(Columbus, Ohio) – Today in the Crypt of the Ohio Statehouse, the Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions and the nation’s premiere national taxpayer watchdog group Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) released the 2009 Ohio Piglet Book: The Book Ohio’s Government Doesn’t Want You To Read.  Buckeye Institute President David Hansen, CAGW Vice-President for Policy David Williams, as well as several Ohio State Representatives helped unveil the report.  Rep. Kris Jordan (R - 2^nd District) also announced the introduction of a bill to create a State Government Efficiency Commission, more commonly referred to as the Ohio Grace Commission, modeled after the Grace Commission, which uncovered billions of dollars in waste and fraud in the federal government during the Reagan Administration.      

Ohio budget officials project a shortfall of $7.3 billion for Fiscal Year (FY) 2010, which comes after a tough budget period in FY 2009, when Governor Ted Strickland ordered most state agencies to cut 4.75 percent from their budgets in order to backfill a $540 million deficit.  As legislators consider how to make revenues meet expenditures, the 2009 Ohio Piglet Book gives concrete examples of waste for policymakers looking to trim the fat from state budgets.  The 2009 Ohio Piglet Book can be found at www.buckeyeinstitute.org, and at www.cagw.org.

•     $126.5 million in FY 2009 for the Third Frontier, which is the Ohio Department of Development’s (ODOD) ten-year project to expand high-tech research in Ohio slated to cost $1.6 billion when complete.  Third Frontier funnels tax money to a select group of corporations.  It is never a good idea for the state to be involved in picking winners and losers in the economy.

•     The ODOD, which is slated to receive $1.19 billion in FY 2010 distributes tax credits, loans and corporate welfare grants.  Previous grants have included giving out $475,000 to open a Chuck E. Cheese in Lima, and $399,000 for construction of a Kroger in Lucas County.

•     Ohio taxpayers have subsidized a variety of sports stadiums through the Cultural Facilities Commission, including:  $73.35 million for the Great American Ballpark and Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati; $36.8 million for Cleveland Browns Stadium; $5.5 million for the Ice Arena in Toledo; and $200,000 for the City of Avalon Minor League Stadium, among others.

•    Ohio taxpayers spent $22.4 million in FY 2009 for the State Racing Commission, even though the state already collects taxes on wagers placed at Ohio tracks and distributes the money to supplement purses, promote horse breeding in the state, and undertake research on horses.

“Ohio’s elected officials should always spend tax dollars effectively and efficiently,” said David Hansen of the Buckeye Institute.  “In times of budget deficits, it is especially important that legislators and the governor make every effort to ensure that money is spent only on those government programs which are truly needed. They have yet to make this effort in Ohio.”

“The Ohio Piglet Book should be a wake up call to taxpayers and legislators that state spending is out of control.  This is only the first step.  The Ohio Piglet has identified the excessive spending; it is now time to get rid of it,” concluded David Williams of CAGW.

The Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions is a nonpartisan research and educational institute devoted to individual liberty, economic freedom, personal responsibility and limited government in Ohio.  CAGW is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.