Members of the Ohio Senate voted on a revised state transportation budget on Wednesday, approving the measure 32-0. The vote, which was delayed by many hours of behind the scenes negotiations with the Ohio House, was designed to avoid the need for a conference committee which would have delayed final passage of the $8.3 billion budget.

The Senate included a number of changes to the bill, including increasing state GRF funding for public transit to $37 million per year, while maintaining the use of federal highway flex funding for transit at $33 million per year. This combined $70 million per year in funds is equal to the amount of funding approved two years ago (though that was all in state GRF funding). The Senate did amend a House proposal to say that ODOT can request the State Controlling Board reduce the amount of state GRF funding for transit, but can do so only if federal CARES Act 2 or ARPA funds can be applied for non-COVID related expenses by Ohio’s transit agencies.

The Senate restored a provision which the Ohio House removed that would allow the Toledo-Area Regional Transit Authority (TARTA) additional time to potentially expand its territory of operations and change the local taxation structure in place to support its operations. The Senate also included an amendment which requires ODOT to include a policy that makes the purchase and replacement of rail lines used for public passenger transportation eligible for funding, subject to approval by the Transportation Review Advisory Council. This is a change that had been sought by the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) which has been seeking assistance in updating its rapid transit rail lines which are nearly 50 years old.

Because lawmakers took the unusual step of negotiating changes to the budget while it was still pending in the Senate, passage of the revised Senate budget will likely avoid the need for a conference committee. Members of the House of Representatives should approve the transportation budget later today, sending the bill to Governor DeWine for his final approval.

The transportation budget must be signed by March 31 to allow for a 90-day effective date. The budget will take effect on July 1, 2021 and will cover transportation-related expenses through June 30, 2023.