By: Brian Dicken, Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce
The state of Ohio’s transportation budget for 2019-2020, HB62, has moved to the Ohio Senate for its consideration. The House of Representatives passed the bill last week by a vote of 71-27. Included in the bill is an increase in the motor fuel user fee of 10.7 cents per gallon over the next two years. The user fee on diesel and other fuels will increase by 20 cents per gallon over the next three years. Both fees are proposed to increase on October 1. Also included is a registration fee for hybrid and electric vehicles. It is expected that these increases will generate an additional $870M per year for roads and bridges across Ohio. Governor DeWine originally proposed an increase of 18 cents per gallon that would have generated an additional $1.2B per year to address the current shortfall for roads and bridges. The Ohio Senate is expected to put forth yet a third option for consideration on the table before a conference committee works out the final version at the end of the month. By law, the transportation budget must be signed by the Governor by April 1st.
Additional revenue is needed to appropriately fund maintenance and new construction projects. The Toledo Metropolitan Council of Governments (TMACOG) has identified more than $1B worth of projects that are currently unfunded in the Toledo region. These include projects like the expansion of I-475, an interchange at 20A, improvements to the 23/Monroe Street interchange, and numerous other safety enhancements. Without new funding, these projects will continue to be proposals.
The Chamber’s 2019-2020 public policy agenda calls for the development of a long-term solution for transportation infrastructure funding that takes into account all forms of fuels. We will continue to work with our legislative delegation, the Governor’s office, and ODOT to achieve this objective.
Learn more about the need and transportation improvement projects underway at an upcoming GEO session. We are expecting to be joined by representatives of the Ohio Department of Transportation tonight at the University Area GEO event at SIP Coffee located at 3160 Markway Road in Toledo.
The Chamber’s 2019-2020 public policy agenda calls for the development of a long-term solution for transportation infrastructure funding that takes into account all forms of fuels. We will continue to work with our legislative delegation, the Governor’s office, and ODOT to achieve this objective.
Learn more about the need and transportation improvement projects underway at an upcoming GEO session. We are expecting to be joined by representatives of the Ohio Department of Transportation tonight at the University Area GEO event at SIP Coffee located at 3160 Markway Road in Toledo.
 | Brian Dicken As the Vice President of Advocacy and Public Policy for the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce, Brian oversees the Chamber’s advocacy and public policy efforts with local, state and Federal governments. With nearly 20 years of experience, he has held positions in state government in the offices of the Ohio Lt. Governor, Ohio Auditor of State and Ohio Treasurer of State. He also worked for the late U.S. Representative Paul Gillmor and in the Office of the Vice President of the United States. |
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