10/21/03-HB87, which was signed by the governor earlier this year, went into effect July 1.
Some of those provisions in the new law include an increase in the motor vehicle fuel tax, which was increased by 2 cents a gallon, and will increase another 2 cents a gallon in 2004 and 2005.
The bill also lowered the state’s blood alcohol content limit from 0.10 percent to 0.08 percent. If Ohio had not lowered the drunken driving limit, it would have lost millions in highway funds.
Ohio has already forfeited $6 million per year since 1998 and was risking losing $120 million more in federal highway funds over the next four years if it had not passed the law.
A 2000 federal law requires each state’s legislature to adopt the 0.08 limit by 2004 or lose 2 percent of its highway money.