Thousands of area residents rely on the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, also called LIHEAP or HEAP.

In today’s Morning Briefing, we tell you what local officials are saying after the entire staff that handles the program was laid off by the Trump administration. We also give you an update on the state operating budget, which passed in the Ohio House on Wednesday.

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The newsletter should take about 4 minutes, 9 seconds to read.

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Entire federal staff laid off for program that helps thousands of area residents heat, cool homes

The Trump administration has laid off the entire staff of a $4.1 billion program that helps millions of low-income households pay for heat during the winter and cooling in the summer, concerning community action agencies tasked with administering these funds to people in need.

• LIHEAP or HEAP: The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, also called LIHEAP or HEAP, keeps the heat or AC on for households with restricted incomes.

• Applications: Last year, the Miami Valley Community Action Partnership processed 30,000 applications for LIHEAP assistance.

• Restructuring: Roughly two dozen workers who ran LIHEAP were among 10,000 people fired as part of a dramatic restructuring of the Department of Health and Human Services earlier this month.

• What DeWine is saying: “As we’ve looked at this and what has happened, and have seen the great, great results from the schools that have actually banned cellphones, I think the jury has really returned on this issue,” Gov. Mike DeWine said.

• Statewide: Roughly 265,000 Ohio households were served through LIHEAP in 2023.

• What they are saying: “We think this program is incredibly important for the communities we serve,” said Erin Jeffries, MVCAP executive director. “We’re waiting as patiently as we can to hear more about the future of the program and how the cuts now might affect the Department of Health and Human Services’ ability to administer the program moving forward.”

Ohio House passes budget impacting school funding, elections oversight, libraries and more

The Ohio House voted 60-to-39 Wednesday to advance its draft of the state’s two-year operating budget that significantly diverts from both precedent and DeWine’s ideas.

• Legislature’s biggest project: The operating budget, passed every two years, is almost always the legislature’s biggest project. House Republicans and Democrats alike view this biennium’s rendition to be particularly seminal.

• What they are saying: “I think this is the most consequential budget that I’ve been (involved) in, and this is my 17th year in the General Assembly,” House Speaker Matt Huffman, R-Lima, said of House Bill 96 hours before the vote. “It does more things on more fronts than any budget that I’ve ever been involved in.”

• What it does: The House’s plan prescribes $61 billion in state spending and hundreds of new legislative provisions.

• Highlights:

— A mechanism to force school districts to return a set amount of unused school funding to property tax payers;

— A change in K-12 public school funding;

— A reinvention of how Ohio funds its public libraries;

— A $600 million bond provision to help fund the Cleveland Browns’ planned facilities in the suburb of Brook Park.

— The elimination of DeWine’s proposed $1,000 tax credits for young children paid for by tobacco tax increases.

• Next step: The bill now heads to the Ohio Senate for further vetting.

What to know today

• One big takeaway: Union dues are no longer being deducted from Air Force civilian employee paychecks, according to an email from a comptroller squadron at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

• Tip of the day: The final weeks before the end of the school year can be difficult for students. Here are some tips to help students manage the stress.

• A day in the life: Rachel Dominguez-Benner. This local screen printer brings accessible art to the “humble kitchen towel.”

• Dayton Food & Dining: After releasing its breakfast menu last summer to five restaurants in the Cincinnati area and one in the Dayton area, Skyline Chili has added locations to the lineup.

• Inside Ohio Politics: Workforce creation is a priority for the last two years of DeWine’s term, said Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel as he visited Wright State University’s campus this week.

• Thing to do: Exhibits for Barbie and Julia Child are now on display at the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal.

• Make a difference: Daybreak Dayton celebrates 50 years helping local young people in need.

• Photo of the day: Front Street, Dayton’s art and culture hub founded in 1965, is celebrating 60 years in 2025. During the First Friday Art Hop on April 4, Front Street owner Richard Lundin gave a VIP guided tour during the event. The tour showcased the history of Front Street’s buildings, constructed circa 1850 for Mead Paper. See all 55 photos from the event here.