Ohio GOP lawmakers tee up votes for gas tax holiday after Acton, then Ramaswamy, back idea

Ohio Republican candidate for governor Vivek Ramaswamy introduced his plan Wednesday for a 90-day gas tax holiday. It comes on the heels of Democratic candidate Amy Acton calling for a similar halt to the tax.

Ramaswamy insisted his proposal is different because he’s working with the legislature “to lead through action rather than through tweets and statements.”

“The level of detail from her gas tax proposal? Non-existent,” Ramaswamy said. “This is why this woman, I think, is disqualified from leading the state. I mean, the answer is if she can’t offer specifics, if she can’t stand shoulder-to-shoulder with us on a debate stage, she doesn’t have what it takes to lead the state.”

In a statement, Acton campaign spokesperson Addie Bullock said, “Dr. Acton has been clear throughout her campaign; she will work with anyone, Republican or Democrat, to deliver for Ohioans.”

She emphasized Acton raised the idea of a gas tax holiday first and added, “Vivek Ramaswamy is following Dr. Acton’s bold leadership with emergency relief at the gas pump.”

The legislature is embracing Ramaswamy’s plan with Ohio Senate President Rob McColley as his running mate. Amid the rising cost of gas and diesel fuel, polls show frustration with Republican leadership ahead of the midterm election.

What’s the plan for the gas tax?

Gas taxes fund work on roads and bridges around Ohio. Drivers pay 38.5 cents per gallon on gas and 47 cents per gallon for diesel. In the past several years, gas taxes have generated about $2.6 billion annually.

The Ohio Contractors Association, which represents the highway and utility construction industry was quick to warn against lost tax revenue.

“Any temporary suspension must include replacement funding that makes the state and local transportation programs whole,” Association President Chris Runyan said, “and ensures that no transportation project is delayed, deferred or canceled as a result.”

Runyan said Ohio’s transportation investments are “vital to our economy.”

“Relief for Ohio families and businesses and continued investment in the transportation system they rely on can — and should — go hand in hand.”

Ramaswamy’s plan would replace three months of lost revenue with cash from state transportation balances, then the general revenue fund, and potentially even the rainy-day fund. But McColley expressed confidence that “due to good fiscal stewardship,” the state could absorb the tax break without dipping into its reserves.

After the event, Ohio’s Office of Management and Budget clarified that the Ohio Department of Transportation has no cash balance left in its current budget.

The Highway Operating Fund has a cash balance “just under $1.6 billion and the balance fluctuates daily,” OBM Spokesman Pete LuPiba explained. “It supports $5 billion open purchase orders for operations, maintenance, and capital improvements. There is no money in the account that is not planned for future projects.”

Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman said the total cost would likely land somewhere between $640 and $700 million.

“This is eminently achievable. It’s fiscally achievable,” Ramaswamy said. “Ohio, under Republican leadership, has thankfully been on a good fiscal trajectory that we can do this, and if we can do it, that, in this moment, means that we should.”

Huffman and Senate President McColley committed to calling their members back to the Statehouse to vote on legislation. They’re planning to have both chambers in session next Wednesday, Sept. 30.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine shuts down proposal to suspend state gas tax

Even if their legislation passes, lawmakers could have trouble getting Gov. Mike DeWine on board. Back in 2019, he negotiated a gas tax increase, and earlier this year he shot down a proposed gas tax holiday.

McColley said he’s had conversations with DeWine and believes the governor remains open minded about their plan.

The Ohio Capital Journal reached out to the governor’s office for comment. A spokesman said “we have not yet issued any statements on these proposals.”

Why now?

Ramaswamy, Huffman, and McColley all dismissed suggestions that their proposal is yet another bid to juice turnout for Republicans in an unfavorable political environment.

Ohio’s Republican supermajority has already advanced an amendment writing existing photo voter ID laws into the state constitution. Earlier this month President Donald Trump promised voters $5,000 checks if the GOP holds the U.S. House and Senate.

Huffman repeatedly said “this is not a radical proposal” and pointed back to the Republican gas tax holiday measure DeWine dismissed earlier this year.

“We’ve been talking about this for months,” he said. “It’s not like, hey, there’s an election coming up here. Why don’t we do something?”

The legislation Huffman referenced, however, hasn’t gotten a single hearing.

“Frankly,” McColley said, “for us to sit by idly during a time of fiscal emergency for our families, for Ohioans, simply because there’s an election coming up, that would be an abdication of our duties.”

All three men stressed that a sharp uptick in fuel costs, particularly diesel, pushed them to act. The primary drivers of that increase are ongoing wars in Ukraine and Iran.

The former, President Donald Trump promised to end “even before becoming president,” and the latter, Trump promised would conclude “very shortly” almost six months ago.

Ramaswamy referenced “Russian refinery issues” but not the war in Iran. Pressed on whether President Trump, whose endorsement helped him clear the Republican field, needs to end the war, Ramaswamy said foreign policy is out of his hands.

“Would (I) rather not have that war? Absolutely,” Ramaswamy said. “I certainly — we’re all in that camp, right? Every American is probably in that camp.”

Democratic buy in?

Huffman promised a vote and an emergency clause to ensure the tax cut takes effect immediately. To clear that bar, however, Huffman acknowledged Republicans will need buy-in from Democrats.

“I think Democrats who vote against this are doing it at their peril,” he said. “This is a very easily understood issue: should you not have to pay gas tax for the next 90 days without interruption in roads (funding)?”

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With Acton’s campaign claiming credit for putting the conversation front and center, some Democrats might support the idea, but some had critiques.

In a press release, Ohio House Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn agreed that Ohioans “desperately need relief from the costs of the failed war in the Middle East,” but he said Ramaswamy’s “knee-jerk response to Dr. Acton’s plan has demonstrated no understanding of how the state government works, how the budget is structured, or how taxpayer dollars should be spent.”

Isaacsohn noted the Ohio Department of Transportation doesn’t have surplus funding and Ramaswamy’s reliance on it as a source for the tax break demonstrates “confusion” or “recklessness.”

But there’s plenty of money readily available, Isaacsohn said.

“We can enact Dr. Acton’s Gas Tax Holiday, but it has to be paid for in a way that makes sense for Ohioans,” Isaacsohn said. “A gas tax holiday could be paid for with the $600 million the Republican legislature has tried to allocate to billionaire Jimmy Haslam for his NFL team.”

Asked if he had a comment about Isaacsohn’s suggestion, Huffman laughed and said no.

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