The Ohio General Assembly passed, and Governor Mike DeWine signed into law, Ohio’s 2019 biennial transportation budget bill, HB-62, this Tuesday. The bill included a 10.5 cent/gallon increase to the gas tax and a 19 cent/gallon increase to the diesel tax. This comes after days of considerable debate in conference as to the appropriate amount by which the tax should be hiked.
The bill’s final language passed the Senate by 22-10 and the House by 70-27. The following legislators chose to protect the citizens of the Buckeye State by voting NO on HB-62:
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Senators |
Representatives |
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Bob Peterson Andrew Brenner Matt Huffman Rob McColley Michael Rulli Kristina Roegner Joe Uecker Brian Hill Stephen Huffman
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Niraj Antani John Becker Bill Dean Kris Jordan Candice Keller Darrell Kick J. Kyle Koehler Riordan T. McClain Derek Merrin Jena Powell Bill Reineke Craig S. Riedel Mark J. Romanchuk Scott K. Ryan Tim Schaffer Todd Smith Ryan Smith A. Nino Vitale Scott Wiggam
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HB-62 also included provisions to eliminate the front license plate requirement in Ohio, to increase the state’s public transit budget to $70 million, add a new an annual registration fee of $100 for gas hybrids and $200 for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, and to increase to the Ohio Earned Income Tax Credit to 30% of an individual’s federal tax credit.
Despite the final gas tax hike coming in higher than the Senate’s proposed 6 cents/gallon increase, there are those already questioning whether the gas tax hike will be enough – before it has even been implemented. Ohio legislators cannot allow HB-62 to set a dangerous precedent of hiking taxes to plug budget holes instead of crafting solutions that curtail spending. Ohio Watchdog reported this week that Ohio ranks among the worst in the country regarding residents’ percentage of income paid in state and local taxes. Simply put, Ohioans cannot afford this tax hike nor any others in the future. It is now up to legislators to work toward an offsetting tax cut that will keep Ohioans tax burden at the status quo – or lower it – as Senators Obhoff and McColley had promised in the weeks leading up to HB-62’s passage.