Callender Supports E-Check Elimination Resolution

The Ohio House of Representatives voted today to pass House Resolution 247, which urges Congress and President Donald Trump to amend the Federal Clean Air Act to eliminate the E-Check program. State Representative Jamie Callender (R-Concord) supported the resolution’s passage.

Originally enacted in the 1960s, the Clean Air Act targeted a number of common pollutants and took steps to combat them.  Significant revisions were implemented in the 1970s, which established and empowered the United States Environmental Protection Agency and additional, more stringent changes were put in place in the 1990s.  In response to these tougher federal emissions standards, measures such as the E-Check program were created.  

Impacting only seven of Ohio’s 88 counties, including Lake, Geauga and Summit, the E-Check program requires vehicles that are registered in Northeast Ohio to be tested every two years to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.

“For decades, residents of Lake County and Northeast Ohio have contended with these burdensome and disruptive mandates,” said Callender. “The passage of this resolution sends a clear message to the federal government that the E-Check system is not in the best interest of Ohioans and should be eliminated.”

Criticized throughout committee hearings for its multi-million dollar per year cost and disproportionate impact on lower income households, H.R. 247 was approved by the House Energy and Natural Resources Committee earlier this year.

“Thanks to the hard work of the resolution’s sponsor, Representative Bill Roemer of Summit County and other members of the Northeast Ohio delegation, like Representative Diane Grendell of Geauga County, the negative impact of these mandates will be heard,” said Callender. “It’s time for the bureaucrats in Washington to recognize the harmful effects these inflict on the people they claim to want to help.”

A similar resolution was previously passed by the Ohio House back in 2017 under the sponsorship of the Representative Ron Young.