A Senate committee has approved changes made to the House version of the transportation budget, bringing the proposed gas tax increase down from nearly 11 cents to 6-cents a gallon.
The Senate’s version of the transportation budget would generate about $400 million for construction projects through the 6-cent gas tax hike.
Gov. Mike DeWine’s original 18-cent gas tax increase would have brought in $1.2 billion in revenue. DeWine says the state needs to find about $1 billion a year in extra funding over the course of the next ten years.
But Republican Senator Rob McColley of Napoleon says the 6-cent hike would adequately fund the state’s most important needs.
“We’ve spent an awful lot of money on new construction over the past eight years and many would argue that that system is built out to the point that it should be right now.”
The transportation budget also cut the public transit funding from $100 million to $46.5 million.
