As Introduced
136th General Assembly
Regular Session H. B. No. 151
2025-2026
Representative Stephens
A B I L L
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:
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(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.
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(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
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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
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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 Programprogram. 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 Programprogram, 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
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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
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created in section 5501.62 of the Revised Code. 165