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House Lawmakers Cut DeWine's Gas Tax Increase

ODOT Director Jack Marchbanks testified about the gas tax increase before the House Finance Committee last month.
Andy Chow
ODOT Director Jack Marchbanks testified about the gas tax increase before the House Finance Committee last month.

Just hours after Gov. Mike DeWine’s State of the State speech in which he argued for an 18-cent gas tax increase to fund road repair and maintenance, state lawmakers cut his request dramatically.

“Beginning October 1, 2019, Ohio’s motor vehicle fuel tax will be increased by 10.7 cents on gasoline and 20 cents on diesel," said House Finance Committee chair Scott Oelslager (R-Canton).

He said the increase would be phased in over three years to raise $872 million, and it won’t be indexed to inflation, so it won’t increase every year.

“The increase will be divided 60-40 between ODOT and local governments, providing an additional $523 million to ODOT and $349 million to local governments," Oelslager said.

Registration for electric vehicles will be $200, and hybrids $100. And public transit funding would go from $40 million to $70 million.

DeWine had said the 18 cent increase would bring in $1.2b, and says this proposal is grossly inadequate.

Copyright 2020 The Statehouse News Bureau. To see more, visit The Statehouse News Bureau.

Karen is a lifelong Ohioan who has served as news director at WCBE-FM, assignment editor/overnight anchor at WBNS-TV, and afternoon drive anchor/assignment editor in WTAM-AM in Cleveland. In addition to her daily reporting for Ohio’s public radio stations, she’s reported for NPR, the BBC, ABC Radio News and other news outlets. She hosts and produces the Statehouse News Bureau’s weekly TV show “The State of Ohio”, which airs on PBS stations statewide. She’s also a frequent guest on WOSU TV’s “Columbus on the Record”, a regular panelist on “The Sound of Ideas” on ideastream in Cleveland, appeared on the inaugural edition of “Face the State” on WBNS-TV and occasionally reports for “PBS Newshour”. She’s often called to moderate debates, including the Columbus Metropolitan Club’s Issue 3/legal marijuana debate and its pre-primary mayoral debate, and the City Club of Cleveland’s US Senate debate in 2012.
Karen Kasler
Contact Karen at 614/578-6375 or at kkasler@statehousenews.org.