On March 31, Governor Mike DeWine signed the state transportation budget without issuing a veto, permitting the fully agreed upon legislative conference report to become law without removing any provisions in the bill.

This includes a late addition to the bill which had been added by the Ohio House a month before, but removed by the Ohio Senate when approved last week. The final budget agreement directs the Ohio Department of Transportation to construct a highway interchange on Interstate 71 between the cities of Brunswick and Strongsville. GOPC is strongly opposed to this mandate, which seeks to override local control and force the construct a highway interchange which is strongly opposed by one of the impacted communities.

Dictating the construction of specific roadway infrastructure in the state transportation budget sets a dangerous precedent and takes control away from metropolitan planning authorities in overseeing regional planning efforts. GOPC believes it is important to maintain local control over such projects. Local planners, experts, and leaders should be giving the opportunity to complete their work and come to a proper decision without receiving dictates within the transportation budget.

Governor DeWine, speaking at the bill signing ceremony, said he was “very concerned” that the measure circumvents normal state procedures for approving interchanges. “However, people have been waiting a long time to deal with this problem,” DeWine said. “And there did not appear to be a solution in sight.”

Disappointed as GOPC is by this development, we are excited about other provisions in the budget, including:

• Level funding for public transportation at $70 million per year for operations/capital acquisitions

• $15 million per year to support workforce transportation in public transit

• Approval of a formal review process and possible development of passenger rail service by Amtrak through Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding

The state transportation budget will take effect on the first date of the new state fiscal year, July 1, 2023, and will fund transportation operations in the state through June 30, 2025.

On March 23, the Ohio Senate gave final approval to a revised transportation budget which included only one substantial change from the most recent update GOPC reported on March 16.

After Governor DeWine issued a veto threat, Senators removed language which would have raised the maximum speed limit for two-lane state routes outside a municipal corporation from 55MPH to 60MPH. Lawmakers did not provide an explanation for why the proposal was added to the budget. Advocates, including GOPC, expressed safety concerns for cyclists, pedestrians, and Ohio’s Amish community who travel these roadways with horse-drawn buggies.

An hour after the Senate approved the revised transportation budget, the Ohio House of Representatives voted 16-79 to reject the Senate changes, setting the state for a Conference Committee between members of the Ohio House and Senate to negotiate a final compromise agreement which will need to be approved by March 31.

Meanwhile, the House Finance Committee is set to resume hearings beginning March 28 by holding public testimony hearings on the Main Operating Budget, House Bill 33. Full committee work comes on the heals of the seven House Finance Committee subcommittees which have (or will soon) conclude hearings on the various aspects of the budget. On March 21, GOPC testified as an interested party before the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Development and Natural Resources to express support for the restoration of funding to the Brownfield Remediation Fund and the Building Site Demolition and Revitalization Programs. Both funds, created in 2021, were zeroed out for funding in the “as introduced” budget. GOPC led a coalition of some 15 groups which expressed support for restoration of funding.

The House of Representatives is on pace to complete work on the budget by the end of April. Be sure to check for updates on our blog as well as our bill tracker page, all on our website.