Gov. Mike DeWine said he understands high gas prices are causing problems for many Ohioans. And he said he understands why Republican legislative leaders want to provide some relief through a 90-day gas tax suspension. But he said he doesn’t understand why they want to use Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) funds to replace revenue lost through a gas tax holiday.
But DeWine said using ODOT funds is a “very, very bad idea.”
“I think we have to be careful how we do it and where that money comes from,” DeWine said at an event at a grocery store in Dublin in suburban Columbus Friday morning. "There was some thought that there was some surplus money there, or money that's not being already identified as being spent. All the money that is there is already to do things that people have asked to be done."
Republican legislative leaders have announced lawmakers will meet next week to vote on a bill that would suspend the state's 38.5 tax on gas and 47 cents on diesel for 90-days. The plan was pushed by Republican candidate for governor Vivek Ramaswamy. Democratic candidate for governor Amy Acton had called for a gas tax holiday hours before Ramaswamy did, but didn't offer specifics on how it would be paid for.
House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima) estimated that would cost between $640 million and $700 million. To fill that hole, Ramaswamy proposed the state use ODOT and general revenue funds and the rainy-day fund if needed. He also suggested there would be money recovered through Medicaid fraud, in a deal he's said he'll broker with the federal government to return more Medicaid fraud money to Ohio. But there are questions as to how much will be recovered and whether the state can get permission from the federal government to use it for this purpose.
“It’s going to speed up the day where we literally go over a cliff in regard to ODOT money. And we have to keep in mind that when that money is taken away, it's not just taking it away from state highways and keeping our state highways up and building some of the roads that we want to build that people all over highway want to see built, but it's also taking a massive amount of money away from our townships, our villages, our cities and our counties. And they depend on this money," DeWine said. "So it's about $750 million in 90 days that would be grabbed out of out of ODOT. And it just I think will be devastating.”
DeWine said whoever becomes Ohio’s next governor will face a real crisis if that $750 million is taken away. When asked whether he is thinking about vetoing the bill, DeWine said, "I'm not going to get into that."
When asked about Ramaswamy's plan by reporters on Tuesday, Acton said "there's parts of it that don't make any sense to me." And on the idea of using Medicaid fraud dollars to backfill lost gas tax revenue, Acton said, "That money should we have it should go back into health care for Ohioans. So that is not an answer to a gas tax."
House Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn (D-Cincinnati) suggested a source of money for the gas tax holiday: the millions in unclaimed funds allocated in the current state budget to Cleveland Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslams for a new domed stadium in Brook Park.
"It should be paid for in a way that is responsible, that does not endanger the safety of Ohio drivers on roads and bridges," Isaacsohn said in an interview. "We are calling for the money to come from the $600 million of Ohio's unclaimed funds that the Republican legislature has tried to allocate to the billionaire Haslam family for a privately owned sports stadium."
The unclaimed funds allocation is still being challenged in court. Isaacsohn said Ohioans are tired of “sweetheart deals” that benefit billionaires, and that since this would draw money for the public good, he thinks it would likely be deemed legal.
Ohio lawmakers are set to come back from summer recess early to consider the gas tax holiday bill on Sept. 30. The legislation has yet to be formally introduced.
