COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is pumping the brakes on the current proposal to suspend the state gas tax, warning that taking money away from the Department of Transportation could be devastating.
On average, Ohio’s motor fuel tax brings in more than $8 million a day. The money is used to maintain and construct roads, highways and bridges — as well as fix potholes.
"I understand the desire to give some relief," DeWine told me Friday. "I think we have to be careful how we do it."
Republican candidate for governor Vivek Ramaswamy is trying to rally lawmakers to suspend this tax for 90 days, dropping gasoline per gallon by $0.385 and diesel by $0.47. Republican legislative leaders say they would dip into ODOT's cash balance to make up for the $750 million the state would lose in gas taxes.
"There is, at the moment, more money in the fund [to] build and take care of roads and all of that than typically the state would need," House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima) said Wednesday.
That night, the Department of Budget Management explained that all of ODOT's account is already set aside for future projects.
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On Friday, at a grocery store, the governor said that the proposal, as it is, would be disastrous.
"It's not just taking it away from state highways and keeping our state highways up and building some of the roads that we want to build that people all over Ohio want to see built, but it's also taking a massive amount of money away from our townships, our villages, our cities, and our counties, and they depend on this money," he said.
The ODOT money is essential for safety, he added.
"It just, I think, will be devastating," the governor continued. "The next governor, I don't know who the next governor is going to be, but the next governor will face a real crisis if that $750 million is taken away."
Lawmakers are set to return next week to vote on some form of gas tax suspension.
"Would you feel comfortable signing something, now that we have the details, if there's no money?" I asked DeWine.
"Well, we really don't have the details... The Ohio Department of Transportation, if that's where you got the money to distribute, it's going to speed up the day where we literally go over a cliff," he continued.
Ramaswamy’s running mate, Senate President Rob McColley (R-Napoleon) said that he had spoken with the governor last weekend, and DeWine had an "open mind."
"I think it's a very, very bad idea," DeWine told me.
McColley has floated secondary and tertiary options: pulling from the general revenue or rainy-day funds.
"It's something that due to good fiscal stewardship, we are able to absorb that cost," McColley said Wednesday.
Critics, like Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio (D-Lakewood) have called this whole proposal a political vote-grabbing effort.
"Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign got some bad polling data and panicked and decided that they had to do something to put their candidate in a better light," Antonio said.
It also leaves DeWine on the hook if it isn't signed into law.
"Do you think they are banking on you vetoing it?" I asked the governor.
"I'm not going to get into that... I just don't think it's a good idea," he responded. "If we do this, I think we won't see results immediately, but six months from now, nine months from now, I think people will be sorry that that happened because it just means that it's gonna be tougher to keep our roads up."
A few hours after I spoke with the governor, our team in Cleveland asked him if it was appropriate for Ramaswamy, a candidate, to interject himself into the legislature.
"Look, no one can call the legislature back into session except the leaders of the legislature or in some cases the governor," DeWine responded. "Where the idea comes from is fine. It doesn't matter where it's come from. It's up to the leaders. This is a leader decision: senate president and speaker."
Follow Statehouse and Columbus bureau reporter Morgan Trau on X, Instagram and Facebook. Email her at Morgan.Trau@wews.com.
