Ohio House Passes Smaller Gas Tax Increase

Friday, March 8, 2019 at 7:19 AM

By Mike Perleberg @mikedup84

The House bill would raise the Ohio gas tax by 10.7-cents per gallon, less than Gov. Mike DeWine's suggested 18-cents.

(Columbus, Oh.) - Ohio drivers are a step closer to paying more to fill up their vehicle’s fuel tank.

The Ohio House on Thursday voted 71-27 to boost the gas tax by nearly 10.7-cents per gallon as part of a transportation budget bill. The House proposal, House Bill 62, would also increase the diesel fuel tax in Ohio by 20-cents per gallon.

The gas tax increase would be phased in over two years while the diesel tax hike would be phased in over three years. The increases, as well as new fees for electric and hybrid vehicles, would begin July 1 each year.

Funds raised by the tax hike would be pumped into state and local road and bridge projects.

The House’s preferred increase is lower than the 18-cents per gallon gas and diesel increases suggested by new Ohio Governor Mike DeWine.

“If you think the roads are bad now, you haven’t seen anything yet,” DeWine said this week in his State of the State address.

On Thursday, DeWine called the House bill “far from ideal,” but appreciated the strong bipartisanship acknowledgement of the state’s transportation needs.

If the gas tax is increased according to the House measure, Ohio’s gas tax would rise from 28-cents per gallon to nearly 39-cents. That compares to the current gas tax rates of 42.9-cents in Indiana and 35.7 cents in Kentucky.