Expected highlights of Gov. Bob Taft's State of the State address

Gov. Bob Taft will deliver his third State of the State address today at noon in the Ohio House. In the speech, the Republican governor is expected to:

-Announce details of his plan for funding Ohio's schools, a plan that must reduce schools' reliance on local property taxes to comply with a court order that the current system relies too much on local taxes.

-Urge support for the 32 recommendations of his Governor's Commission for Student Success. The panel released a report last month that called for a new third-grade reading guarantee, a revamped proficiency test schedule and the reporting of students' academic performance by race, ethnicity, gender and economic background, among other factors.

-Unveil a plan to use money from the state's Temporary Aid for Needy Families pool of federal money to help Ohioans hit by high heating bills because of a natural gas shortage and an unusually cold winter.

-Call for a meeting of the Ohio Steel Council to advise him on how to help the steel industry, and in particular keep LTV Steel Co. operating through a bankruptcy reorganization. Steel makers, the United Steelworkers of America, lawmakers and the Ohio Department of Development sit on the panel.

-Announce that his $50 million OhioReads program, which recruits volunteers to help boost schoolchildren's reading abilities, has surpassed the 20,000-volunteer mark Taft set when he took office.