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As Introduced
136th
General Assembly
Regular
Session
H. B. No. 151
2025-2026
Representative Stephens
A
BILL
To
amend section 131.44 and to enact section 5501.62 of the Revised Code
and to amend Section 755.30 of H.B. 33 of the 135th General Assembly
to codify it as section 5501.61 of the Revised Code
to
allocate a portion of any state revenue surplus to a program that
funds certain road and bridge projects.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section
1.
That
section 131.44 be amended and section 5501.62 of the Revised Code be
enacted to read as follows:
Sec.
131.44.
(A)
As used in this section:
(1)
"Surplus revenue" means the excess, if any, of the total
fund balance over the required year-end balance.
(2)
"Total fund balance" means the sum of the unencumbered
balance in the general revenue fund on the last day of the preceding
fiscal year plus the balance in the budget stabilization fund.
(3)
"Required year-end balance" means the sum of the following:
(a)
Ten per cent of the general revenue fund revenues for the preceding
fiscal year;
(b)
"Ending fund balance," which means one-half of one per cent
of general revenue fund revenues for the preceding fiscal year;
(c)
"Carryover balance," which means, with respect to a fiscal
biennium, the excess, if any, of the estimated general revenue fund
appropriation and transfer requirement for the second fiscal year of
the biennium over the estimated general revenue fund revenue for that
fiscal year;
(d)
"Capital appropriation reserve," which means the amount, if
any, of general revenue fund capital appropriations made for the
current biennium that the director of budget and management has
determined will be encumbered or disbursed.
(4)
"Estimated general revenue fund appropriation and transfer
requirement" means the most recent adjusted appropriations made
by the general assembly from the general revenue fund and includes
both of the following:
(a)
Appropriations made and transfers of appropriations from the first
fiscal year to the second fiscal year of the biennium in provisions
of acts of the general assembly signed by the governor but not yet
effective;
(b)
Transfers of appropriations from the first fiscal year to the second
fiscal year of the biennium approved by the controlling board.
(5)
"Estimated general revenue fund revenue" means the most
recent such estimate available to the director of budget and
management.
(6)
"Sales tax holiday" has the same meaning as in section
5739.01 of the Revised Code.
(B)(1)
Not later than the thirty-first day of July each year, the director
of budget and management shall determine the surplus revenue that
existed on the preceding thirtieth day of June and transfer from the
general revenue fund, to the extent of the unobligated, unencumbered
balance on the preceding thirtieth day of June in excess of one-half
of one per cent of the general revenue fund revenues in the preceding
fiscal year, the following:
(a)
First, to the budget stabilization fund, any amount necessary for the
balance of the budget stabilization fund to equal ten per cent of the
general revenue fund revenues of the preceding fiscal year;
(b)
Then, to the expanded sales tax holiday fund, which is
hereby
created
in the state treasury, an amount equal to the
lesser of the
surplus revenue
or the amount that would cause the balance of the fund to equal two
hundred fifty million dollars;
(c)
Then, to the Connect4Ohio fund created in section 5501.62 of the
Revised Code, an amount equal to any remaining surplus revenue after
making the transfer described in division (B)(1)(b) of this section
.
(2)
Not later than the thirty-first day of July of 2024 and each year
thereafter, if the balance in the expanded sales tax holiday fund is
sixty million dollars or more, the director shall certify to the tax
commissioner that a sales tax holiday shall be held in August of the
following fiscal year. The commissioner, in consultation with the
director and county commissioners association of Ohio, shall
determine the number of days for which the sales tax holiday will be
held, which shall be at least three days, and which may include
additional days if the commissioner and director determine that the
balance in the expanded sales tax holiday fund is sufficient to
reimburse the general revenue fund, local government fund, public
library fund, and permissive tax distribution fund for the revenue
that would be forgone on four or more of the dates during the period
specified in section 5739.41 of the Revised Code. In making the
determination, the commissioner and director shall take into account
estimated changes in consumer behavior during the time of and
immediately preceding and following the sales tax holiday.
(C)
The director of budget and management shall transfer money in the
expanded sales tax holiday fund to the general revenue fund, local
government fund, public library fund, and permissive tax distribution
fund as necessary to offset revenue reductions resulting from a sales
tax holiday held under section 5739.41 of the Revised Code. The
amount transferred to each such fund, and the amounts distributed to
counties and transit authorities from the permissive tax distribution
fund, shall be in the same proportions as the transfer and
distribution of taxes actually collected under sections 5739.02,
5739.021, 5739.023, 5739.026, 5741.02, 5741.021, 5741.022, and
5741.023 of the Revised Code in August of the fiscal year in which
the sales tax holiday is held. If no sales tax holiday is held under
section 5739.41 of the Revised Code in the current fiscal year, the
director shall not transfer money from the sales tax holiday fund to
the general revenue fund, local government fund, public library fund,
or permissive tax distribution fund.
Sec.
5501.62.
The
Connect4Ohio fund is created in the state treasury. The fund shall
consist of money appropriated to it by the general assembly and money
transferred to it by the director of budget and management in
accordance with section 131.44 of the Revised Code. All investment
earnings of the fund shall be credited to the fund.
The
director of transportation shall administer the fund and use the
money in it to support the Connect4Ohio program established in
section 5501.61 of the Revised Code and for the purposes of that
program.
Section
2.
That
existing section 131.44 of the Revised Code is hereby repealed.
Section
3.
That
Section 755.30 of H.B. 33 of the 135th General Assembly be amended to
codify it as section 5501.61 of the Revised Code to read as follows:
Sec.
755.30
5501.61
.
(A)
As used in this section, "rural county" means a county that
does not contain a municipal corporation with a population greater
than fifty-five thousand residents according to the most recent
federal decennial census.
(B)
The Connect4Ohio
Program
program
is
created, and the
Department
department
of
Transportation
transportation
shall
administer the
Program
program
.
The purpose of the
Program
program
is
to assist in creating seamless transportation connections throughout
all of Ohio and, by doing so, to make it easier for all Ohio workers
to commute from their homes to employment centers.
(C)
As part of the
Program
program
,
the
Department
department
and
the
Transportation
Review Advisory Council
transportation
review advisory council
(TRAC)
shall work together to provide funding for unfunded projects included
on the
"Final
2023 - 2026 Major New Construction Program List, TRAC Tier 1 -
Construction Commitments; TRAC Tier 2 - Development Commitments; TRAC
Tier 3 - Development Commitments"
major
new construction program list for the TRAC tiers
document that
was
is
published
by the
Department
on March 29, 2023
department
annually
.
The provision of funding shall be consistent with the following
priorities:
(1)
Completing existing corridor projects, particularly corridor projects
that benefit two or more connected rural counties;
(2)
Eliminating traffic impediments on county, township, state, and
federal highway routes, particularly within rural counties;
(3)
Funding such projects at one hundred per cent of the project cost,
when appropriate, particularly for projects that are located in a
rural county or that extend between two or more connected rural
counties;
(4)
Providing the necessary matching funds to receive TRAC approval for
any construction projects that are related to the
Program
program
and
its purpose.
(D)
The
Director
director
of
Transportation
transportation
shall
establish any procedures and requirements necessary to administer
this section.
Section
4.
That
existing Section 755.30 of H.B. 33 of the 135th General Assembly is
hereby repealed.
Section
5.
Not
later than the tenth day after the effective date of this section,
the Director of Budget and Management shall transfer all but two
hundred fifty million dollars from the Expanded Sales Tax Holiday
Fund created in section 131.44 of the Revised Code to the
Connect4Ohio Fund created in section 5501.62 of the Revised Code.