On March 15, the Senate Transportation Committee accepted a substitute bill which make changes to the version of the bill approved by the Ohio House of Representatives two weeks earlier on March 1.

Among the changes made by the Ohio Senate:

• Eliminates the proposed Rural Highway Construction program and the $1 billion GRF appropriation for the new program. As proposed by the House, the program would have been funded with excess GRF revenues left over from the current fiscal year. The program was to be used to finance new construction that has previously been approved by the Transportation Review Advisory Council (TRAC). A portion of the program was to provide local matching funds to help fund the projects authorized for construction under the program.

• Removes another change proposed by the House that would have mandated the construction of a freeway interchange in Medina County between the cities of Brunswick and Strongsville. GOPC and other groups urged lawmakers to remove the provision from the bill, which would set a very dangerous precedent for the transportation budget, overriding local control and permitting lawmakers to insert 'pet projects' into a budget intended to serve all Ohioans.  

• Raises the maximum speed limit from 55MPH to 60MPH for two-lane state routes outside of a municipal corporation. No explanation has been provided for why this was added to the budget which does raise safety concerns for cyclists, pedestrians, and Ohio’s Amish community who travel these roadways with horse-drawn buggies.

• Eliminates a proposed cut in the plug-in hybrid registration fee, maintaining the current rate of $200 per year due at the time the vehicles tags are renewed.

No changes have been made related to public transportation funding, which maintains its current funding levels of $37 million per year in GRF funds and $33 million per year in flex funding for capital projects, as well as a new House-proposed Workforce Transportation program with $15 million per year to support cross-county transportation for employees.

Lawmakers are poised to give final approval to the state transportation budget before the end of March. Be sure to check for updates on our blog as well as our bill tracker page, all on our website.