Train safety, traffic cameras, Amtrak: Senate passes Ohio transportation budget

New railroad safety measures, permission for Amtrak to expand service in Ohio and public transportation projects are all part of an $11 billion state transportation budget that the Senate passed Thursday.

The biennial bill appropriates Ohio's gas tax dollars for things like highway construction, bridge repairs and other transportation projects, including the Brent Spence Bridge in Cincinnati. But it can also include changes to speed limits, vehicle registration fees and red light cameras.

More:Ohio Senate scraps plan to increase speed limits; Gov. DeWine threatened to veto it

The state House passed its version of the transportation budget on March 1, but the Senate made several significant changes before passing the bill unanimously Thursday. The House then rejected those changes, giving both chambers until the end of the month to sort out the two versions.

Here are some differences between the two bills.

Railway safety

After the train derailment and chemical spill in East Palestine in early February, lawmakers in the Ohio House added a requirement that trains passing through Ohio have two-person crews in the locomotive's cab for safety reasons.

The change may not be something the state can do, though, because federal law dictates most train safety rules. But lawmakers in the House said it was important for Ohio to voice its support for this idea.

The Ohio Senate didn't cut that from its version of the transportation budget. Instead, senators added another rail safety provision: Install wayside detectors every 10 to 15 miles.

A wayside detector is a device that uses both cameras and sensors to "assess" the health of train components like bearings and brakes.

Sen. Stephanie Kunze, R-Hilliard, who chairs the Senate Transportation Committee, said she thinks Ohio can make this change because the use of wayside detectors is "not specifically spelled out in federal law."

"The tragedy in East Palestine on Feb. 3 put rail safety at the forefront of all of our minds, and we remain steadfast in our commitment" to rail safety statewide, Kunze said.

Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, commended the change to require a two-person crew, in particular. She said the derailment struck a nerve for Ohioans like her who live near railroads.

No speed limit changes

The Senate initially floated the idea of increasing the speed limits on certain state roads and highways through Ohio, but that idea was scrapped after the Ohio State Highway Patrol sent over data on the increase in crashes due to increased speeds.

Gov. Mike DeWine also said he would not support an increase in speed limits.

The Patrol found a 22% rise in fatal and injury crashes after Ohio raised the speed limits on rural interstates and freeways by 5 mph in 2013.

Traffic camera tickets

Lawmakers in the House wanted to forbid townships and counties from using traffic-camera programs to issue tickets for infractions like speeding and running red lights. But the Senate took that language out.

This isn't the first time Ohio has taken a swipe at traffic enforcement cameras. In 2019, lawmakers created a financial disincentive for their use by deducting the amount they issued in fines from their state funding.

Hybrid vehicle fees

If you own an all-electric vehicle in Ohio, you pay an annual $200 registration fee that is supposed to cover your share of the taxes owed for road wear and tear. Gas vehicles pay this incrementally through state gas taxes when they fill their tanks.

But what about hybrid vehicles, particularly those that have a battery you can plug in?

Ohio charges those owners $200 per year. The House lowered it to $100 in its transportation budget, saying these owners also pay gasoline taxes. But the Senate scrapped that language.

Small-town repair projects

Townships, villages and even major cities have limits on how much construction work they can do themselves. They're called force account limits, and they basically require local governments to bid out their repair and construction projects once they hit a specific dollar amount.

The problem, according to Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima, is that these limits haven't been increased since 2003. And that has forced smaller communities to go without needed repairs because they can't find an outside contractor to do the work.

"The Allen County engineer has projects where they have the cash, they have the manpower, but by law, they can’t get out and fix the bridge, and that’s just dopey," he said.

That's why he put an amendment into the transportation budget that would use inflation to raise those 2003 limits to what they would be in 2023. Local governments could adopt that new number, or they could set their own force account limits.

"I think most places will just adopt whatever the statewide rules are," he said.

Antonio called this change "a place of concern" for Democrats, who want to protect union jobs. "I'm hoping that we can have a path forward. I have a feeling that this is not the end of this discussion."

Money for rural highways eliminated

The House wants to create a Rural Highway Fund and earmark $1 billion of general revenue dollars for rural highway projects, but the Senate disagrees.

The idea was to shorten commute times from Ohio's more rural communities, potentially cutting the number of people who relocate for their jobs.

But Huffman thinks that's the kind of proposal that should go into the regular state budget if it will be funded with general revenue funds. Gas tax dollars are what traditionally support the transportation budget.

"That's $1 billion less to fund schools, $1 billion less for tax cuts, for $1 billion less for Medicaid expansion, or for the governor’s program to create job-ready sites," Huffman said.

DeWine's state budget had earmarked that money for Ohio's Medicaid emergency fund.

Passports vs enhanced driver's licenses

Ohioans could use an enhanced driver's license or REAL ID instead of a passport when traveling to Mexico, Canada or the Caribbean under the House's version of the transportation budget.

The House bill would direct DeWine's administration to enter into an agreement with the federal government to permit these kinds of border crossings.

Michigan, New York and Washington have already taken this step, but the Senate removed this language from the bill.

Anna Staver is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Train safety, road repairs: Ohio Senate passes transportation budget