Transportation Archives | Innovation Ohio

Feb 14 2019

Points to Consider In the Gas Tax Debate

The DeWine administration has raised the alarm about a looming structural deficit in Ohio’s transportation budget. By March 31, lawmakers must enact a two-year transportation budget, which could include new revenue to address the budget gap. Many are calling for a gas tax increase to make up for some or all of the shortfall. Before any solutions are enacted, it’s important for advocates to understand how Ohio currently pays for its transportation infrastructure at the state level so we may seek a solution that balances the needs of the system, its users and taxpayers.

What Progressives Should Know

Ohio’s Gas tax – a flat 28-cents per gallon – is low compared to our neighboring states, has not increased since 2005, and is not indexed for inflation.
While the miles Ohio drivers travel each year steadily increases, gas tax revenues are flat thanks to lower fuel consumption.
Ohio’s gas tax is shared with local governments according to a formula. A 1 cent increase in the state gas tax would generate around $43 million in additional revenue for ODOT, and $24 million to be divided up among counties, townships, cities and villages.
Ohio is 11th in mass transit usage but 45th in state support, spending just $.67 per capita compared to $9 in Michigan and $86 in Pennsylvania. ODOT has estimated the state needs to be spending about $150 million per year on transit. The last state budget spent just $39.5 million on transit, $80 million below what the state itself says is needed.
Article XII of the Ohio Constitution limits the expenditure of gas tax revenue to the state’s highway and bridges – pedestrian, bike and transit infrastructure are unlikely to directly benefit from any increase that is passed.
The gas tax is regressive, meaning that low income people pay more taxes as a share of their income than people who earn more.

What Progressives should demand

A balanced solution that looks at a range of revenue sources to fix our immediate needs, and a commitment to look longer-term at the state’s transportation future with an eye toward a future less dependent on gas taxes
Incentives that decrease, not increase, the consumption of polluting fossil fuels
A multi-modal approach to moving people and goods that recognizes that transit, rail, air, bike and pedestrian infrastructure can all work to reduce congestion on our roadways
A less regressive tax system in which the system is funded by users according to both their system use and ability to pay
A commitment by state leaders to aggressively lobby the federal government to address the shortfall in the federal highway trust fund.

To keep up with the debate on Ohio’s transportation budget, follow us on Twitter and sign up for our weekly legislative newsletter.

Feb 11 2019

Statehouse Preview: It’s Infrastructure Week

At The Statehouse: It’s Infrastructure Week in Ohio

Last week, we learned Ohio faces a looming crisis in transportation funding. Speaking to an Advisory Committee appointed by Governor DeWine, new ODOT Director Jack Marchbanks revealed that Ohio had effectively run out of money to maintain its roads and bridges. According to ODOT, the state has maxed out its ability to borrow against future gas tax revenue and, compounding the issue, the state’s 24-cent per gallon tax — which hasn’t been increased since 2005 — only buys a fraction of what it used to, thanks to inflation. The DeWine administration was fairly blunt in calling out the prior administration for leaving them a mess. The state estimates the shortfall in funding for maintenance, safety and major new construction is $1.5 billion per year, $500 million of which is at the local level, as cities, counties, townships and villages see their share of the gas tax decline. This week, against the backdrop of these newly-understood funding challenges, the DeWine administration will introduce its two-year transportation budget for fiscal years 2020-2021. While Ohio law requires the passage of this spending plan for motor fuel taxes and fees by March 31, the process is certain to be more closely watched than usual this year.

The first hearing of the yet-to-be-introduced legislation has been scheduled in the House Finance committee for Wednesday at 10am (see “Week at a Glance,” below). While no agenda has been made public, we expect committee members will hear from the ODOT Director, and additional hearings will be scheduled to give the public an opportunity to testify.

House Committee Assignments

On Friday, Speaker Householder released the list of committee assignments for the Ohio House. Notably, some important committee leadership jobs went to members who supported Householder’s rival in the recent race for Speaker. The Senate will announce committee assignments in a press briefing tomorrow morning.

Week at a Glance

Tuesday 10 am – Press Briefing on Legislative Priorities – Senate President Obhof will reveal committee assignments and legislative priorities for the Senate majority caucus. Watch online at ohiochannel.org. Wednesday 10 am – House Finance Committee – First hearing on the soon-to-be-introduced Transportation Budget in Statehouse Room 313 or watch online at ohiochannel.org. Follow us on Twitter for for updates on newly scheduled events and hearings.

New Legislation

Ballot Measures – Since our email last week, we shared what we know so far about proposed new legislation from Republican State Representative Kyle Koehler to reform the process for placing constitutional amendments on the ballot, and shared it on our website. You can read our post here. Other Legislation – As noted earlier, Senate leaders are preparing to introduce their list of “priority” bills tomorrow morning, which they have said could include proposals around regulatory reform, Lake Erie, criminal justice reform, human trafficking and abortion. When bills are introduced, you can find and track them online at legislature.ohio.gov.

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As always, we will be sharing updates on Twitter using the #OHLeg hashtag for legislation and #OHGov for executive actions. Follow us to stay up-to-date on what’s happening at the Statehouse. >> Sign up for legislative alerts and other updates at innovationohio.org/signup

Jul 23 2018

Report Shows Ohio Cities are Driving the State’s Economy

The U.S. Conference of Mayors, in partnership with the Ohio Mayors Alliance, released a report last week, “Ohio Metro Economies,” that highlights how Ohio cities and metro areas are the driving force of the state’s economy. According to the data, for almost two decades, Ohio’s metro areas have accounted for all of the state’s job gains and 87 percent of the state’s GDP gains. However, the health and future outlook of the overall statewide economy is not as strong. In the same time frame, most cities and towns across the state experienced net job loss. For Ohio to remain a competitive economy nationally, we need to renew invest in our urban cores and metro area transportation infrastructure. As the report indicates, construction job growth is specifically in the areas of roads and bridges. As we know from previous research, Ohio’s cities need a serious reinvestment in their transportation infrastructure in order for their region, and thus the state of Ohio, to achieve long-term economic growth, as residents are demanding their metro areas be more mobile and accessible. Approximately 2.4 million full-time jobs in Ohio are dependent on the state’s transportation infrastructure, including tourism and retail sales. Additionally, as companies look to re-locate or expand, they take note of the region’s transportation system, looking for areas with smoother, more-efficient transportation infrastructure. This lack of investment in our cities, both in targeted economic development projects and money towards workforce development and infrastructure, has caused our young residents to flee towards Sun Belt states, leaving Ohio’s workforce older and aging. This cycle of underinvestment will lead to an economic downturn when there is both a shrinking supply of workers and low demand for the goods and services produced in the state. Cities are the engines of Ohio’s economic growth. Columbus, Cincinnati and Cleveland each ranked in the top 100 largest economies in the world, exceeding the states of Montana and Arkansas. For Ohio to remain competitive nationally, in this new service-oriented economy, we need to create a strong, diversified, metro-focused statewide economy. Ohio will not grow without mindful, aggressive investment in its cities and surrounding metro regions. For more information, you can read the full report on the Ohio Mayors Alliance website.