Gov. Mike DeWine is proposing an 18-cent hike to the gas tax in order to avoid what he’s calling an impending crisis with Ohio’s roads and bridges. There’s a provision in DeWine’s plan that is drawing concerns from lawmakers.
DeWine’s plan would take Ohio’s gas tax from 28 cents a gallon to 46 cents a gallon. The Ohio Department of Transportation says that would generate $1.2 billion next year.
But the plan also calls for increasing the gas tax every year based on inflation.
ODOT Director Jack Marchbanks was asked if basing the needs of road repair on the rate of inflation is an accurate measure.
“When it comes to repairing roads and bridges might they be crumbling at a different rate than inflation?”
“That’s an excellent question," Marchbanks replied. "We have chosen the consumer price index because that’s something most understandable by all of our consumers, our citizens.”
Some members of the House Finance committee expressed hesitation about hiking the tax every year, believing it might make the state more accountable if it was a one-time increase.
