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ODOT’S Budget Bill Passes the Legislature and Has Been Signed by the Governor
After the House and Senate worked out their differences on the ODOT budget bill in a Conference Committee last week, it has been signed by Governor Kasich. House Bill 26 will take effect on July 1st. Last Wednesday, the Conference Committee report passed the House by a vote of 81-16 and the Senate by a vote of 28-5.
The budget contains a total of $6.5 billion in funding for fiscal years 2018 and 2019. Of that amount, $5.6 billion (86.2%) is appropriated for highway construction and maintenance. That breaks down to $3.31 billion for FY2018 and $3.19 billion for FY2019. Beyond funding for highway construction and maintenance, the rest of the budget goes to planning and research, public transit, aviation, debt service and administrative programs.
As the bill headed to Conference Committee, there were multiple points of contention between the House and Senate versions. The Conference Committee deleted Senate language that would have given $30 million out of $75 million from Ohio’s share of a national Volkswagen emissions settlement to transit to purchase buses. OCA and others worked to delete that language, so that OCA members will have an opportunity to compete for those dollars to replace or repower aging trucks and engines.
The bill contains authority for a Board of County Commissioners to impose a new $5 annual license tax per vehicle for county road and bridge construction and maintenance. The new $5 fee would be subject to a referendum.
No language was included in the final bill to move the collection point of the motor fuel user fee from the wholesale level to the rack – an earlier phase of the process which may have garnered more funding. Also removed from the bill in the House, and never added back in any form, was an attempt to apply the motor fuel tax to CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) fueled-vehicles. Committee members felt that application of some type of tax to hybrid vehicles and fuels should be applied across the board – including electric vehicles – and more study is needed before they move ahead.
When an OCA member asked for our help in protecting employees’ Social Security Numbers, we went to work and got an amendment added to the bill to change current law, which requires contractors to repeatedly submit their employees’ full SSNs to Prevailing Wage Coordinators. Starting July 1st, after the initial report, only the last four digits of an employee’s SSN will need to be submitted to the PW Coordinator. Hopefully this change will offer a new level of protection from security theft for our employees.
House and Senate Now Both Have Anti-Prevailing Wage Bills
First Senator Matt Huffman (R-Lima) introduced Senate Bill 72. This week, Representative Kristina Roegner (R-Hudson) and Rep. Craig Riedel (R-Defiance) followed suit by introducing House Bill 163. The bills both would make the use of prevailing wage by subdivisions, special districts (i.e. Port Authorities, sports and cultural facilities), and state higher education facilities optional – in effect doing away with the prevailing wage for all types of projects, including roads, bridges, sewers, water treatment plants, and buildings.
All of the bills’ co-sponsors are Republicans. The Senate bill has two co-sponsors: Senator Kris Jordan of Ostrander and Senator Lou Terhar of Cincinnati.
The following House members are cosponsors of House Bill 163:
Speaker of the House Cliff Rosenberger (Clarksville)
Niraj Antani (Miamisburg)
John Becker (Union Township)
Andy Brenner (Powell)
Tom Brinkman (Cincinnati)
Margie Conditt (Liberty Township)
Bill Dean (Xenia)
Keith Faber (Celina)
Wes Goodman (Cardington)
Christina Hagan (Alliance)
Mike Henne (Clayton)
Ron Hood (Ashville)
Candice Keller (Middletown)
Darrell Kick (Loudonville)
Kyle Koehler (Springfield)
Scott Lipps (Franklin)
Rob McColley (Napoleon)
Derek Merrin (Maumee)
Rick Perales (Beavercreek)
Bill Reineke (Tiffin)
Mark Romanchuk (Mansfield)
Tim Schaffer (Lancaster)
Gary Scherer (Circleville)
Bill Seitz (Cincinnati)
Marilyn Slaby (Akron)
Andy Thompson (Marietta)
Nino Vitale (Urbana)
Scott Wiggam (Wooster)
Ron Young (Leroy)
Paul Zeltwanger (Mason)
If you see your Senator or your State Representative’s name on this list, please contact them to let them know that you do not want them to support these bills. If you don’t know who your state legislators are, please click hereto be directed to OCA’s Legislative Action page where you can look them up and find their contact information as well.
Neither bill has been assigned to a committee yet. Since they’ve just recently been introduced, there are not yet analysis or fiscal notes on either bill.
Contractors – Make Your Voice Heard & Participate in the ARTBA Quarterly Survey
The American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA), our national affiliate, is now conducting its 1st Quarter 2017 Industry Conditions Survey and would appreciate your participation. As in the past, ARTBA will use the survey results in its advocacy efforts by showing elected officials and the media true “on the ground conditions” within the industry. This survey takes about 5-10 minutes to complete, asks for general information, and is confidential. Responses are due April 17, 2017. Take the survey online at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/N639H67.
A PDF version of the survey is also attached and can be filled out manually and either faxed or scanned in. Thank you for your participation!
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