Well, this is a roller coaster of uncertain Democratic policy, Republican coattail-riding, and absolutely no clear explanation for why people voted the way they did. It is a convoluted mess, and I have to talk about it.
Today, the Ohio General Assembly passed House Bill 519, better known now as the 90-day gas-tax suspension. It passed the Ohio House 78–16 and the Ohio Senate 26–5. The bill suspends Ohio’s 38.5-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax and 47-cent-per-gallon diesel tax for 90 days. It now goes to Gov. Mike DeWine, who has said he intends to sign it.
And I have absolutely no idea why these votes happened the way they did.
Let’s Back Up
Donald Trump decided to go to war with Iran. Why? Alleged nuclear weapons? Was there actually a nuclear weapon involved? I’m still not too sure.
Long story short, things are not going as planned. At all.
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has been disrupted. Iranian oil infrastructure has been attacked. Ukrainian attacks have also damaged Russian refineries. Saudi pipelines been hit. Crude-oil prices have gone up, supplies have been strained, and Ohioans have been paying well over $4 a gallon for gasoline and more than $6 a gallon for diesel. On Wednesday, the national average was $4.43 for gasoline and $6.41 for diesel.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dr. Amy Acton then called for an emergency gas-tax holiday.
A few hours later, Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy proposed his own gas-tax holiday. Republican legislative leaders immediately jumped aboard, called lawmakers back to Columbus and fast-tracked the legislation.
The timeline matters because these proposals came so close together. Acton proposed the idea first. Ramaswamy proposed it shortly afterward. But Ramaswamy had the Republican legislative majority, including his running mate, Senate President Rob McColley, to turn the idea into an actual bill.
So, politically, whose idea was this? Whose victory was it? And why did Democrats spend the entire debate criticizing the bill before many of them voted for it?
Where Is the $725 Million Coming From?
One of the biggest questions was where the money would come from.
Would it come from ODOT? Would it reduce funding for future road and bridge projects? Would it come from the rainy-day fund? Would it come from the same pool of unclaimed funds that Ohio committed to the Cleveland Browns stadium project?
The final legislation provides approximately $725 million from Ohio’s General Revenue Fund to replace the transportation money that would normally come from the gasoline and diesel taxes. That means the plan is not supposed to take money away from already scheduled road and bridge projects. The General Revenue Fund will cover the hole instead.
Fine. But that still means we are creating a $725 million hole somewhere else.
The money does not magically appear because we moved it from one account to another. It is still $725 million in public money that cannot be used for something else.
Democrats made that point repeatedly. Tristan Rader asked what about data centers, FirstEnergy and energy costs? What about healthcare and housing? What about all the other problems Ohioans are facing?
Their argument was that this is not the relief Ohio needs right now. It is temporary, politically convenient and does nothing about the underlying causes of high prices.
Then some of those same Democrats voted for it.
Is It a Stunt or Isn’t It?
State Rep. Allison Russo, who is running for Ohio secretary of state, called the bill an election-year “stunt.” She said it would save the average Ohioan approximately $55 over three months.
Okay. Interesting.
She voted for it.
So, is it a stunt or not?
When Dr. Amy Acton calls for a gas-tax holiday, Democrats celebrate it as relief for working-class Ohioans. When Vivek Ramaswamy calls for one, suddenly it is a distraction from more important issues and a cynical attempt to buy votes before the election.
Yet 15 House Democrats still voted for it.
Democrats tried to make it sound like peanuts, a Band-Aid over a gaping wound. I tend to agree with part of that argument. I also think creating a $725 million budget obligation for a 90-day tax holiday feels a little willy-nilly for my taste.
Rep. Bride Rose Sweeney said:
“We’re talking about $3 a week. And if the options are nothing or $3 a week, if that’s all this body can do, then yes, I will vote for it. But I don’t think anybody should be proud of that.”
She voted yes.
Rep. Sarah Fowler Arthur pushed back on the $3-a-week estimate. In a public post, she argued that very few people in her rural district use fewer than 15 gallons of gasoline per week. At 38.5 cents per gallon, that would be approximately $5.77 per week or $23.08 per month.
She also used the example of someone filling a truck with 25 gallons of diesel. At 47 cents per gallon, that would save approximately $11.75 per fill-up or $47 per month if the driver fills up weekly.
She is 100 percent correct that rural Ohioans generally drive more than people living in dense urban areas. Many will save more than $3 per week. Depending on the vehicle, fuel and amount driven, some families could save between $25 and $50 per month.
That is real money.
But the question remains whether that relief justifies moving $725 million out of the General Revenue Fund for a program lasting only 90 days.
Nickie Antonio Called It a Campaign Ad, Then Voted for It
Before the Senate vote, Democratic Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio sent a letter asking Senate President Rob McColley to recuse himself because he is Ramaswamy’s running mate.
McColley refused.
Antonio accused McColley and Senate Republicans of using the Senate “as a campaign ad.” She pointed out that lawmakers had opportunities to address gasoline prices earlier, but Republican leaders canceled Senate sessions and suddenly declared an emergency when polling reportedly showed them falling behind.
That is a legitimate criticism.
But Antonio then voted yes.
So, Senator Antonio, is this a Republican campaign ad or good public policy?
If McColley is abusing his position to promote the Ramaswamy campaign, why did you vote for the legislation?
You cannot accuse Republicans of transforming the Ohio Senate into a Ramaswamy commercial, vote for the bill and then act surprised when Ramaswamy takes a victory lap.
Well, you can. Apparently, that is exactly what happened.
Everybody Took Credit
After passage, the Acton campaign released a statement declaring victory:
“As the first candidate in this race to propose a gas tax holiday, Dr. Acton is glad the Statehouse has voted with bipartisan support to establish a gas tax holiday and provide Ohioans much needed relief at the pump.”
The statement then pivoted to data centers and argued that Acton remains the only candidate focused on lowering costs because Ramaswamy has millions invested in data centers and has opposed her proposed conditional moratorium.
What the hell do data centers have to do with whether the gas-tax holiday is good legislation?
This is what I mean about the entire thing becoming a convoluted political mess.
Democrats spent the debate explaining why the bill was inadequate, rushed and politically motivated. Then Acton’s campaign took credit for passing it and attached an entirely different fight over data centers.
Ramaswamy also took his victory lap. He called the bill a preview of how his administration would work with the General Assembly.
He then said:
“That may be the difference between being able to afford a Christmas gift for your kids or not. It may be the difference between being able to take a weekend trip in the holiday season versus not. That’s a big deal.”
That sounds completely out of touch.
Vivek, you are worth an estimated $2.3 billion. You could put tens of millions of dollars in Christmas gifts under a big-ass tree in the middle of Columbus and let families take them. You would not even notice the difference in your bank account.
I understand the argument that $3, $5 or $10 per week matters to many families. It does. But hearing a billionaire talk about whether working-class parents can afford Christmas gifts because of a temporary gasoline-tax suspension comes across as condescending.
Maybe just say, “We are lowering costs,” and leave it there.
Who Actually Won?
This is what I cannot figure out.
Did 15 House Democrats vote with Republicans and hand Ramaswamy a political victory because the proposal was actually good?
Were they supporting Amy Acton because she proposed the holiday first?
Did they vote yes because they did not want to return to their districts and explain why they voted against temporarily lowering gasoline prices?
Did they believe it was good legislation?
Or did they simply decide that voting against any tax reduction five weeks before an election would be political suicide?
Meanwhile, Democrats spent the debate ridiculing the proposal. They said the savings were too small. They said it would leave a hole in the budget. They said Ramaswamy was attempting to buy the election with temporary savings. They said Republicans ignored bigger problems until the polling scared them.
Then 15 of them voted yes.
I do not understand what the hell the Democratic position is.
The Democratic yes votes make no sense when paired with the Democrats’ messaging. Acton’s gloating makes no sense. Antonio’s criticism followed by her yes vote makes no sense.
Ramaswamy claiming the win probably makes the most political sense, even though I think he is a condescending little prick.
How Much Will This Actually Save Me?
I drive a vehicle that takes approximately 23 gallons of premium gasoline.
If the full 38.5-cent tax reduction reaches the pump, I could save approximately:
23 gallons × $0.385 = $8.86 per fill-up
Great. I am genuinely stoked about saving nearly $9 every time I fill my tank.
Thank you very much for passing this.
But is that enough to declare victory? Is it worth creating a $725 million obligation in the General Revenue Fund? Will drivers actually receive the entire tax reduction? Will prices simply move for other reasons while politicians take credit for whatever happens?
I do not know.
I Would Have Voted No
For what it is worth, I would have voted no.
Not because I oppose lower taxes. I am very for lower taxes. Not because I think $25 or $50 per month is meaningless to working families. I would have voted no because this process was too rushed, too politically convenient and too full of unanswered questions.
It feels willy-nilly.
The legislation was attached to a bill originally written to address motor-vehicle theft using electronic devices and unauthorized key fobs. The Senate inserted the gas-tax holiday into that bill, ended debate before Democrats could offer amendments and sent it back to the House for concurrence. The House then had to accept or reject the Senate’s changes without rewriting the proposal.
That is not a thoughtful way to decide what to do with $725 million.
I hope gasoline prices go down. I will personally benefit when they do. But I still do not understand who this bill was for, how Democrats are positioning themselves around it or why either party believes this is some enormous victory.
Could Ohio have passed better tax-relief legislation with a larger and more lasting effect on people’s pocketbooks? I think so.
And, that seems like the more important question.
Stay Angry.
Final Vote on House Bill 519
The official roll calls are available through the Ohio General Assembly’s House Bill 519 vote record. Ohio House of Representatives
Ohio House: 78–16
Democrats Voting Yes — 15
Rachel Baker
Sean Brennan
Karen Brownlee
Chris Glassburn
Michele Grim
Derrick Hall
Dani Isaacsohn
Crystal Lett
Lauren McNally
Joseph Miller III
Beryl Brown Piccolantonio
Allison Russo
Anita Somani
Bride Rose Sweeney
Daniel Troy
Republicans Voting Yes — 63
Cindy Abrams
Tim Barhorst
Adam Bird
Thaddeus Claggett
Gary Click
Meredith Craig
Rodney Creech
Jack Daniels
Levi Dean
Kellie Deeter
Steve Demetriou
Michael Dovilla
Ron Ferguson
Tex Fischer
Sarah Fowler Arthur
Haraz Ghanbari
Jennifer Gross
Thomas Hall
Mark Hiner
Adam Holmes
James Hoops
Matt Huffman
Sean Hutson
Marilyn John
Mark Johnson
Matthew Kishman
Roy Klopfenstein
Jeff LaRe
Brian Lampton
Beth Lear
Brian Lorenz
Gayle Manning
Adam Mathews
Ty Mathews
Riordan McClain
Kevin Miller
Melanie Miller
Ty Moore
Diane Mullins
Johnathan Newman
Mike Odioso
Scott Oelslager
Bob Peterson
Justin Pizzulli
Phil Plummer
Tracy Richardson
Kevin Ritter
Monica Robb Blasdel
Bill Roemer
Jodi Salvo
Nick Santucci
Jean Schmidt
Jason Stephens
Brian Stewart
D.J. Swearingen
Michelle Teska
David Thomas
Jim Thomas
Andrea White
Josh Williams
Bernard Willis
Heidi Workman
Tom Young
Democrats Voting No — 16
Munira Abdullahi
Juanita Brent
Darnell Brewer
Ashley Bryant Bailey
Christine Cockley
Latyna Humphrey
Dontavius Jarrells
Meredith Lawson-Rowe
Tristan Rader
Phillip Robinson Jr.
Elgin Rogers Jr.
Veronica Sims
Eric Synenberg
Cecil Thomas
Desiree Tims
Terrence Upchurch
Republicans Voting No — 0
No House Republicans voted against the legislation.
House Members Without Recorded Votes
Democrats:
Ismail Mohamed
Mark Sigrist
Erika White
Republicans:
Jamie Callender
Angela King
Ohio Senate: 26–5
Democrats Voting Yes — 4
Nickie Antonio
Hearcel Craig
Kent Smith
Casey Weinstein
Republicans Voting Yes — 22
Andrew Brenner
Brian Chavez
Jerry Cirino
Al Cutrona
Theresa Gavarone
Stephen Huffman
Terry Johnson
Kyle Koehler
Al Landis
George Lang
Susan Manchester
Rob McColley
Sandra O’Brien
Thomas Patton
Bill Reineke
Michele Reynolds
Kristina Roegner
Mark Romanchuk
Tim Schaffer
Jane Timken
Shane Wilkin
Steve Wilson
Democrats Voting No — 4
Willis Blackshear Jr.
Bill DeMora
Paula Hicks-Hudson
Catherine Ingram
Republicans Voting No — 1
Louis Blessing III
Senators Without Recorded Votes
Democrat:
Beth Liston
Republican:
Nathan Manning
I agree this was a convoluted vote, and I don't really like the outcome. I feel like it was political positioning with both parties - trying to appeal to voters ahead of the vote. Gov. Dewine sounded like he understood this would hurt the state more than help, but he seems to be caving, unfortunately. Gas and diesel prices are a symptom of a bigger problem and that is what our elected officials should be addressing.