Ohio lawmakers rush a 90-day gas-tax holiday before early voting — with a $600 million road-funding hole attached

State lawmakers are rushing a 90-day gas-tax holiday to a House vote on September 30 — six days before early voting begins — and House Speaker Matt Huffman says the pause could open a hole of more than $600 million in the road fund that pays for the corridors Dublin commuters use every day.

State Reps. Andrea White, a Republican from House District 36, and Jim Thomas, a Republican from House District 49, announced the bill September 23, describing it as "real relief to Ohioans" and "relief at the pump" as fuel costs climb. They are joined by Senate President Rob McColley and Huffman, who presented the plan jointly with Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican nominee for governor. "Ohioans are suffering at the pump, through no fault of their own," Ramaswamy said.

The proposal is on a tight clock: committee activity is expected within days, and the House vote is anticipated September 30. Because an immediate suspension requires a two-thirds vote in each chamber, Republicans will likely need Democratic support to pass it on an emergency basis. Huffman said, "We all want the war to end, we all want prices to go down. What can we do right now? Well, we're doing it." McColley said, "We're confident we are going to be able to get this across the finish line. We're confident that we're going to be able to deliver the results that Ohioans have asked for for some time."

The price at the pump

Ohio's state gas tax is 38.5 cents per gallon on gasoline and 47 cents per gallon on diesel, rates set in 2019. Average prices had climbed to about $4.49 per gallon for regular and $6.82 for diesel by late September.

An average Ohio driver using 10.8 gallons of unleaded per week would save about $4.16 a week under the 90-day pause, according to a Cleveland.com calculation using AAA data. Ramaswamy's campaign put the savings at about $165 for a typical family and about $1,800 for a semi-truck driver over the full holiday.

The hole in the road fund

The bill for the break is larger. Huffman put the loss at $640 million to $700 million, and Ramaswamy's campaign pegged it at about $678 million. Ohio's motor-fuel tax raises about $2.75 billion a year, so a 90-day suspension would shift roughly $678 million out of funds supporting roads, bridges, and the State Highway Patrol.

Much of that loss would fall on the Ohio Department of Transportation — the agency that funds road building and repair. Rapid growth in Delaware County, which includes parts of Dublin, is driving major investments in roads, corridors, and transit, including plans tied to Sawmill Parkway and other key routes to handle rising traffic. The plan would backfill the lost revenue using ODOT's cash reserves, the state's general revenue fund, and potentially the $3.7 billion rainy-day fund; Ramaswamy has proposed later replenishing reserves with savings from increased Medicaid fraud enforcement.

Democrats argue ODOT has no surplus road funding. House Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn led Democrats in proposing the pause instead be paid for with the roughly $600 million lawmakers previously granted to Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam for a new stadium, or with unclaimed funds. That stadium money is already tied up in court. Gov. Mike DeWine was noncommittal, expressing concerns about how suspending the tax would affect funding for ODOT, local governments, and transportation-related state programs.

The timing

Ohio's early in-person voting for the November 3 general election begins October 6 — less than a week after the anticipated House vote. State Sen. Bill DeMora, a Columbus Democrat, said, "It's short-sightedness to take away money from roads and bridges. We're already desperately in need. They know that with gas over $5 a gallon, they're going to get slaughtered on Election Day... and they're doing this to try to save their candidates."

Dr. Amy Acton, the Democratic nominee for governor, was the first major candidate to call for a gas-tax holiday, doing so hours before Ramaswamy and Republican leaders announced their plan. "I am immediately calling for an emergency gas tax holiday to offer Ohioans some relief," Acton said. "We are facing an affordability crisis in Ohio... Ohioans are the hardest working people I know, and we can offer temporary relief without compromising on investing in our infrastructure," Acton said.

Ramaswamy said, "Ohio infrastructure and Ohio roads will remain as well funded as they've ever been." The relief for an average driver works out to about $4.16 a week. The cost Huffman put on the table is more than $600 million, and it falls mainly on ODOT — the agency that funds the roads Dublin commuters use every day.