OOIDA Call to Action - Ohio members!
March 20, 2009

As you know, the Ohio legislature is currently working to pass the state's budget.  Tuesday night, the Senate Transportation Committee placed an amendment in the budget for ODOT.  This amendment included many changes to the bill, much of it removing provisions recommended by the Governor and already passed by the House.  Yesterday, the full Senate passed this bill.  Most of these changes will positively affect trucking.  Below is a partial list of the items:

*Includes a provision setting a uniform speed limit for all vehicles using the Interstate system;

*Removes language allowing the state to install automated speed cameras in construction zones.  Also removed measures requiring drivers to turn on their headlights any time the windshield wipers are on, and making a seat belt violation a primary offense.

*Removes all fee increases contained in the House-passed budget version, including vehicle registration and driver abstract fees.  Driver abstract fees were set to quadruple.

*Adds more types of commodities that qualify for the 7.5% weight tolerance currently in state law.

*Freezes special permit fees at March 1st level and creates a task force made up of legislators, administration, and business members to look at the entire permit process - what it should cover and what the appropriate pricing should be.  It also requires ODOT to go back to offering an annual permit.

*Deletes all language regarding Transportation Innovation Authorities (TIAs) and the tolling authority that the ODOT director requested.  

**As a side note, we know most truckers support uniform speed limits because they make good safety sense.  We also know that most truckers support turning on headlights when the windshield wipers are on as this makes good safety sense, too.  The bill does seek to remove the headlight/windshield wiper requirement, but we would not want to compromise the other provisions of the bill just to get that one passed.  In other words, we can live without it. And, most truckers will continue to turn on the headlights whether or not it is a requirement anyway.

Now the entire bill must go to a conference committee made up of Senate and House members.  The conference committee will combine the Senate and House versions of the bill into one final bill that will be sent to the Governor for signature.  The deadline for passage of the bill is March 31, 2009.

The following people are likely to be on the conference committee. If any of these provisions listed are important to you, please call or email the committee members and simply tell them that you support the Senate version of the transportation budget.  

Please know that opponents of these provisions will be contacting their lawmakers, so we must make ourselves heard!

Speaker Armond Budish; 614-466-5441; district08@ohr.state.oh.us
Rep. Matt Szollosi; 614-466-1418; district49@ohr.state.oh.us
Rep. Vernon Sykes; 614-466-3100; district44@ohr.state.oh.us
Rep. Linda Bolon; 614-466-8022; district01@ohr.state.oh.us
Rep. Peter Ujvagi 614-644-6017; district47@ohr.state.oh.us
Rep. Bill Batchelder; 614-466-8140; district69@ohr.state.oh.us
Rep. Ron Amstutz; 614-466-1474; district03@ohr.state.oh.us
Rep. Ross McGregor; 614-466-2038; district72@ohr.state.oh.us
Sen. Bill Harris; 614-466-8086; sd19@senate.state.oh.us
Sen. Tom Niehaus; 614-466-8082; sd14@senate.state.oh.us
Sen. Tom Patton; 614-466-8056; sd24@senate.state.oh.us
Sen. Steve Buehrer; 614-466-8150; sd01@senate.state.oh.us
Sen. Capri Cafaro; 614-466-7182; senatorcafaro@maild.sen.state.oh.us
Sen. Theresa Fedor; 614-466-5204; fedoroffice@maild.sen.state.oh.us
Sen. Nina Turner; 614-466-4583; senatorturner@maild.sen.state.oh.us
Governor Ted Strickland; 614-466-3555; ted.strickland@governor.ohio.gov