Ohio’s Republican candidate for governor Vivek Ramaswamy said Tuesday that he is working with leaders of the supermajority GOP legislature to suspend the state gas tax soon. Meanwhile, the Democratic candidate for governor Dr. Amy Acton—who called for the holiday first—said that relief is needed and urged lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to come together to make it happen.
Lawmakers are on a break and weren’t scheduled to come back until after the November election. But in a press release Monday, Ramaswamy announced an outline of a plan that he was “working with Ohio’s legislative leaders to enact this Gas Tax Relief Plan into law by no later than next week.”
Ramaswamy’s running mate Senate President Rob McColley (R-Napoleon) said he’s talked with House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima) about passing a plan immediately.
“We’re confident we are going to be able to get this across the finish line. And we are confident that we are going to be able to deliver the results that Ohioans have asked for for some time,” McColley said.
The 90-day gas tax holiday bill would suspend Ohio’s 38.5-cent-per-gallon tax on gasoline and 47-cent-per-gallon tax on diesel and other fuels. It would replace revenue lost by these taxes with some money from the Ohio Department of Transportation, some from the General Revenue Fund, and, if needed, the rainy day fund. Ramaswamy said he would replenish the rainy day fund with savings from Medicaid fraud through an agreement he plans to negotiate with the federal government to allow Ohio to retain more savings from the funds recovered.
There already is an existing bill to temporarily suspend the gas tax. Rep. Ty Mathews (R-Findlay) sponsored House Bill 850 in May, but it didn’t go far. Mathews said he will support this plan backed by Ramaswamy. And he said there’s political pressure on his fellow lawmakers to do the same.
“With gas prices being so high for so long, I think Ohioans – their voices are being heard in a campaign season, a very heightened campaign season,” Mathews said. “It’s gaining attention, and I believe why we’re acting on it is the people are being heard.”
Democrat Amy Acton urges bipartisan cooperation on gas tax
Acton called for a gas tax holiday hours before Ramaswamy proposed his plan. She said she’s been hearing from Ohioans who cannot afford gasoline to get to work to make a living or go to medical appointments. And she said she thinks her call to action helped bring the issue to the forefront.
“I couldn't understand why the conversation wasn't already happening. We led on this because we knew the conversation needed to begin. There's just that little breathing room,” Acton said. “I can't speak to what my opponent is saying. It's just the same way he did with data centers. We come out on something, and then he throws something together. But we've been thinking about this issue deeply and the holistic impact it has on families.”
Acton said she thinks there are some good ideas in this plan and there are parts of it involving Medicaid fraud money that don’t make any sense to her, especially when many hospitals are hurting and many Ohioans are traveling long distances for health care.
“If we are going to talk about fraud and Medicaid, my opponent’s running mate got rid of the committee to oversee Medicaid and prevent fraud. That money should we have it should go back into health care for Ohioans,” Acton said. “So that is not an answer to a gas tax.”
It’s unclear what Gov. Mike DeWine will do. DeWine pushed forward a 10.5 cent increase in the gas tax as one of his first moves in office in 2019. has been critical of lowering the gas tax because of concerns there isn’t be enough money to fund roads and bridges as it is now. When asked about the bill Tuesday, DeWine said he will consider it.
“I await that and we'll certainly analyze that. The job of the governor, of course, is always to look at the big picture and look at not only what impacts us today, but what may impact us in the future,” DeWine said. “I've asked the Department of Transportation, ODOT, to give me some data. They're working on that data now.”
Acton said she understands the pressure now: “This isn’t an easy move. I understand where the governor, earlier in the year, said he’s cautious. You know, our gas tax isn’t keeping up with the needs of our roads.”
Ramaswamy said a gas tax holiday has been on his mind.
“I think steadily the intensity of the conversations have gone up as gas prices and diesel prices have spiked – that really catalyzed our urgency on the issue,” said Ramaswamy.
Details of the Republican gas tax holiday bill are expected to be unveiled Wednesday morning.
It’s never easy to get enough lawmakers to come off a break to pass legislation, though it happened in 2025 when House lawmakers overrode DeWine's vetoes of some property tax changes. The Senate didn’t come back in that special session. Ramaswamy said if lawmakers don’t come back to vote on this, he'll take action later.
“If for whatever reason it does not happen, I’m not yet governor—when I am governor in January, it will happen, so that’s the backstop,” Ramaswamy said.
