Matt Huffman

Citizens packed a church next door to the Ohio Statehouse to rally for "fair districts" and afterward they met with lawmakers.

The move comes after days of debates behind closed doors and even those who voted for the maps say they believe the plans will be challenged in court.

Republican state lawmakers will unveil their proposal for new state House and Senate district maps at Thursday's meeting.

Nearly two hours past the midnight deadline, Gov. Mike DeWine put out a statement saying he signed the two-year, $75 billion state budget – while striking out 14 items. Most of the vetoes were technical and specific, but others were more notable.

Republicans in the Senate have added to their budget a provision that could directly affect the upcoming process to draw new maps for a 15-member Congressional delegation – down from 16 – and the Ohio House and Senate.

The Ohio Senate passed the state budget bill Wednesday which sets up a likely conference committee where the House and Senate must agree on a final spending measure to send to the governor.

A plan crafted by a group of legislators and school finance experts addressed inequities that plague the current funding formula. But the state House and Senate disagree on the approach.

There are $1.3 billion in tax cuts in the Senate version of the budget, which Republican Senate leaders say are paid for with spending cuts. Among them is the elimination of $190 million for grants for broadband expansion that’s in the House’s budget.

In introducing their version of the two-year state budget, Republican Senate leaders highlighted three areas – a 5% income tax cut , an overhaul of school funding and a big change to child care in Ohio.

Republican leaders of the Ohio Senate have proposed a $75-billion-dollar, two-year budget that includes a 5% across-the-board income tax cut – which is a boost from a 2% cut in the House budget.