Overview
- - Lawmakers authorized shifting about $1.7 billion from Ohio’s unclaimed-property reserves into a new grant program, with $600 million earmarked for a domed Browns stadium in Brook Park.
- - Franklin County Judge Bill Sperlazza granted a temporary restraining order, citing likely success on the merits and potential irreparable harm if the transfer proceeded on Jan. 1.
- - Plaintiffs Marc Dann and Jeff Crossman argue the budget maneuver unconstitutionally takes citizens’ property, violates due process and Ohio’s single-subject rule, and imposes a new 10-year claim deadline.
- - An unclaimed funds official testified there was no direct notice to Ohioans about the planned $1.7–$1.9 billion transfer.
- - A federal judge previously allowed the plan to proceed, and the plaintiffs have appealed that ruling to the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals.