COLUMBUS — A Senate proposal to raise the speed limit to 75 mph on the Ohio Turnpike and rural highways will move into the slow lane at least temporarily amid questions raised in the House.
House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger (R., Clarksville) said the higher speed limit, as well as some of the numerous other changes the Senate has proposed, will mean the $7 billion, two-year transportation and public safety budget will end up in a conference committee to hammer out a compromise.
He said there are legitimate questions about whether it’s too soon to make another speed limit change. The last took effect a year and a half ago.
“We just went from 65 to 70,” Mr. Rosenberger said. “I know the Senate made 41 changes to the transportation bill … I think there will be some differences between the House and Senate.”
The limit for trucks, buses, and other vehicles that weigh more than 8,000 pounds would remain at 70 mph under the proposal expected to come to a vote today before the Senate Transportation, Commerce, and Labor Committee and then the full Senate. A bill must reach the governor’s desk before April 1.
Raising the speed limit from 70 mph to 75 mph on rural highways of three lanes or more for vehicles weighing less than 8,000 pounds was not included in Gov. John Kasich’s proposal or the version that passed the House earlier this month.
Questions also have been raised about a newly added provision that would allow Ohioans to have their U.S. citizenship reflected on their driver’s licenses. The bill would also require those moving to Ohio to retitle their vehicles and get state drivers’ licenses within 30 days of establishing residency.
Democrats have balked at a provision added in committee that would block the spending of state or federal dollars on a project if the local government involved insists that contractors employ a certain number of local residents.
The Senate also added a provision prohibiting driving in far left lanes unless passing another vehicle or exiting the highway.
House Bill 53, as passed by the House, would create a task force to study how to pay for road and bridge repairs given stagnant federal dollars and state gas-tax revenue.
The Senate committee added another committee that would focus on whether rural busing is meeting area needs.
The Senate version would kill a House-passed provision that would have allowed boaters to use a rearview mirror to monitor the water skiers and tubers they are towing. Current law requires a second person to serve as a spotter.
Neither version contains the higher penalties sought by the Kasich administration on drivers found to be distracted by the use of electronic devices. The fines were designed to help pay for new driver education programs.
Contact Jim Provance at: jprovance@theblade.com or 614-221-0496.
First Published March 18, 2015, 4:00 a.m.
