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Senate Transportation Committee hears testimony backing $11 billion transportation package and a boost to TID grants
Summary
Witnesses from the Ohio Chamber of Commerce and Butler County TID urged support for substitute House Bill 54, highlighting $11 billion in proposed transportation spending, a $9 million annual TID earmark, and targeted projects such as a US-23–I‑71 connector and workforce mobility grants.
The Senate Transportation Committee heard testimony supporting substitute House Bill 54 on infrastructure spending, including a proposal for more than $11,000,000,000 over two years and a recommended increase in Transportation Improvement District (TID) funding to $9,000,000 per fiscal year.
Matt McLaren, director of travel and tourism policy for the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, told the committee that the bill’s funds are needed “for maintenance and improvements to Ohio’s transportation infrastructure, including improvements in our highways, airports, railways, and public transit.” He said the package would help serve recent and planned private-sector expansions by companies such as Intel, Ford, Honda, Amazon Web Services and Anduril.
The chamber witness urged attention to heavily trafficked corridors and singled out US 23 between Worthington and Waldo, saying traffic there is “severely exceeding the road’s capacity” and voicing support for construction of a connection between US 23 and I‑71 to the east. McLaren also supported the bill’s $15,000,000 per fiscal year allocation for the Ohio Workforce Mobility Partnership Program, noting the program continues funding created in the 2024–25 budget to support regional public workforce transportation.
Dan Corey, director of the Butler County Transportation Improvement District, urged the committee to back an amendment that would raise the state TID earmark. “I am here today to thank the committee for supporting the increase in funding of the state's TID program from $4,500,000 to $9,000,000 each fiscal year,” Corey said, and described TIDs as local-government entities that plan, fund and oversee regional transportation projects in partnership with the Ohio Department of Transportation. He told senators that TID grants historically ranged from $25,000 to $500,000 and noted that none of the program funds may be used for administrative costs.
Corey said Butler County’s TID, formed in 1994, served as the state’s first model and that the program has expanded; he told the committee there are 56 TIDs in Ohio. He also described the TID reimbursement model used by ODOT, where local entities incur project costs and then seek reimbursement.
Committee members asked questions about project selection and regional connections. Senator Robert Reineke (first reference: Senator Robert Reineke, member) pressed witnesses on how studies and business input should guide investments; McLaren said holding study authors accountable and engaging businesses were key. A senator referenced the Gordie Howe International Bridge opening in Michigan as a reason to consider north‑to‑south and east‑to‑west connectivity.
No formal votes or motions were recorded during the hearing; the committee received written testimony from other groups and adjourned after the witnesses’ remarks.
