The governor has championed plans to upgrade portions of I-90 in Cleveland, I-270 in Columbus, and U.S. 33 west of Columbus with sensors and other technology to support the testing of autonomous vehicles.
But lawmakers inserted language into the transportation budget that would have created a Smart Transportation Action Advisory Team to study the technology and make recommendations on the spending of public funds.
“While well-intentioned, this item creates a bureaucratic barrier that in effect will slow research in transportation technology,” Mr. Kasich wrote in his message explaining his veto of that provision.
The governor used his line-item veto authority sparingly, also removing provisions that would have:
- Allowed boat operators to use a rear-view mirror to watch water-skiers in tow. This would have eliminated the current requirement that a second observer be aboard.
- Allowed every other annual inspection of local bridges to be a partial inspection, something Mr. Kasich said could compromise public safety.
- Required the Department of Transportation to install interchanges at four-mile intervals in certain urban areas.
“Ohio ranks high among all states for the quality and maintenance of our highway infrastructure, and we did it without ever having to raise the gas tax,” Mr. Kasich said.
“We’re determined to maintain the competitive edge we have with our highways, while also positioning our state for the industries of tomorrow with self-driving cars and drones.”
Among other things that did survive is a provision authorizing ODOT to proceed with a one-year experiment of varying speed limits and temporarily opening paved road shoulders as additional lanes at different times of day to control congestion.
The experiment would be limited to I-670 through Columbus, part of I-90 in Cleveland, and I-275 in Cincinnati.
House Bill 26, sponsored by Rep. Robert McColley (R., Napoleon), also creates a two-year pilot program in Lucas and five other counties to test whether cutting one registration fee in half to $15 will lead to more trucking companies registering their vehicles in Ohio.
While it does not raise motor fuel taxes, the bill does authorize counties to raise their license tax by $5 per vehicle — up to a cap of $25 — and potentially set the stage for privately operated deputy registrars to raise service fees by $2 on licenses and registrations to as much as $5.25.
The bill passed both the House and Senate with strong bipartisan support.
It did lose some votes, however, because of the fee increases and a provision allowing the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio to increase riders on customers’ bills from $2 a year to $18 to finance extensions of natural gas pipelines to property for economic development.
©2017 The Blade (Toledo, Ohio) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.