Republicans and Democrats voted unanimously to pass the two-year transportation budget, funding construction projects on interstates, state routes and the Ohio Turnpike. The budget also includes a change in the voter registration process at Bureau of Motor Vehicles offices and puts the state back into discussions about passenger rail service.
At around $11.5 billion between 2026 and 2027, the biennial transportation budget primarily funds state highway, route and bridge construction projects, but also dictates policy around public transit and state transportation agencies.
Lawmakers on the House Finance committee voted unanimously on their version of budget Tuesday, setting the stage for a smooth floor vote.
Among final amendments made, the committee cut what some saw as controversial language that would have required all residents to present citizenship proof to register to vote at Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles offices. Instead, it just bars BMV workers from asking noncitizens whether they want to register to vote.
“It really had some really concerning federal implications, capturing people I don’t think they were trying to capture, and really could have led to people who are eligible voters being removed from the rolls or not being able to vote. Very concerning,” Rep. Bride Rose Sweeney (D-Westlake) said Tuesday. “The fact that they decided to pull that should be commended, that's part of the process, they heard the feedback.”
The bill also included a compromise among Republicans; a provision that put $25,000 toward allowing Ohio to rejoin the Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission.
"I would say the temperature around passenger rail right now is much different than it was just within ten years ago," said Rep. Bernard Willis (R-Springfield). "I think everyone's mindset of what does mass transit look like and what are all the modes that we can get and how do we reduce the volume that we already have on our streets and roads—it's just another avenue. Now, whether it actually makes the cut is another question."
"There's folks like me who are less interested in talking about the train and other members who are not," said Rep. Brian Stewart (R-Ashville). "Willis made a good argument to members about, look, let's at least take a baby step here, let's dip our toe in the water and see what we think."
Stewart said he was proud of the bipartisanship that went into putting the transportation budget together—but reminded committee members that there’s still a ways to go.
“This is the first quarter to first half of the game,” Stewart said Tuesday. “We understand there’s going to be more process in the Senate, and folks are going to go through that process as well, but we feel like we have a good omnibus bill.”
The transportation budget also includes $2 million for a feasibility study for an Interstate Route 73 corridor from Toledo to Chesapeake along what's now U.S. Route 23, and a study on a long-standing question of whether concrete or asphalt is the better construction material.
The transportation budget now heads to the Senate. Gov. Mike DeWine needs to sign it prior to the end of March.
