Rep. Joe Miller Calls Transportation Budget An Economic Win For Ohio, Boost to Improving Rail Safety Measures

COLUMBUS – State Rep. Joe Miller (D-Lorrain) today celebrates 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. 

“I appreciate my position as a member of the Finance Committee which gives me an opportunity to have input in the creation of this biennium’s transportation budget, where I can advocate for my constituents and all Ohioans. With the inclusion of federal funding for the Brent Spence Bridge, this becomes the largest job-creating transportation budget to date,” said Rep. Miller. “Although we fell short on a comprehensive rail safety plan, the budget language mandates two-person crews and working wayside detector systems on trains will go a long way in preventing another rail catastrophe.”

“Currently, EV and hybrid owners are unfairly taxed twice–once, with a registration fee meant for fully electric vehicles and again taxed at the pump. Unfortunately, hybrid vehicles with a battery backup are still paying the $100 fee to get on average 10 mpg better in fuel efficiency.  The entire amendment was not accepted, but a change in plug-in EV hybrids from $200 to $100 will start us on a path to fair taxing,” said Rep. Miller. “The Rural Highway Construction Fund is a billion dollar investment in our highways, which helps speed up the project by shortening the wait time for funding.”

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 is not in compliance 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 applies 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 to 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. 

Other Notable Provisions

Brent Spence Bridge

• Allocates $3 billion in both federal and state funding, including funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, to Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project. Requires that all spending related to the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project be documented in the state's accounting system (OAKS) and made visible in the Ohio State and Local Government Expenditure Database (the Ohio Checkbook website).

Strategic Transportation and Development Analysis/Studies

• The bill creates a Strategic Transportation and Development Analysis to be used for a statewide study of the Ohio transportation system in collaboration with the Department of Development and the Governor's Office of Workforce Transformation.

Ohio Rail Commission

• Authorizes the Ohio Rail Development Commission (ORDC) or its designees to construct and operate an intercity conventional or high speed passenger transportation system under ORDC’s authority. Requires that the plan for the system provide for the connection of any points in Ohio and nearby states rather than only for the connection of Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati and any points in between, as under current law. 

Electric Vehicles

• Beginning January 1, 2024, reduces from $200 to $100, the additional registration fee applicable to plug-in hybrid electric motor vehicles.

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