The program intends to leverage a partnership between Miami University and Cleveland Clinic, which operates “the world’s most powerful quantum computer dedicated to healthcare,” according to Miami University President Greg Crawford, who testified in front of the Senate Finance Committee late last month.
Crawford said the funding would beget a combined $70 million in investment from the university and the Cleveland Clinic in the coming years and noted that the university hopes to capitalize on an emerging quantum computing job market.
“I’m very disappointed,” said Senate Majority Whip George Lang, R-West Chester, whose district includes Miami University, of the item’s removal from the Senate budget.
Lang told this outlet that the earmark was his second-highest priority in the Senate’s budget deliberations.
His biggest priority, however, was a provision that will move Ohio to a flat 2.75% income tax over the next two years at a cost of $529 million and $1.1 billion in tax revenue over the next two years.
Lang and the rest of Republican leadership contend that ratcheting down the state’s income tax will lead to more tax revenue in the long run by creating jobs or encouraging spending.
In the meantime, Senate Finance Chair Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland, said there’s less money to spend on appropriations like Miami University’s now-axed quantum computing program.
“We just felt that, look, it was one of those things where we want to do a lot of big things in this budget, like the flat tax and other things,” Cirino told this outlet Tuesday. “We had to pare down the kinds of community-related or specific projects that were requested.”
Cirino, who has been chief legislator over public universities in recent years, said he felt that the project has merit.
“(It’s) something that we do want to make sure we get into our curricula here, but we just ran out of money and had to support other projects,” he said.
Lang, whose primary legislative interests revolve around economic issues, told this outlet that he views the project as a chance to develop Ohio’s workforce and produce thousands of high-paying jobs.
“Hopefully we can find another way to help kick start this program,” said Lang, who offered optimism that the provision could get put back into the state’s final budget plan during conference committee, which will start soon after the Senate passes its draft this week.
“There’s a long way to go before this budget is complete,” Lang said.
For more stories like this, sign up for our Ohio Politics newsletter. It’s free, curated, and delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday evening.
Avery Kreemer can be reached at 614-981-1422, on X, via email, or you can drop him a comment/tip with the survey below.
About the Author
