Tag: Ohio Senate

Lake Erie Improvements Bill Turned Into a 90-Page Spending Package with $2 Million in Renovations to the Ohio Governor’s Residence

Anthony Gockowski

The Ohio Governor’s Residence in Bexley is set to receive $2 million in renovations on the taxpayer’s dime after the funding was tossed into a catch-all bill passed at the last minute of 2018. Senate Bill 51 was initially introduced in the Ohio Senate in February 2017 as a piece of legislation focused on facilitating “Lake Erie shoreline improvements.” It didn’t pass the Senate until July 2018, and wasn’t taken up by the House until December. As it was introduced, the bill was only 14 pages long and was intended to amend two sections of Ohio Revised Code and “authorize the creation of a special improvement district to facilitate Lake Erie shoreline improvement.” By the time it was passed, the bill was 90 pages long, amended eight sections of Ohio Revised Code, offered amendments to 16 different sections of two House bills, and had a final description of: “Authorize the creation of a special improvement district to facilitate Lake Erie shoreline improvement, to revise other laws governing taxation and public property and otherwise provide authorization and conditions for the operation of state programs, and to make appropriations.” Of those appropriations was a $107 million “administrative building fund” under the Department…

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DeWine Sends ODOT Director to Senate to Lobby for 18-Cent Gas Tax

Anthony Gockowski

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio Senate Transportation, Commerce, and Workforce Committee began hearing testimonies Monday on Gov. Mike DeWine’s demand for an 18-cent gas-tax increase. The chairman of that committee, Sen. Rob McColley (R-01) (pictured, left), however, made it clear that he and his fellow Senate Republicans oppose the 18-cent figure, and even suggested an income-tax cut to offset a gas-tax increase. But Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) Director Jack Marchbanks (pictured, right) said Monday during his testimony that anything less than 18-cents wouldn’t cut it, and claimed that the smaller gas-tax increase of 10.7-cents passed in the House’s version of the transportation budget last week “falls far short of Ohio’s real need.” “As you may recall, due to flat revenues, highway construction inflation, and mounting debt payments, ODOT is in jeopardy of being unable to fulfill its mission to maintain the state’s most valuable physical asset: our state highway system. The credit cards are maxed out and the long-term health of Ohio’s transportation system is now at stake,” Marchbanks said. He argued that an 18-cent increase is necessary because the “state has avoided making the difficult decision to find a long-term solution to our transportation revenue shortfall for more…

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