Stage set for House vote on $8 billion transportation budget

Mar. 4—COLUMBUS — The Ohio House of Representatives will consider Thursday an $8 billion, two-year transportation and public safety budget that would boost support for public transit over what Gov. Mike DeWine had proposed.

The House Finance Committee voted 29-4 on Wednesday to send the measure to the full chamber. The four "no" votes came from Democrats, including state Rep. Paula Hicks-Hudson (D., Toledo), who attempted without success to restore a provision sought by the Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority.

"It's important for two reasons — economic development and local control," Ms. Hicks-Hudson said after the vote. "It provides an opportunity for folks who need public transportation to get to jobs outside the current TARTA service area. It would allow local governments and citizens to determine how we will fund public transportation."

She said she hopes to convince the Senate to restore the language.

The provision would have made it easier for Lucas County as a whole to join TARTA as part of a broader plan to shift the authority from property tax subsidy to a sales tax. The language was removed last week at the request of state Rep. Derek Merrin (R., Monclova Township), who, among other things, objected to what he said was an attempt to do an end-run around local communities that have chosen not to join TARTA.

The transportation budget must reach Mr. DeWine's desk by the end of this month if the state plans to start spending the money beginning with the next fiscal year on July 1. It would spend about $4 billion a year.

"Ohio is the crossroads of America. and our infrastructure is a key part of keeping and creating jobs here in the Buckeye State," said state Rep. Tom Patton (R., Strongsville), chairman of Finance's transportation subcommittee. "This is a jobs bill that will keep Ohioans and Ohio's economy moving forward."

It holds $100 million a year for major new highway and bridge construction.

In addition to repair and maintenance of the state's existing infrastructure, the transportation budget also provides $100 million in each of the next two years for major new construction through the Transportation Review Advisory Commission program.

The House plan adds roughly $90 million more a year over the $7 million for public transit that the governor had proposed. It uses a mixture of state general fund and federal dollars to make that happen.

State Rep. Erica Crawley (D., Columbus), the committee's ranking Democrat, called the increase a "good start."

"Transit authorities should not have to come to us every biennium with their hat in their hand to ask for more money when they are working for our people to move them to their jobs, to work, to school, and to recreation," she said. "The last thing we need to be doing during this pandemic crisis is cutting more transit authorities, making it harder for people to get to where they need to go and to get vaccinated."

The plan contains no significant tax or fee increases after raising gasoline and diesel taxes and hybrid and electric vehicle fees in the current transportation budget.

Mr. DeWine had proposed in the latest plan a $10 hike in vehicle registration fees and $2 in title fees to raise $127 million more for operations of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, but the committee had previously stripped that out. Instead, it substituted $50 million a year in general revenue funds to help pay for the patrol.

It had also removed the governor's proposed crackdown on distracted driving by making it a primary offense for motorists to use hand-held electronic wireless devices for such things as texting, emails, taking photos, or plugging in navigation information.

Under current law, this is a secondary offense for drivers over the age of 18, similar to a seat-belt violation. A police officer must have another reason to pull over a driver before tacking on a distracted-driving offense. It is already a primary offense for younger drivers.

The language is expected to be considered through a stand-alone bill, although a similar measure went nowhere last session.

The committee rejected an amendment, also offered by Ms. Hicks-Hudson, that would have earmarked $500,000 toward the redesign and beautification of the Broadway Corridor in the Old South End. She said the project would serve as a "gateway that would be a benefit to this particular neighborhood."

First Published March 3, 2021, 1:51pm