The $8 billion state transportation budget goes to the floor of the Ohio House Thursday, after it was overwhelmingly approved by a House committee Wednesday.
After less than a month since its introduction, House Finance Committee Chair Rep. Scott Oelslager (R-North Canton) reported the vote count on the two-year transportation budget: 29-4.
House members took out Gov. Mike DeWine’s $10 increase in vehicle fees, which would have raised $127 million for the state Highway Patrol. But they boosted funding for the patrol by $50 million a year.
The Finance committee removed a provision hiking fines for distracted driving, they reduced fees on alternative fuel vehicles and they put back $70 million in cuts DeWine made to public transit. Half of the committee’s eight Democrats voted against the bill.
The transportation budget must be in place by March 31, though it was several days late when it passed in 2019.
Copyright 2021 The Statehouse News Bureau. To see more, visit The Statehouse News Bureau.
