GA 135 - Ohio legislation that pertains to EVs

We are now in General Assembly 135.  The most immediate and pressing legislation will be the Transportation Budget as it contains the EV/PHEV/Hybrid fees.  

Even though the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) is not a part of the General Assembly, policies pertaining to EVs that are in front of PUCO will also be posted on this page.

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Ohio House Bill 23 -  2024/2025 Transportation Budget  

State Representative Jay Edwards (District #94) introduced 2024-2025 Transportation Budget on February 15th, 2023 and it was referred to the Finance Committee on February 16, 2023.  It had hearings on February 21, 22, and 28.  On March 1st, 2023, it passed the House with a favorable vote of 74 to 21.

Ohio Legislature tracking page -https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/135/hb23

Ohio House status page - https://www.ohiohouse.gov/legislation/135/hb23

Comparison Document for the As Passed by House version of HB 23 - https://www.lsc.ohio.gov/assets/legislation/135/hb23/ph/files/hb23-comparison-document-as-passed-by-the-house-135th-general-assembly.pdf

HB 23 as passed by the House would reduce the fee on a Plug-In Hybrid to $100 while leaving the BEV fee at $200 and the Hybrid fee at $100.

Additional points of interest about electric vehicles:

• Director of Transportation shall request Controlling Board approval for any expenditure of funds received under the Federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) that are to be used for the construction or maintenance of electric vehicle charging stations.  
• Ohio Department of Transportation is asking for consideration of a $2,000,000 for the DriveOhio team to partner with the Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation in the deployment of workforce training and credentialing programs related to the emerging field of electric vehicle charging. 

Now that it is in the Ohio Senate, tracking can be found at:  https://ohiosenate.gov/committees/transportation/legislation/hb23

On March 23, the Senate Transportation Committee and the full Senate voted to pass the Transportation budget but not before removing the education in the fee for PHEVs.  The House then held a vote and refused to concur with the Senate Amendments.    There will now be a conference between the House and Senate to reconcile the differences.