Rep. Somani Calls Transportation Budget an Economic Win for Ohio, Boost to Improving Rail Safety Measures

COLUMBUS – State Rep. Anita Somani (D-Dublin) today celebrated the passage of the bipartisan Ohio Transportation Budget (HB 23) by the House of Representatives. The budget prioritizes public transportation funding, improved railway safety measures and funding of more than $7 billion over the next two years for statewide highway construction projects. It passed with unanimous Democratic Caucus support.

“The passage of the transportation budget is crucial for creating new jobs and ensuring railway safety here in Ohio,” said Rep. Somani. “I am proud of the significant bipartisan support that pushed the budget through.”

Democratic Caucus priorities in HB 23 include:

Public Transportation

Public Transportation funding

• Maintains state funding at $37M/FY and maintains $33M/FY Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) flexible funding program.

Ohio Workforce Mobility Partnership Program

• Creates the Ohio Workforce Mobility Partnership Program to provide grants to Regional Transit Authorities (RTAs) for workforce mobility initiatives. 

Railroad Safety

Wayside Detectors

• Requires Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) and Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) to work with each railroad company doing business in Ohio to ensure that the wayside detector systems used by those companies are operational, effective, and current. 
• Specifies the criteria that PUCO, ODOT, and the company must consider while doing so.
• Requires immediate notification of a defect to the train operator under certain circumstances.
• Requires PUCO and ODOT to investigate the safety practices of any railroad that does not work with them in good faith, and to issue a report to the Federal Railroad Administration recommending enforcement action against a company if the results of their investigation show that it does not comply with federal safety standards. 

Two-Person Crew

• Requires a freight train or light engine to have at least a two-person crew. 
• Permits PUCO to assess a civil penalty against a person who violates this requirement.
• Requires Attorney General's Office to (AGO) bring a civil action to collect the penalty when PUCO requests AGO to do so.
• Specifies that the two-person crew requirement for trains or light engines in the bill is solely related to safety, including ensuring that a train or light engine is not left without a functional crew person due to a medical emergency.
• Provides that the two-person crew section no longer apply if the federal government adopts a requirement that a train or light engine used in connection with the movement of freight in Ohio must have a crew of at least two individuals.

Hazardous Material Reporting

• Requires PUCO and the Ohio EPA to prepare and submit a written report to the General Assembly, within 90 days of the bill's effective date, pertaining to the transportation of hazardous materials and hazardous waste.

Rural Highway Construction Fund

• Transfers $1 billion to the Rural Highway Fund and re-appropriates the available balance for FY 2025.
• Requires the fund be used to provide supplemental funding for existing rural highway construction projects on the Transportation Review Advisory Council (TRAC), under the Major/New Construction Program.
• Specifies that 80% of this appropriation amount be used for rural highway construction projects, and the remaining 20% be used to provide any required local matching funds necessary for those projects.

Electric Vehicles

• Reduces the additional registration fee applicable to plug-in hybrid electric motor vehicles from $200 to $100

The Transportation Bill now heads to the Ohio Senate for consideration.