, the governor stated that this provision would violate separation of powers and that the Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE) would disburse this funding.

While this veto does not completely alleviate concerns about this section of the bill, we believe that ODHE is more likely to view compliance through a strict letter-of-the-law lens rather than play more politics and further weaponize resources to our public colleges and universities in the manner the General Assembly very likely would have.

In addition, Gov. DeWine vetoed the proposals awarding a portion of SSI funds for accelerated degree pathways and employment outcomes. While the governor isn’t opposed to creating accelerated degree pathways or basing some SSI on employment outcomes, he noted that the data does not exist that would allow for such funding to be distributed properly.

The governor also vetoed a portion of the bill relating to the new Ohio Higher Education Research Public Policy Consortium. The budget bill had limited grant awards to $10,000, but the veto removes the language that would cap the awards and instead leaves the funding amounts open-ended.

As you can see, the higher education vetoes made by the DeWine administration were based on technicalities rather than principles. As such, it is not surprising that the governor failed to veto some of the provisions that we found to be most worrisome–the proposals that attempt to further erode shared governance, that further empower the directors of the “civics centers,” as well as the egregious usurpation of STRS Board authority.

The General Assembly can override the governor’s line-item vetoes with 3/5 affirmative votes in each chamber. They can choose to do so at any time during the remainder of the General Assembly, but any override votes likely would occur sooner than later. Barring being called back for override votes, the legislature is expected to recess for the remainder of the summer and return in the fall.