DeWine signs $3.5 billion budget with incentives for Intel project

On June 14, Gov. Mike DeWine signed House Bill 687 – the state’s capital budget – authorizing incentives for Intel and projects to upgrade infrastructure in Licking County, as well as providing funding for a host of other major projects.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.

“This budget is about creating jobs, and growing the economy for Ohioans,” said DeWine in a prepared statement. “I greatly appreciate the members of the General Assembly for their partnership on this budget, which makes important investments in many state and local infrastructure projects that will benefit Ohioans for years to come.”

The state’s capital budget is separate from the biennial transportation budget signed into law last March.

Earlier this month, Intel began sitework on the $20 billion semiconductor project that includes two plants, called fabs, in Licking County.

The project is expected to create at least 7,000 construction jobs, plus thousands of additional construction jobs created by Intel suppliers who will move to the state.

H.B. 687 included a $600 million onshoring incentive grant in support of the Intel project. The grant is performance-based and designed to offset semiconductor subsidies offered by countries in Asia. 

The bill also sets aside $101 million for local water and wastewater capacity upgrades, $95 million for local roads and $110 million for state roads. An additional $300 million was allocated for a state-of-the art water reclamation facility.

“The capital budget invests in the infrastructure that will advance the Intel project and fund educational infrastructure that will help build the workforce we need to compete and win a brighter economic future for Ohio,” said Lt. Governor Jon Husted in a prepared statement. “Our state’s best days are ahead of us, and we are grateful to the legislature for their collaboration to make Ohio the go-to state in the Midwest.”

Ohio’s new capital budget appropriated roughly $72 million for the Ohio Department of Agriculture to build a new Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory.

Also, the Community Capital Assistance Program will receive $25 million to build, buy and renovate homes to create independent living options for those with disabilities.