Rep. Sweeney Votes for Gas Tax Holiday, Says Ohioans Need More Than 90 Days of Relief

COLUMBUS — State Rep. Bride Rose Sweeney (D-Westlake) today voted in favor of a 90-day gas tax holiday to provide immediate relief to Ohio drivers facing high prices at the pump.

The legislation temporarily reduces Ohio’s motor fuel tax and uses state General Revenue Fund (GRF) dollars to replace road maintenance and construction revenue that would otherwise be collected during the tax holiday. 

“Ohioans need relief, and I voted for relief at the pump. But some relief isn't the same as enough relief,” said Rep. Sweeney. “The legislature's own nonpartisan analysts put this plan at about $3 a week in savings for the average driver, and it does nothing about the utility bills, property taxes and grocery bills that are actually crushing families. Republicans called this an emergency. Three dollars a week is not an emergency response. The money for real relief is sitting in the state budget right now, and the only reason it isn't headed to Ohioans' kitchen tables tonight is that the Majority refused to let a single amendment come to the floor. The choice they gave us was this or nothing, so I chose something. But it doesn't have to stay this way. Ohioans should demand more, and in five weeks they can.”

For Ohio families, the cost of living does not begin and end at the gas pump. Housing, utility bills, health care, child care, groceries and property taxes all determine how much money families have left at the end of the month. For families who are choosing between filling up the tank and paying another bill, immediate relief matters. But the high cost of living stretches far beyond the gas pump.

Ohio’s affordability crisis didn't start five weeks before an election. Ohioans have struggled with high gas prices, utility bills, housing costs and health care expenses for years. Gas prices peaked at an average of $4.83 in May, as the busy travel season began.  But Republicans ignored the struggle until it was politically expedient, that is, when they realized weeks before election day that their gubernatorial candidate was behind in the polls.

Ohio House Democrats offered an alternative plan that would have provided immediate gas tax relief while making the state's resources go further for Ohio families. That proposal would have used the $1 billion previously allocated for the owners of the Cleveland Browns stadium, and would have included a $150 residential energy rebate, strong enforcement to ensure gas tax savings reach consumers, and expanded homestead property tax relief. The plan was ignored by House Republicans.

Rep. Sweeney said today's vote is part of the broader fight for affordability that Ohio House Democrats have been pursuing throughout the last few years. The gas tax holiday provides needed temporary relief for motorists, but Ohio families continue to face higher costs for housing, groceries, health care, and utilities especially going into winter and the holiday season.